MIM EZINE, AUGUST 17, 2005

CONTENTS

– Probing Your Ministry Needs

– Login Leadership – Effective Leadership

– Book Review – Christian Wisdom of the Jedi Masters

– Classified Ads

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To read this ezine in its entirety click here

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Probing Your Ministry Needs

Did you know that MIM has a wide-range of subscribers? Though we are based in America, we have subscribers from all over the world and many are hungry for ministry resources. Our subscribers are all denominations and consist of volunteers, vocational pastors, church staff, church leaders and a general Christian audience.

At any point in time we have people serving in children's ministry, women's ministry, men's ministry, single's ministry, recovery ministry, counseling ministry, small group ministry, youth ministry, music/worship ministry, adult ministry and just about every other ministry area you could name. Church sizes range anywhere from twenty people on up to the thousands.

Obviously we can't be all things to all people. We have to stay focused on our main purpose and that purpose is to equip those in ministry and encourage them to equip others to become mature Christ followers. But it helps us to periodically take a pulse from our readers and tap into their needs. So this is that time.

Do you have topics you would like to see MIM cover that are related to church ministry. If so what are they? Send us your wish list. What ministry related resources are you in need of. Sharing this info can help us develop resources to help.

Contact us with your ministry requests and ideas. Contact Us 

Thanks for your input,

Teena Stewart, Editor

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Looking for Columnists & Writers

Ministry in Motion is looking for columnists & writers in the following areas: women's ministry, men's ministry, single's ministry, youth ministry, worship ministry, small group/bible study ministry, and general ministry. We are also open to general church ministry related freelance articles. If you have an idea for a column or would like to share ministry insight or even short ministry tips, we'd love to hear from you. Present payment is promotion only -- no pay but great exposure for you, your ministry, book, or website. Please read our writer's guidelines at http://www.ministryinmotion.net/writers_guidelines_christians.html

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Login Leadership – Effective Leadership

By Tom Hanover

The call came early on a Monday morning. A staff person had abruptly left the church and named several others he blamed for his unhappiness. What can the pastor and key leaders do?

Cathy and I vacationed by visiting some of our country’s historical sites related to the Civil War period. After immersing ourselves in the dynamics of that period, I pondered this question: “Is conflict a consequence of failed leadership?” After reading and hearing about many leaders in that period; I came to some conclusions about leadership. These conclusions apply to church leadership as well; especially for churches facing change and transition.

First, effective leadership will grow out of deep personal convictions. Leaders who have one eye on the polls and one eye on political survival rarely take anyone anywhere worth going. Even very polished images cannot hide the lack of genuine passion for a mission that motivates others beyond themselves. People can quickly determine if a leader is really just protecting his/her position or is passionately committed to a greater goal or purpose.

In the Civil War those most effective in leadership had deep personal convictions greater than their own personal advancement. Literally for many of them, they were ideals worth dying for.

For the Christian leader these deep personal convictions grow out of one’s personal walk with Christ as an individual disciple. A leader is a follower first and a leader second. Leadership becomes an inevitable fruit that grows out of the roots one puts into the soil of a personal relationship with Christ. Without that relationship, there is no spiritual leadership.

Nehemiah is an excellent example. While he was merely a slave, he dedicated himself to devoted discipleship. He prayed fervently for four months about the destroyed city of Jerusalem before he had the opportunity to provide any spiritual leadership. Can you imagine what God was doing in his heart during those four months? What do we pray for as we are discerning God’s call to spiritual leadership?

Spiritual leadership first grows out of a deep wisdom shaped and formed by a personal relationship with Christ. There are no short cuts here, no accelerated classes or fast tracks to the top. It can only come through faithful attentiveness to the daily disciplines of walking with Jesus.

Secondly, effective leadership is committed to a compelling vision. Some leaders fail to lead successfully because they lack a vision. They see their role in a number of different ways. For example, some leaders see their role as a symbol of the unity of the group. This role becomes largely ceremonial, perhaps like the King or Queen of a dominion.

Some leaders see their role as basically an executive manager. Their task is to oversee the machinery of the group life. One recent president commented: “I’m not in to the vision thing.” He was an effective government manager, especially in crises. But he seemed unable to fashion an image of what the future could be for the country.Some leaders fail, not because they lack a vision, but because they don’t communicate it sufficiently. John Kotter, Leading Change, claims that many business leaders fail to communicate their vision for change by a factor of 10 or more. To put it another way, leaders need to communicate the change at least 10 times more than they think is necessary. This is especially true in church leadership where even the most deeply committed volunteers may spend only a handful of hours a week focused on church.

