As director of ministry placement, I've made my share of mistakes. Here are some of the biggest I've made. I share them so you don't have to repeat them!
1. Don't pray about it.
If God gives the vision for a ministry, He always prepares the players to make it happen. Successful ministries grow in God's own timing.
2. Assume everyone you ask to serve will stick it out automatically.
The idea that all workers, paid or volunteer, are, in essence, volunteers is not new. In today's highly competitive job market, employees, especially in technical fields, frequently entertain job offers from headhunters. What makes people stay at a company? Most think erroneously that money is the number one motivator. It's not.
An acquaintance, a chemist in the computer industry, recently complained ...
ARTICLE The Y Factor In tough times, you need to radically increase your ministry's volunteer quotient. Bill Hybels
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Six months ago I realized our church had a problem, so I invited the senior staff to join me in a conference room. I closed the door and announced, "We're not leaving until God gives us an answer."
Part of a church leader's job is to identify and define the reality his or her church is facing. As I thought and prayed about our church's reality, I came to the distressing realization that we didn't have ...
I know why they call it the board, Daddy," said an insightful 8-year-old. "It's because the meetings are so boring!" For people accustomed to an action-oriented society, a group that sits for hours to debate issues and takes months to make decisions does sound less than appealing. And it probably is if all it does is talk. We need to move from words to action.
The fine art of leadership is something to be learned over time, and its effectiveness is measured by one's followers. The focus of leadership is on those being served rather than the one leading. Jesus said, "I am the Good Shepherd, and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep," (John 10:14,15).
ARTICLE Coaching from the Sideline Instead of providing answers to problems, this mentoring strategy guides people to devise their own plays. Chad Hall
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Carlos called me in a panic. His ministry was suffocating him and his mind was filled with thoughts of leaving. He'd waited until late afternoon to call, and I had thoughts of getting home to mow the lawn. I did not have time to let him cry on my shoulder (or in my ear, as the phone would have it). So I put forth the blunt question I reserve for need-seekers: "Why are you calling me?"
Even
though Rodger and Lynne Schmidt were planning to go to Africa as missionaries,
they found themselves asking, "Is this really something we should be doing?"
At the same time in the
same city, another couple was also wrestling with their call, though from the
other end of a missionary career. Now retired, this couple was asking, "After
41 years as missionaries in Africa, who are we? Our home ...
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