Mark Conner Leadership

What Season Are You In?

SeasonRight now it is autumn here in Australia and I love it. The spectaular colours of the leaves display the creativity of our amazing God. Seasons – God created them. He told Noah: "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease (Gen.8:22)." Later on, Solomon noted that, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens … (Ecc.3:1)"

Verteran pastor Bill Hybels wisely notes that every church and organisation goes through various seasons and that the leaders job is to discern the season, name it, and work with what God is doing. Here is an excerpt from his blog post about this subject.

I’m in and out of local churches nearly every week, and I love to test leaders’ organizational awareness by asking a straightforward question: “What season are you in as a church?” The most perceptive leaders I know fire back an answer to that question without batting an eye: “We’re in a growth season right now,” or “We’ve been on a plateau for far too long, and people are getting frustrated,” or “We’ve run our volunteers ragged and probably need to slow the pace and let people catch their breath,” or “We’ve gone through more change cycles in the past ninety days than should be legal, but things are finally starting to settle out a bit.” A key responsibility of the leader is to know what season the organization is in, to name it, and then to communicate the implications of that season to his or her followers.

This leadership-seasons idea traces back to Ecclesiastes 3:1, which says that “there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” Most leaders nod consent at that line of thinking but simultaneously neglect to tell their followers what season they’re in! And based on my experience, people sitting in your organization will have no clue what season they’re in unless you tell them. Do yourself and those you lead the favor of learning to spot the changing of the seasons in your environment. When you see growth bloom or transition hit or feel the icy days of malaise descend, draw attention to the shift. Give voice to the realities of that season. Assign appropriate language to it, designate helpful parameters to succeeding within it, and confidently offer solutions for moving through it. You’re always in a season, leader. It’s your role to know which it is and what to do about it.

What season are you in right now? It is a season of growth or of consolidation? Is it a season of decline or maybe of transition? Or could it be a season of re-invention? The things you have been doing have brought you to where you are today but they may not take you to where God wants you to be. Pray and ask God about this and talk with others on your team. What season are you in personally? Once you discern the season, work with God is up to and believe for God to finish the great work he has begun in you and your community.

P.S. For some more thoughts on growing strong in the various seasons of life, click here.

Mark Conner Leadership

Learning Leadership

LeadIt is often said that everything rises and falls on leadership. No doubt, there is a lot of truth in that statement. Any time you find something good happening, you can usually trace it back to a leader who is leading well. Any time you find something falling apart, you can usually trace is back to the absence of a leader or a leader who is leading poorly. This is true in the family, the local community, the church, in business and in the nation. 

The debates continues as to whether leaders are born or made. Of course, all leaders are born but even gifted leaders need to develop their leadership ability. I also believe that everyone can learn principles of leadership that will assist them in being a more positive influence on those around about them. 

In my BLOG, I have written a host of articles on the subject of leadership, covering topics such as: leading change, perseverance, a leader's self-care, evaluating your leadership, the role of the Senior Minister, women in leadership, and sabbaticals. 

Click here to access them.

Mark Conner Leadership, Personal Development

Ministerial Sabbaticals (Pt.2)

SabbaticalIn the foreword to Clergy Renewal, Roy M. Oswald lists the following six reasons for a church to encourage a pastor to take regular sabbaticals.

1. The very nature of being a pastor involves continual spiritual growth. Spiritual depth does not happen by accident; it takes hard, intentional work. Basically, it is a lifelong process involving big chunks of time set aside for reading, prayer, solitude and reflection … A spiritual director can help a minister reflect on their own spiritual journey … If ministers are to deliver deep and challenging sermons regularly, congregations will need to provide opportunities for their pastors to get away for extended periods of time dedicated to spiritual development.

2. Church ministry is changing rapidly. Congregations will experience neither numerical growth nor growth in spiritual depth and service unless they move with the changing times and develop fresh ways to reach new and younger generations. Meeting this challenge means ministers must periodically retreat from the congregation to retool or refocus their ministry approaches … Visiting other congregations that are successfully reaching out to new people can help a pastor glean new insights to bring back to their own congregations. 