Some leadership fails when they verbally name a vision, but it lacks support from the behavior of the key leadership. Abraham Lincoln had a compelling – even radical – vision for reunification of the country following the war. However, his assassination prevented that from developing. Other government leaders were committed to a different vision and their decisions prevailed after Lincoln’s death. Consequently, it is critical that the coalition of leaders who guides the ministry is also deeply committed to the vision.

Thirdly, effective leadership is willing and prepared to manage conflict. Growth means change. Change usually means conflict. Joel Barker explains that whenever the paradigm changes, everyone goes back to zero and starts all over. Many people are deeply invested in the old paradigm. Others lack the strength and energy to start over again. And still others fear they will not find meaning and purpose in a new paradigm.

But conflict is inevitable. In a healthy environment with effective leadership the collateral damage of conflict is minor and not permanent. Leaders foster helpful communication and invite participation in appropriate decision-making processes. Some people may not support the change, but choose not to stand in the way of the new paradigm.

In unhealthy organizations, change usually leads to fragmented coalitions who attempt to triangle others against those who are blamed for forcing change. It usually means secret meetings and blind copies of emails and late night phone calls to sabotage the changes.

One lady emailed me with several complaints about her pastor. (Let the reader understand that as a District Superintendent in the United Methodist Church, I work on behalf of the Bishop to appoint pastors to churches.) She claimed she represented a significant portion of the congregation. She and her family members were stopping their giving and preparing to leave the church if I didn’t remove the pastor.

I forwarded her email along with my response to the pastor. There is no way we can work together to respond to her concerns if we keep the pastor in the dark. (Please understand these were not allegations that compromised her safety.) The lady was furious with me. Opening channels of communication creates health in an organization, but it does not always reduce the conflict immediately. She made a bigger fuss, but when it came to light, she was the only one who was unhappy. Sadly, she left the church to find some other church to entertain her.

Conflict is inevitable and an effective leader does not avoid these tensions, but learns to use them as opportunities for growth. One of the key ingredients for this kind of leadership is self-differentiation. Next month I’ll talk about self-differentiation of a leader and why Christians of all people have reason to be healthily self-differentiated.

Tom Hanover has served in a variety of pastoral leadership roles for over 30 years, the last four 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 . Contact Tom at thanover@pastors-study.com

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Book Review – Christian Wisdom of the Jedi Masters

By Dick Staub, Jossey-Bass, 2005, 0787978949, 310 pages

Reviewed by Teena M. Stewart

Award-winning broadcaster, writer, and speaker Dick Staub taps into the hot Star Wars trend. Star Wars is a myth, says Straub, and a myth is a story that has transcendent and eternal qualities and presents a larger picture. When Staub refers to Christianity as a myth, the reader must understand that Staub is not claiming the Christian story is a fable, but that it has the transcendent and eternal qualities of a myth. In discovering the myth in which we find ourselves, we find our place in the story, which is true of Luke Skywalker, one of the main characters in the Start Wars legacy.

Staub’s book was born from a discussion with a young man who wished to go deeper in his spiritual life but did not know how. Staub saw the opportunity to tie in the Star Wars theme into helping this young man grasp the deeper “myth” (transcending and eternal story) of Christianity. Staub likens the character of Yoda (the sage Jedi master and adviser) to seasoned Christians and laments that as the story and heritage of the Christian myth should be passed from one generation to the next, many times it isn’t due to a lack of Yodas to pass the story on. It only takes one generation for the myth to die.

Where George Lucas in his Star Wars epic labeled the mysterious spiritual power in the universe, the Force, Staub states that Christians know that above and beyond the forces of light and darkness is a Lord over all the Force. We, then, are Jedi Christians, who seek not only to know and understand the Force, but also the Lord of the Force, working to serve him. But it isn’t easy. The powers of the dark side can easily overtake us if we do not properly prepare ourselves. From this introduction Staub leads us on a journey to help us recover the lost sayings of the Jedi (all this is based on Biblical teaching.)

Chapters are short and intriguing. Staub does an amazing job pulling quotes from the Star Wars films and putting them alongside of parallel thoughts from the scriptures. The book is divided into five segments which include: seeking, knowing, fighting, and serving. The strength of the book is its fresh look at scripture and strong emphasis on the Word’s importance as a source of guidance and spiritual nurture. The down side of the book is that it is best received by those familiar with Star Wars, but of course, that is exactly the audience Staub intends.

This book might be seen as a gimmick by some. It taps into the current popularity of Star Wars and can be used as a bridge building tool to reach young people, and other Star Wars enthusiasts. It could be easily used by youth group leaders for this purpose. Even if you are not a Star Wars enthusiast, the book still has plenty of merit. It will encourage you to stay firm in your commitment to Christ and to continue to prepare yourselves to become full-fledged Jedi warriors who serve the Lord of the Force.

Order Christian Wisdom of the Jedi

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