MIM Ezine, April 01, 2008

-- Scott's Rambling's: The Reconstruction of a Youth Worker: Where is That ?@# ! Extension Cord????" by Scott Miller.

-- Book Review: "Leading Turnaround Teams," by Gene Wood and Daniel Harkavy, reviewed by Tom Hanover.

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In 1998 Netscape released the source code for Navigator, its web browser for the internet. As developers noticed the requirements from commercial sponsors increase, the Mozilla project was created to keep the software simple and accessible. Out of this grew the Mozilla Foundation and the Mozilla Corporation that is more known for its web browser: Mozilla Firefox, and its email software: Mozilla Thunderbird.

One of the unique contributions of the Mozilla project was to continue Open Source Code. Open Source means that the developers released their code to other software programmers so that a wide range of volunteers could experiment with it and create new improvements. Projects were returned to the Mozilla engineers for their consideration and adoption.

Consequently, Firefox has grown to about 15% of the market and is beginning to rival Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. It is free to download and easy to use. (I, Tom, use it myself.)

Rev. Paul Risler uses a similar concept in ministry leadership that he has coined: Open Source Leadership. In a similar approach to Mozilla’s software developers, Risler puts his vision out to the staff and members of the congregation and invites their input.

Paul Risler is Senior Pastor at Central Avenue United Methodist Church in Athens, Ohio, where the attendance has grown from an average of 158 in 1997 when Paul arrived, to more than 220 today. During the school year, attendance often breaks 300 when the students of Ohio University are in town.

Risler practices Open Source Leadership in his preaching, worship planning, program and ministry development, and his leadership development.

He quotes Dallas Willard: “Your kingdom is the range of your effective will.” Risler notes that if one is focused on God’s Kingdom, then one’s range does not matter. Only the range of God’s will count. Therefore, proprietary ownership and intellectual rights are meaningless. And the benefits of engaging the gifts and experiences of many others are unlimited.

Risler goes on to explain that we describe God as Trinity: Creator, Redeemer, and Comforter. God is understood in relationship. Whenever we study the scriptures about the Trinitarian personalities of God, each person is pointing to another. Each voice gives witness to the whole.

Consequently, Risler believes ministry is more effective when it is led and practiced in relationship. He focuses his energy on developing teams of leaders who are encouraged and equipped to lead ministry. According to Risler, it is worth the extra effort.

First of all, Risler notes it is more fun. It has required a transition from his style of ministry when he first started, but he enjoys the interaction and creativity of working in a team.

Secondly, he discovers there is tremendous amount of synergy when he taps into the creative energies and imaginative vitality of others. Different perspectives and diverse life experiences enrich and broaden Risler’s own innovative resources for preaching, visioning, and leadership.

Working with people does mean navigating conflict. Risler pays close attention to creating an environment where a variety of opinions and viewpoints are welcomed and encouraged. He teaches the group to give value to the imaginative, inventive, and ingenious. Time invested in impractical ideas is not wasted. Often it leads to new perspectives and new opportunities.

For Risler, it has changed the way he leads. He no longer feels the pressure to answer every question and resolve every disagreement. In fact, it enhances the creativity even more, if he does not.

This means he has to let go of a self-perception that he is essential to the ministry leadership of the church. He allows others to step up into opportunities he may have filled in the past. He is attentive to giving credit and affirmation to others when they do so.

Risler is quick to assert that the responsibility for leadership still falls on his desk. Open Source Leadership does not mean no one is in charge. Like Mozilla, someone still has the responsibility for examining and testing the proposed changes. Someone still articulates the central vision and describes its focus. Someone still names the standards and values.

But within those boundaries, there is great encouragement for experimentation and exploration. When people discover their spiritual gifts and focus their passion for ministry, they are invited to initiate ministry.

While Risler acknowledges his ultimate responsibility for the ministry of the church, he notes he also becomes more vulnerable. He has to allow others to critique and change his work. To share his idea of a theme for worship or the priority for programming and step back to invite others to offer their ideas can be hard on the ego. Some suggestions can sound like criticism.

As Risler models a healthy self-differentiation about these creative ideas, he helps others to relax and feel less threatened by the interplay of the team. This leads to trust.