3. Without such renewal leave, there is a stronger chance that ministers will, over time, demonstrate the key characteristics of burnout – namely, exhaustion, cynicism, disillusionment, and self-deprecation. Research proves that people in the helping professions tend to burn-out the fastest, in part because the constant intimate involvement with the emotional freight of other people's lives can be draining. Burned-out ministers are much more likely to leave church ministry and seek other employment … costing a congregation years of progress. Sabbatical leave helps avoid such situations.

4. Another lethal effect of burnout is that it makes a pastor dull, hollow, and uninteresting. Such people are not the best vehicle for bringing the good news to people. Ministerial vitality is the greatest asset in building up a congregation. When church members feel their pastor is exciting and spiritually alive, they can't wait to bring their friends to church … The paradox of congregational ministry is that pastors are constantly invited to overextend (there is always someone they should have called or something they should have given attention to) but doing so can torpedo the vitality that drives their ministry. Renewal leave can be a powerful antidote to this kind of debilitating burnout.

5. The pastoral role generally involves long, hard hours without weekends off, or even the occasional long weekend. Pastors are rarely afforded the luxury of having two consecutive days off every week that most people enjoy. Every weekend involves a major output of energy on Sunday. For many pastors, Friday and Saturday are often consumed by sermon preparation, wedding rehearsals and weddings, and so forth … Congregations too often assume that ministers can remain vital and healthy and maintain sound family life with only one day off per week. 

6. We also need to examine the ways in which congregations can become overly dependent upon their ministers. Some feel they could never manage without their pastor for three months … but they can and they will grow and mature in the process.

In summary, everyone wins when ministers are granted periodic chunks of renewal leave. It is in everyone's long-term best interests. Pastors remain vital and healthy while congregations receive the benefits of engaged, long-term pastorates, new ministry skills, and exciting opportunities for mission.

Oswald suggests a three month sabbatical for every four years ministry, while other churches and denominations grant sabbaticals every seven years or after an even longer time.

P.S. To read about my upcoming sabbatical, click here.

See also: Coming Back from Sabbatical

Mark Conner Leadership, Personal Development

Ministerial Sabbaticals (Pt.1)

SabbaticalChurch work is not necessarily more difficult than other work, but it is hard. Staying fresh, alive and creative week after week, year after year, in the midst of the stress, emotion, study, as well as the people and leadership tasks that are required, can be quite a challenge. As a result, a minister's levels of passion, enthusiasm, excitement and vision for the future may not be where they would like them to be or where the church deserves them to be from someone in such an influential role.

Sometimes a tiredness and fatigue settles in that normal holidays don't fix. Pastors and church workers need to heed these kinds of warning signs. To ignore them can lead to burnout, which can be very hard to bounce back from. When you are running near empty and your reserves are low, that's the time to do something about it. One option to consider is a ministerial sabbatical.  

What is a sabbatical?

A ministerial sabbatical is simply a period of rest. However, a sabbatical is much more than holiday. It is rest with a purpose. When people in ministry are depleted, a sabbatical time apart for recovery of spiritual and creative energies can be extremely helpful.

The idea of the Sabbath is rooted in the Old Testament – God resting on the seventh day after six days of work (Gen.2:1-3) and commanding his people to do the same (Ex.16:26. Lev.23:3. Deut.5:13), as well as the command to allow the land to rest every seventh year (Lev.25:1-5).

The sabbatical also has a history with the schools of higher education since the middle ages where an instructor may be granted a leave of absence every seven years so that they can renew their passion for their subject. It is within this context that the ministerial sabbatical was born. Click here to read an insightful article containing more detailed background to the concept of a sabbatical as well as the types of activities that can make up a sabbatical period.

