Comments on: The Power of Questions (2 of 3)

By: Resourcefulness (Leadership 501) « Chaotic Ministry

Resourcefulness (Leadership 501) « Chaotic Ministry — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:41:34 +0000

[...] Questions about Staff [...]

By: Sunday Stars for September 7th | Weight Upon the Lord

Sunday Stars for September 7th | Weight Upon the Lord — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 19:16:35 +0000

[...] Power of Questions - There are actually 3 parts to this entry (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). These are questions that anyone on a team or leading a team should be asking to help [...]

By: will

will — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:57:09 +0000

these are such relvant and important questions for the church, especially as most churches do not have an HR department and younger and younger staff are coming into significant roles.

this means less training on the front end and more of a burden on the church to train on the job.

what better way to transfer DNA than to show concern, walk a staff member or servant through the personal development process, offload where necessary and teach them how to leverage their maximum potential.

it is time the church realizes the remarkable value of our young staff and pours into them in every way possible, not forgetting the older folks as well (personally, I’m a tweener…)

By: txmom4

txmom4 — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:14:04 +0000

Thank you Tom! I’ll definitely look into that one!

By: Tom E. Snyder

Tom E. Snyder — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:58:02 +0000

txmom4,

Anne Jackson has a book coming out soon on the problem of burnout. You might want to check it out. It’s called “Mad Church Disease.”

By: txmom4

txmom4 — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:53:20 +0000

And I forgot to tell you, I think those are all great ideas to prevent it from going that far! Have a great week!

By: txmom4

txmom4 — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:29:58 +0000

Thanks for your reply. I actually experienced a situation where burnout occurred and the person ended up resigning. To this day I think it’s a shame that this happened, and continues to happen in ministry.

By: Craig Groeschel

Craig Groeschel — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:00:39 +0000

Txmom4, It depends on the situation. We might encourage the team member to take some time off. It could be that their responsibilities are too broad so we might off-load some of their workload. No matter what, we’ll start working closely with them to help them find more healthy rhythms.

By: txmom4

txmom4 — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:15:20 +0000

Craig, regarding #6, what do you do to help staff members who are obviously burning out?

By: Craig Groeschel

Craig Groeschel — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:59:50 +0000

Caveat, I’m not sure how we are making a strong distinction between staff and volunteers.

If there is a divide, it is probably that staff can generally devote more time to ministry and can be held to a higher level of accountability.

I am certainly not discounting the HUGE role volunteers make toward the Kingdom.

By: Craig Groeschel

Craig Groeschel — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:53:36 +0000

Kemper, You asked what ladies do… A few examples: One leads our whole kids team, several are youth pastors, one is over our finance department.

I don’t think our training is much different for women than men. Some of the women might be able to give you a better perspective on what we do.

By: caveat bettor

caveat bettor — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:46:28 +0000

I have some questions: Is the divide between staff and volunteers helpful? What doors could close to an organization that makes such a strong distinction? Which would the apostle Paul be considered?

By: Kemper

Kemper — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:35:59 +0000

Craig- I was struck by Ques. 2, “What staff member has more to offer than what “she” is currently doing?

What professional roles do women fulfill at LifeChurch.tv outside of traditional church administration or childrens focused ministries? How do you or your leadership team identify and develop women employed by your ministry to maximize their God given talents?

Do you think that God will provide opportunities at LifeChurch.tv for women who consistently demonstrate leadership, accountability, and are Christ driven to serve in a pastor role to maximize their God given talents? Your thoughts please.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:09:11 +0000

There’s also the challenge of keeping fresh eyes to new leaders in development in your church. If things are rocking and rolling well, it’s easy to keep moving with the same list of leaders you had 12 months ago when hundreds of new members have joined the Body and possess key functions likely needed. Plus, the diligence to evaluate who’s serving in a particular way and level but has the capacity and readiness to serve in an entirely different area and scale?

By: Milan Ford

Milan Ford — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:17:38 +0000

Wow. i love this list so much I could barely type in my last post. #7 is a great one.

By: Milan Ford

Milan Ford — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:16:19 +0000

Craig - Love this list.
Especially #&. I really wish more church pastors / and leaders would ask that question of their staff.

Leadership ceilings are a painful reality many shy away from addressing.

By: Anna

Anna — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:44:49 +0000

Sometimes I forget there is so much thought that goes in to making an organization like this run the way it does… I appreciate the time and effort you guys put in to make it a great place to work!

By: Clif McKinley

Clif McKinley — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:43:32 +0000

More great questions. I love the intentionality of Lifechurch. So much of what we do in the church world is reactionary, just try to keep up, you guys really have a handle on staying ahead and that is probably a reason God continues to bless your ministry. Thank you for your wisdom and example Craig.

By: Tim Chambers

Tim Chambers — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 13:20:33 +0000

I love question 3. We are looking to fill a position right now and just yesterday we were asking the question, “who is doing it right now”? We are looking for an All Star, not someone who is content to sit on the bench.

By: Craig Groeschel

Craig Groeschel — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 13:10:37 +0000

Heady, Glad the ?s are helpful!

Bill, Thanks for the info on the conference. Sounds very good!