Risler believes that trust is critically essential to the process. Trust is spelled t-i-m-e. His teams build this trust by spending time together in spiritual formation as well as in cultivating relationships. He is quick to celebrate wins when the team works well. He is generous in diffusing credit to the team. He participates as an authentic and genuine person. The team works to eliminate hierarchical relationships. They avoid giving value to people by virtue of a role, position, or title. Each one is valued for their spiritual gifts and interest.

Open Source Leadership means constant change and flux. There are always newer ideas, upgrades, improvements, and advancements. Different people think differently. They have different experiences and different perspectives. As new people flow in and out of a congregation’s experience,

Open Source Leadership helps the congregation’s ministry adapt to the resources and opportunities of the moment.

In the next few columns, Paul Risler will reveal how Open Source Leadership affects the way he preaches and how he develops other leaders.

Tom Hanover is Advertising and Promo Director of MIM ezine. He has served in a variety of pastoral leadership roles for over 30 years, the last seven as a District Superintendent supervising the ministries of more than 100 pastors and churches in southwest Ohio. He has a BA (cum laude) from Taylor University, the MDiv and DMin degrees from United Theological Seminary in Dayton. You can contact Tom at hanover@foothillsdistrict.org

The other day I was on my day off doing what I considered important work in my basement when the church secretary called and told me someone was looking for a book of mine that I hadn’t seen in years but needed it asap because this person was leaving town.

Of course I was annoyed… a bit angry… said a few choice words to the secretary about why this kind of stuff always happens on my day off. Then I began to realize that it is easy to forget that being a pastor (even a youth pastor) is a position both of leadership and of servant hood. Sometimes I do things that no one even recognizes. Often times I am doing things I absolutely do not like doing. But always I should be serving Christ in everything that I do.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)

While serving in my third year of ministry at First United Methodist Church of Toms River, NJ, I wandered through the building and found my way to the Fellowship Hall. In the Hall were a group of ladies from outside of the church setting up for a meeting. I always was entertained by the name of this group. They were called the Modern Muses.

One of them asked me for something. Then someone else asked me for something else. Then a third woman asked for an extension cord. After looking all over the building I told her I could not find one. She began to get a bit irritated and said, “you’re the custodian… you should know where to find an extension cord.” I smiled and looked at her and said, “ma’am, you are right. If I were the custodian I would know where an extension cord was kept. But I am one of the pastors and I just do not have a clue where he keeps them.”

Over the years I have worked with many different types of pastors. There are many who truly exemplify the servant’s heart, but many do not. I know some who absolutely refuse to return phone calls. There are others who complain constantly about the things the church needs of them. Then there are others who will never do anything past what the have to do unless it is something that they are recognized for.

Whether you are a youth minister or a senior pastor of a Mega-Church, leadership has to start with a servant’s heart. If it does not then there is no difference between Corporate America and us.

Ok… now I better get searching for that extension cord before someone else asks for it!

Feel free to contact Scott to agree, disagree, or just pick his brain about youth ministry you can contact him at: rscottmiller1@aol.com Scott would love to hear from you!

R. Scott Miller is the Director of Christian Education and Youth at Milford First United Methodist Church in the suburbs of Cincinnati, OH. In his 17 years of youth ministry, Scott has written and developed much of the youth programming used in his churches. Scott has a B.A. in Radio/TV and Journalism from Morehead State University and an M.A. from Asbury Theological Seminary. Scott is the author of7 Things Christians Don't Do and What To Do Instead by Abingdon Press.

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Author of Why Didn’t You Warn Me? How to Deal with Challenging Group Members

MIM: I’ve really enjoyed reading your book, Why Didn’t You Warn Me? How to Deal with Challenging Group Members. Tell us how you came to write this book.

PAT: Much of the material in this book began as a chapter in my first book, Small Group Bible Studies: How to Lead Them (Standard Publishing, 1999). That chapter was the most popular in the book, so when the book went out of print, I began photocopying that chapter and a couple of others for my book table when I would speak at conferences. This one was always the best seller. Then back in 2006, I got a call from Mike Mack, who had always been a champion of my book, and especially the “Why Didn’t You Warn Me?” chapter. He had just become an editor at Standard and was working on a four-book series of Small Group Help! Guides. He wanted Why Didn’t You Warn Me? as the fourth book in the series and told me I had two months to get it to him!