Ministerial sabbaticals are designed to strengthen and develop the pastor’s ability to serve the church. A well-planned sabbatical has been proven to provide a pastor with spiritual renewal, new perspective, further education, as well as renewed passion and vision resulting in a return to ministry with a clearer sense of mission and the renewed energy to work toward accomplishing it.

For those interested in taking a sabbatical, the book Clergy Renewal by the Alban Institute has some very helpful suggestions for sabbatical planning. Also, click here to read an excellent sample Pastoral Sabbatical Program.

If you are a church worker or pastor, is it time for you to consider a sabbatical? Even people in the corporate world can do something similar (check out the book Reboot your Life: Energize Your Career and Life by Taking a Break which has a ton of great ideas). 

Some other books I would highly recommend related to this topic are: Mad Church Disease: Overcoming the Burnout Epidemic, Leading on Empty: Refilling Your Tank and Renewing Your Passion and Replenish: Leading from a Healthy Soul.

A sabbatical … it could save your life, your family, your ministry and your future impact!

See also my poem: Sabbath.

NEXT: Read Ministerial Sabbaticals (Pt.2). 

Mark Conner Leadership

Leading Servants

Here is a well-known teaching from Jesus …

Then (the disciples) began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves. [Luke 22:24-27. NLT] 

Jesus was radically different than the spirit of the age. He was not a leader who happened to serve others occasionally. He was a servant who happened to lead and influence others. His motivation was always for others – for His Father's glory and for the ultimate good of those he led. How different from those who lead for personal benefit – position, title, benefits, applause or self-esteem. 

It's a good practice to frequently ask ourselves 'why' we do what we do. What are our motives and what drives us? Is it all about us – or all about God and others? People soon pick this up one way or another. 

Could it be that those who follow us at one time or another ask the question, “Are you for me, against me, or for yourself?” Click here to read more about this insightful question.

Leadership expert, Max DePree once said, "The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor."

Seek to lead and influence others today for their benefit and for God's purpose in the world … 

Mark Conner Leadership, Spirituality

Random Thought #3 – Being over Doing

Images-10 3.  Being over Doing

Yes, we will be DOING a lot this year! However, who we ARE speaks louder than what we SAY or what we DO. It affects HOW we go about what we do on a daily basis. Qualities such as gratitude, joyfulness, enthusiasm, and willingness are vital. The psalmist says, "Serve the Lord with gladness (Ps.100:1)!"

Your greatest impact will be from who you are – your EXAMPLE (2 Tim 3:16). That’s why God is more interested in WHO you are becoming than WHAT you are doing for Him.

In his excellent book The Making of Leader, Robert Clinton says, “God develops a leader over a lifetime. That development is a function of the use of events and people to impress leadership lessons upon a leader. Processing is central. All leaders can point to critical incidents in their lives where God taught them something very important.”

Each of us is in God’s training program. God uses “process items” along the way to shape us and develop us. Ultimately, we minister out of who we are. This is the source of true spiritual authority. God’s major work is to and in you, not just through you.

There are clear patterns of leadership emergence and development including: Sovereign Foundations, Inner Life Growth, Ministry Maturing, Life Maturing, and Convergence. In leadership development, the shift from “Ministry Maturing” to “Life Maturing” is crucial. Most often this involves a series of tests or crisis moments and our response to them has far-reaching implications.   

Character development is our greatest test and always precedes promotion or greater fruitfulness. Problems are God’s stepping-stones to maturity. God does not stop working on your character once you move into leadership. Mature ministry flows from mature character. Growth in BEING results in a higher level of DOING, which then requires increased maturity in BEING. Leadership is a lifetime of God’s lessons. Many biblical examples come to mind, including Jacob, Joseph, David, Esther and Peter.

Many leaders plateau or drop out as time goes by. Only a few keep growing – inwardly and outwardly. Don't let that happen to you. Character counts! After all, what you build with your charisma can be destroyed through lack of character – in an instant. 

Open up your heart afresh for God to work IN you. Here is a good prayer for starters ..

Psa. 139:23-24. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. 

Mark Conner Leadership

A Pastor’s Prayer

Images-5 I loved this prayer by Martin Luther (quoted in A Minister's Prayer Book by John Doberstein).

"Lord God, thou has appointed me to be a bishop and pastor in thy church. Thou seest how unfit I am to undertake this great and difficult office, and were it not for thy help, I would long since have ruined it all. Therefore I cry unto thee; I will assuredly apply my mouth and my heart to thy service. I desire to teach the people, and I myself would learn and ever more diligently meditate on thy Word. Use thou me as thy instrument, only do not though forsake me, for if I am left alone I shall easily bring it all to destruction. Amen."

 Any church leader would understand …

Mark Conner Books, Leadership

Mastering Management

Mastering Management Leading and managing a church, a ministry, a business, or a non-profit organisation is quite a complex task. There is the cause or the mission that needs pursuing. There are the staff and volunteers who need encouraging and inspiring, much like a community. Then there is the corporate or business aspects that need conducting with excellence.

John Pearson has been active in management for over 25 years, serving with the Christian Management Association, the Willow Creek Association, and the Christian Camp and Conference Association. He is now president of a management consulting firm, serving both non-profit and for-profit organisations through workshops and training. John has recently released a book entitled Mastering the Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Non-Profit. The twenty competencies are grouped around the concepts of Cause, Community, and Corporation. Much of his thinking has been influenced by Peter Drucker, commonly known as the 'father of modern management' and a committed Christian until his passing away at the age of 95 back in 1995.

There is a very practical book with a broad range of ideas and practices relevant to anyone in leadership or management within any type of organisation. I highly recommend it.

P.S. Check out the author's BLOG here, and book web site here.

Mark Conner Humour, Leadership

Implementing Change

Traffic lights Ideas usually cannot be imported without modification. The cultures and other aspects of leadership and management are different; therefore, that they fail without some modification shouldn't be surprising. Even adopting simple devices may cause problems.

For example, traffic signals were invented in England, although the version used today was developed in the United States. Despite their successful use elsewhere, when traffic signals were introduced to Ireland, the Irish were so outraged that they actually rioted.

Why? Because the red light was on top and the green light was on the bottom, and to the Irish, red is the color of Britain; green, Ireland. That red was placed over green infuriated many Irish people. The solution was to mount the traffic lights horizontally.

[Source: Drucker on Leadership by William A. Cohen]

Mark Conner Church, Leadership

Managing Transitions

ChangeLeading change is one of the most difficult and important tasks of leadership. Yet it is something God calls each of his leaders to do. God came to Moses and told him they he and Israel had been going around the same mountain long enough and that it was time to "break camp and advance" into their future (see Deut.1:6-7). God wants us to be his "change agents." So often we settle far from where God wants us to be so he comes down to shake us out of our complacency and into a fresh vision for a better future.

Leading change is not easy and we need lots of faith, courage, and wisdom to do it well – in an effective and God-honouring manner. [Click here to read an article I wrote early last year on Leading Your Church through Change, which contains an excellent model for leading change from Nehemiah]

Those who study change tell us that it is not the changes that kill us but the transitions. It was one thing for Moses to get Israel out of Egypt with God's help. It was a totally different thing to get Israel throughthe wilderness and into the Promised Land. In fact, many of them didn't make it.

The most insightful contemporary thinker and writer on this vital subject is William Bridges. His book Managing Transitions contains a wealth of wisdom for anyone leading or experiencing change. Click here for an extended summary I did of this excellent book many years ago.  

Experiencing change is like letting go of one trapeze and you still haven't taken hold of the next one. That's a scary feeling! it requires trust in God that he will not let us fall and that there is a new trapeze for us to lay hold of.