PAT: It sure is! Especially that year. The deadline coincided with my son’s college graduation, which was to be followed a couple of months later by his wedding. I actually had less than two months to complete the book because of my prior commitments. Fortunately, God knew about my crazy schedule. I had edited and expanded the book a year or so earlier. I had toyed with the idea of self-publishing it, but just couldn’t bring myself to take on all the business details that would entail. So it was sitting there, mocking me, for at least a year before Mike called. But it was almost ready to go. I just needed to put it in the series format. It was exciting to see how God had it all planned out!

Pat: I’m not sure we ever become experts in this, but I’ve been involved with small groups for over 30 years. In that time, I’ve seen it all and have either dealt well with most challenges or learned from my mistakes.

My first small group experiences were as a baby Christian in a singles ministry that operated primarily though small groups. The lay leaders in that group were some of the best I’ve ever seen in terms of managing challenges and bringing even the most difficult people to maturity. I absorbed all I could in those years, and then took those skills into other ministries. I’ve led just about every kind of group except for a men’s group. I started and managed a mom’s ministry in our church for a few years. More recently, I’ve worked with a lot of women who were profoundly abused as children and now have a variety of more serious mental and emotional health issues. I have a heart for the wounded and they seem to gravitate to me. I believe they can grow, mature, and heal when given the proper environment—and so they do.

First, they need to be welcomed into a group and treated like a “normal” person, regardless of the baggage they bring. I’m big on increasing thejoy capacity of members. This is a concept I learned from Jim Wilder, a Christian psychologist who has written about it in The Life Model: Living From the Heart Jesus Gave You. Basically, what he says is that in order to heal from just about any emotional trauma, we need to be able to return to joy from negative emotions. We do this based on our joy capacity, which is supposed to be developed in a child’s first 18 months by good parents. All too often, it isn’t, so the church ends up needing to re-parent wounded people. We increase their joy capacity by simply communicating, “I’m glad to be with you” in an authentic way. Think about the way we usually treat people who are different. We sort of cringe and give off the message, “I’m sorry you’re here.” Simply by changing that subliminal message, letting our eyes and hearts delight in them, we’ll increase their joy and thus their ability to heal. I’ve seen people in my groups heal from this factor alone. When they were finally loved, appreciated, and valued, they began to change before our eyes.

Second, people need to be in a safe environment. As leaders, we can’t allow any member to act out. We need to make the group safe for everyone by dealing effectively with the challenging people.

Third, we need to structure the group for maximum growth. This includes paying attention to the type of study we do—working from the Bible rather than from a good book and working on application rather than theory.

Finally, but equally important, it includes leading from principle. In my book, I list seven principles that need to under gird any small group that I lead. When I keep those principles in mind, I can deal with a little discomfort from challenging people because I know why I’m doing this.

Pat: By far the biggest problem I see is leaders who are unwilling to get a little messy and welcome challenging people into their groups. They want their groups to run well, be fun, and meet their needs. And even if the leader is willing to take on a challenging person, often the group members aren’t. They want to be in a group of people like themselves, and that doesn’t include challenging! I understand this reaction. People are tired, overstressed, and busy. In the little free time they have, they want to be ministered to. But if we all take this approach, who will love the unlovely?

Leaders, perhaps unconsciously, want to look good. They want a group of people they know how to manage. They don’t want to live in the messies, as I call the real lives of challenging people. I don’t blame them. We all want to be successful. But perhaps we need to redefine what success is. Perhaps it’s loving someone to wholeness.

Pat: Frankly, I don’t think it’s being modeled for us. It isn’t being taught or encouraged. Recovery ministries are often “over there” rather than right here in the middle of the church. The people who attend them are branded, labeled—and excluded.

If I’m an average, middle class person in the average, middle class church, I probably haven’t seen real people transformed into the likeness of Jesus. Most of us want instant success. It would be nice if these people could get it together by next Tuesday. Sorry, transformational ministry can take years. Many years and many different forms of ministry.

Pat: I could give you many, but I’m thinking of a single mom I began praying with after church about 10 years ago. Maybe longer. Week after week, she’d wait in my line for prayer. Sometimes for an hour or more because I had several women who came to me every week. We’d sit down and she’d start dumping. Fifteen minutes later she’d take a breath and dump some more. It was clear that I was the only person in her world who would just listen to her and not judge. It was hard to know where to begin. Her lifestyle was out of alignment. Her thinking was out of alignment. Her emotions were all over the place. After a few years of this, I invited her to be part of a group I started for challenging women who didn’t fit in the church’s regular small group ministry. We did that for a long time. Then I began discipling her one on one. When she had grown to a point of stability, we stopped for awhile. And she kept growing. We reconnect periodically. I now consider her a spiritual peer. She prays for me. Effectively. Her faith is solid. She dresses differently. She looks different. Her kids have turned around and are following the Lord. Just because someone took the time to listen, hold her accountable, and love her.