To change the metaphor, there is a new season and a new chapter after the close of this season and chapter. God is a God of movement. May he give us grace to keep in step with him. We don't know what tomorrow holds but we do know who holds tomorrow in his hands. He is the ALPHA (the beginning) and the OMEGA (the end). He has begun a good work in each one of us and he will complete it (Phil.1:6). We can sleep at night because of that assurance.

Mark Conner Church, Leadership

Women in Ministry

I believe that every church should be committed to releasing every person into ministry. Every Christ-follower is ‘saved’ (not just to go to heaven!) AND ‘called’ (to a special purpose here on earth – see 2 Timothy 1:9). All ministry should be based on ‘godliness and giftedness, not gender’.

Unfortunately, many churches restrict or limit women from ministry, and especially from leadership. I believe this is because of a misunderstanding of what the Bible says about women. As with any issue, we need to go back to the beginning – to God’s original intentions. Before the Fall, men and women were both created in the image of God and they were both given the dominion and the reproduction mandate. They were called as ‘partners’ in life and ministry (see Genesis 1:26-31). Only after sin entered was there hierarchy and a loss of the partnership model between men and women (see Genesis 3:16).

Jesus came to bring us back to God’s original intention – partnership. Paul tells us that in Christ there is ‘neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male or female, for you are all one in Christ’ (Galatians 3:28). He is not saying that these distinctions cease to exist (racial, socio-economic and gender differences) but that they should now no longer be a cause for prejudice or discrimination.

Jesus and Paul valued women and released them into ministry. The Holy Spirit was poured out on men and women, and both prophesied (Acts 2). Spiritual gifts are given to men and women, and both will be held accountable for their use (see 1 Corinthians 12 and 14). If a woman has a teaching gift, then let her teach. If a woman has a leadership gift, then let her lead.

Yes, there are a number of places in the New Testament writings that seem to limit the activity of women in the church, but these are always in dysfunctional environments (e.g. at Corinth and in Ephesus, where there was false teaching spreading amongst the women). In healthy environments, women were encouraged to minister and were also involved in significant leadership roles, including leading entire house churches.

It has been terrific to see the focus on racial reconciliation in the broader church world of late. People today would never think of withholding ministry from someone based on their race. I believe we also need to see reconciliation and release of women into the full rights and opportunities of ministry and leadership within the church. It is part of God’s plan and I believe it is a key to the church being all that God has called it to be in our generation. Men, I believe it’s up to us to create an environment where women feel valued, appreciated and empowered.

Churches can benefit greatly from women who faithfully contribute to our church’s ministries, who speak regularly as part of our teaching teams, and who lead in various ministries within the church, including serving in governmental roles such as Elders or Board members.

For a more in-depth discussion of this important matter, feel free to download a copy of my paper on ‘Women in Leadership‘.

Mark Conner

Mark Conner Church, Leadership

Women and the Church

Women leading After sixty years of involvement in the Southern Baptist Church, former American President Jimmy Carter has left. Over what? Over his disagreement with their stance over the ordination of women. Read the article here. The SBC articles forbid the appointment of a woman as a pastor, as they see this as a male-only role.

The role of women in the church is such an important issue. It's sad to see some people ignoring the issue while others continuing with man-made traditions and spurious interpretations of the Scriptures.

As world renown biblical scholar N.T. Wright profoundly says, the best place to start when considering the role of the women in the church is John 20 and Romans 16. In John 20 we see women as the first witnesses of the resurrection and as being personally commissioned by Jesus to go tell others that he is risen. In Romans 16, Paul thanks and commends many women who were active in the church, both in leading house churches and even one who was an apostle – Junia (vs.7).

Other texts that seem to silence women need to be taken in their local context, which is always a dysfunctional environment and not to be seen as the 'norm'.

God's original design was for men and women to partner together in life and ministry. Jesus and Paul seek to get us back to that intention. Let's do the same in our generation.

P.S. For further thoughts on women in leadership and our approach at CityLife Church, click here.