PAT: Begin by praying that God would give you a heart for the challenging and the ability to see His image in them. Ask Him to bring you the one person He wants you to love to wholeness. He won’t give you more than you can handle. My book gives simple, step-by-step tips for dealing with 19 of the most common challenges. My blog atwww.whydidntyouwarnme.com/blog is available with more information and I’m always happy to answer questions on the blog. I’m also available to consult with churches that want to become better at ministering to challenging people.

Pat’s book Why Didn’t You Warn Me? How to Deal with Challenging Group Members (Standard Publishing: 2007) is available from your local Christian bookstore and most online booksellers, or from Pat athttp://whydidntyouwarnme.com/resources/.

DreamBuilders invites our readers to talk back to Pat Sikora by commenting on any of the following questions.

Have you ever had difficulty with a challenging group member? If so, how did you handle it?

Pat said that success is loving someone to wholeness. Do you agree or disagree. Why or why not?

Ministry in Motion has launched a new blog for readers just like you at http://ministryinmotionnet.blogspot.com/. It is a place to ask questions, exchange ideas, and encourage other ministry leaders in our growing network.

by Gene Wood and Daniel Harkavy (ChurchSmart Resources, 2004, 222 pages, ISBN 1-889638-46-3)

This book is really a sequel to Leading Turnaround Churches, first published in 2001. While this work builds on many of the principles of the first book, you are not required to read the first book to benefit from the insights of the second.

Gene Wood is senior pastor of Grace Church in Glendora, California, and author of Leading Turnaround Churches. Daniel Harkavy is founder and president of Ministry Coaching International. Harkavy also founded Building Champions, a coaching and consulting firm for business leaders.

This book interfaces Wood’s experience as a pastor and denominational leader with Harkavy’s experience of coaching leadership in the business world and the ministry. The collaboration provides a rich perspective on ministry leadership with very practical tools and direction.

Some of the material may seem elementary to someone who has studied leadership for an extended time. On the other hand, it is quite valuable to someone who may be starting in ministry. Their work includes very practical step-by-step guidance. In addition, there is sound advice on the issues of developing vision, hiring staff, and recruiting board members.

I found two concepts well worth the price of the book: HPOD and ON time. I have used other terms to describe my own discoveries, but Wood and Haravy have capsulated what was still developing in my own mind.

HPOD stands for High Payoff Disciplines and is contrasted with LPOD – Low Payoff Disciplines. Every ministry leader makes thousands of decisions every day on how to invest his/her time. How well we make those choices – often on the fly – determines how effective our leadership is invested in the ministry. Wood and Harkavy have a tool in their book for tracking how a leader spends his/her time. By reviewing each 15 minute increment of time usage, a leader can assess whether the use of time had a high payoff or a low payoff in light of the vision and goals of the ministry. By delegating or discontinuing low payoff usage of one’s time, the leader can maximize their investment in more rewarding work.

Wood and Harkavy share several examples of how this has radically changed the effectiveness and enthusiasm of several leaders who were feeling burned out and frustrated by the many diverse demands of ministry leadership. This technique would be especially helpful for those for who are constantly challenged by time management. Their illustrations offer insights for creating a healthy balance for one’s life as well as drawing appropriate boundaries.

The second concept I found helpful was the use of ON time. ON is not an acronym, but it contrasts with OFF time (time away from ministry), IN time (time spent with day to day details), and GROWTH time (time invested in leading your ministry). ON time is that time set aside for your personal and professional growth. ON time is spent on reading, working on one’s strategic plan, teaching plan, or coaching plan. ON time is spent on learning, which is scheduled so that you can spend significant blocks of time without the interruptions of the telephone or walk-ins.

Wood and Harkavy have a number of tips and suggestions for creating space in one’s calendar for ON time. It is well worth the investment of the book to learn this discipline.

Wood and Harkavy are easy to read with a number of stories and examples to illustrate their insights. While it is written from the perspective of congregational church experience, their experience is beneficial to a wide variety of ministry settings.

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DBMIM- April 01, 2008