P.S.S. For those who want to do some more scholarly work, this issue, like all issues, should take us back to our understanding of God as Trinity. Our God has revealed himself as one God existing in three persons. The Trinity is the model for all human relationships, including marriage. Is their equality in the Trinity or is their subordination? In the incarnation, the Son humbled himself and became man but does this equate to the eternal subordination of the Son? Kevin Giles has written an influential book on this topic called The Trinity and Subordinationism: The Doctrine of God and the Contemporary Gender Debate. Click here for reviews of this book and ongoing discussion.

Mark Conner Church, Leadership

Leadership Network Survey Results

Bob Buford Leadership Network is an excellent ministry established by Bob Buford. It's mission is to: identify, connect and help high-capacity Christian leaders multiply their impact. They provide a wealth of resources for churches and leaders through their web site, publications, blogs and e-newsletters.

Recently Leadership Network conducted an extensive survey seeking to gain insights into the ministry roles of Senior Pastors of larger churches and of Executive Ministers.

Click here to read the Senior Pastor report and here for the Executive Minister report.

Any questions, feel free to post them in the Comments section.

Mark Conner Church, Leadership

‘How the Mighty Fall’ by Jim Collins (Book Review)

Mighty Fall Jim Collins is the best-selling author of Built to Last and Good to Great. Collins is a student of companies and organisations – great ones, good ones, weak ones, and failed ones. His latest book (which I picked up recently in an airport bookshop in the USA), based on extensive research, is How the Mighty Fall. In it he proposes that, "Whether you prevail or fail, endure or die, depends more on what you do to yourself than on what the world does to you."

In his research, which took more than four years, Collins sought to discover whether decline can be detected early and avoided. Decline is a bit like a disease. You can look healthy yet really be sick. His conclusion is that by understanding the stages of decline, leaders can substantially reduce their chances of falling all the way to the bottom.

Here are the five stages of decline:

1. Hubris Born of Success (arrogance and pride)

2. Undisciplined Pursuit of More (over-reaching for more and more)

3. Denial of Risk and Peril (ignoring the warning signs)

4. Grasping for Salvation (grasping for quick fixes)

5. Capitulation to Irrelevance or Death (atrophy settles in)

Every organisation, no matter how great, is vulnerable to decline. There is no law of nature that the most powerful will inevitably remain at the top. According to Collins, anyone can fall and most eventually do.

In its essence, the church is 'people' and is better represented by a living system (or organism) than an organisation. However, these organisational lessons about how the mighty fall apply directly to local churches and Christian ministries, as well as to individuals, especially leaders.

Collin's latest book was an interesting read, especially after having just read the Old Testament book of Daniel where we see great and powerful rulers getting caught up in pride, then falling dramatically. Nebuchadnezzar is a classic example (Daniel 4). He was warned ahead of time but ignored the warning and was humbled greatly. This is a good lesson for all of us.

Here are some wise sayings from God's Word:

"Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall." [Proverbs 16:18. NLT]

"If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall." [1 Corinthians 10:12-13. NLT]

 "All of you, serve each other in humility, for 'God opposes the proud but favors the humble.' So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor." [1 Peter 5:5-6. NLT]

Mark Conner Leadership

Fruit and Gifts

Jesus said that we can know the credibility of a ministry by their 'fruit', not by their 'gifts' (see Matthew 7:15-23). Gifts of the Spirit, as well as natural talent, are important but they are no evidence of a holy life. In fact, gifts can deceive us as to the true nature of a person. That's why character is to be the foundation of all ministry. 'Who we are' (fruit) is more important than 'what we can do' (gifts).

The interesting thing about gifts is that God gives them and doesn't take them back. Read this comment by Paul when writing to the believers at Rome …

"For God's gifts and his call can never be withdrawn." [Romans 11:29-30. NLT]

That means that a person can still continue to minister with the gifts God has given to them even when their character is not right. That's pretty scary because it enables people to abuse the grace of God – for a time.

Continue reading “Fruit and Gifts” →