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Category: Leadership (Page 5 of 19)

The Entrepreneurial Challenge

May 14, 2024 / / 1 Comment

By definition and entrepreneur is someone who starts things. And starters are essential to keeping a society growing! Whether it’s a new business, church, school, or just about any other new thing you can imagine without the starter types we’d be stuck in a rut!

But there’s a problem that happens in these start up scenarios that often causes them to fail. And if we’re honest with ourselves, it in a way is the starter’s fault. Many starters can’t make the transition to the roles needed to keep an organization or business sustaining .

You see it takes a special breed of individual to start something. But often the kind of person who starts something isn’t the same skills needed to keep it going.

Another term for this is the founder’s trap. The person who founded the organization keeps functioning like the starter when the organization is well beyond the founding stages.

You see when a new business or even nonprofit is started, the founder plays a lot of roles. Pretty much the founder does everything!

I remember when I started a church. I was the janitor, set up guy, tear down guy. I changed the lightbulbs and made sure the bathrooms were fully stocked. I vacuumed the carpets. I sometimes even pulled the trailer. I did the powerpoint set up and picked the songs we’d sing. I had my hand in just about every part of the church.

Now this is not to say no one was there to help but as the founder or starter I was kind of expected to be in all the things of the church. And that can’t last forever. The longer I let myself stay in the founder or starter seat, the harder it was to get out of that chair. The more things I did, the more things were expected of me. The starter needs to figure out a way to transition from the everything chair to the leadership chair and quickly give some authority away.

Entrepreneurs are wonderful people! I have some of those entrepreneurial tendencies to this day. I love to get a new thing going. But what I’ve learned, with some age and experience, is to give things away sooner rather than later.

Now here’s a little piece of experiential wisdom. The person you give it to likely won’t do it exactly the same way you do! And you have to be ok with that. If there’s a system, then they have to stay within the system. But if you give them the task of making it their own, you have to be willing to give it up!

I get asked questions a lot about things I have no control over anymore. I have given things to other people trusting that they will do the job to the standards we have set up. Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don’t. When they do it is applauded and I know very little about it. When things don’t stay within the framework of our structure or move toward the targets we have set up, then things go off the rails quickly and I have to get involved in areas I don’t want to touch anymore!

If you’re a starter kind of person, then find people you can trust and hand things over to them. Hand over tasks to people who can only handle tasks. But to those people who’ve proven themselves responsible, give away the authority that is need to get the job done. The more authority you can give away, the more work gets done and the more effective and efficient the organization becomes.

Truth

May 10, 2024 / / 0 Comments

I was taught as a child that telling the truth was important. As a matter of fact, as I grew up, telling the truth became a sign of who you are as a person. Perhaps another post for another day will be on integrity and hypocrisy, but for now we’ll stick with something that should be simple – tell the truth.

To get started we probably should make sure we’re all on the same page. There is a ton of misinformation swirling around about what truth even is. So what is truth? According to the dictionary truth is defined as the property of being in accord with fact.

Did you get that? For truth to be truth, it has to be true and based on fact. Unfortunately, we live in a day and age when the common understanding of truth is that which is true to me. But that my friends is not truth. Truth is not relative to your circumstances. Truth doesn’t change just because you don’t like or you don’t agree with it. You can’t erase truth or cancel it just because it hurts your feelings!

Think of the truth of gravity. Say one day you don’t like the idea of gravity. You think it is restrictive and oppressive to have to live your life with your feet planted on the ground. Some people seem to be able to defy gravity because they can jump higher or longer than you. It’s just not fair and it makes you feel bad about yourself. So you one day decide you no longer believe gravity to be truth.

It doesn’t work that way! Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean you can get rid of it. Erasing gravity from a text book doesn’t mean it’s not real! Getting rid of a person or place or historical period because it infringes on your personal beliefs and happiness quotient is like trying to erase gravity just because you don’t like it. Can’t do that and you know it.

Ok so what do you do when you don’t like what’s going on around you? There are really only two options. You can suck it up buttercup and deal with the harsh realities that sometimes life sucks and try to do something positive with it. Or you can mope around retelling your particular version of truth to make yourself feel better. Neither will feel great in the moment but one will make you stronger on the other side. And if you need a hint, burying the truth won’t make you stronger. It will just let you live in denial a little longer – and no I don’t mean the river in Africa!

Look sometimes the truth hurts. It hurts to tell. It hurts to hear. And often it hurts to have it applied to you. But it’s the truth, which means it’s what really is or has happened! You can’t change that any more than you can change gravity.

I’m not a fan of liars. Actually, lying is one thing I just can’t stand. If you’re on my staff and I catch you lying, you won’t be there long. My kids know that I’d rather them tell me the hard truth than me catch them in a lie. I’ve walked away from friendships with people who just can’t tell the truth.

So be a truth teller. Be honest. Even if you don’t like the message or what it means could/should happen to you – the truth is the truth and your raw emotions don’t have the right to spin a truth to make your feel better.

A Day Off

May 6, 2024 / / 1 Comment

We love our weekends don’t we! You do the whole 9-5 thing and by the time the weekend hits, you’re just ready to catch up on the lawn, run the kids where they need for practice or game time, or just take it slow. Many of us will spend some extra time sleeping in on these weekend days.

I’m not necessarily that guy however. I don’t care for those full days of nothing to do. I’m kind of keep on moving kind of guy. I like a good project to keep me busy. Whether it’s a remodeling job or some lawn work or tending the garden, I’m a fan of filling my day with some kind of activity.

As many know, my full time gig is to pastor a church. With that comes a bit of a different schedule. My Sundays are kind of go time. And there are often Saturdays mixed in when I have things that just have to be done. So what about that weekend? Trust me this is not a complaint by any means.

One thing that’s kind of thrown at me from time to time is the idea of sabbath. For those who are not familiar with the term, Sabbath is a day of rest. It was taught in the Bible and was grasped by several cultures around the world as part of their rhythm of life.

But the sabbath probably isn’t what we all think it to be. There are likely tons of things written on the formal ways to observe the sabbath. There were restrictions on how many steps you could take in a day or what you could cook or buy and many other things to be honest. But they all presupposed one thing…working.

You see many will go all the way back to the book of Genesis when God created the heavens and earth and then rested on the 7th day as evidence that we need to take it easy and rest. But when did that day of rest happen? On the 7th day. After he had worked 6 days.

As a matter of fact, the way the sabbath was taught in ancient Jewish culture was in just that way. You were to take your sabbath rest after doing 6 full days of work. I know many people who will work some of those 60 hour weeks for a stretch and need some down time. I would agree that this is important! But if you’re not working 6 days then the sabbath isn’t what we’re after technically.

Look I’m not sayin the sabbath is bad or your five day week packing 60 hours isn’t hard work. I’m just saying that the details behind the sabbath presumed a 6 day work week. I don’t know if they tracked hours in ancient cultures like we do. I don’t know if they touted their long work week back then? Not sure that was the point. I think they worked until the job was done then they moved on. When it was time to stop to rest, well they stopped to rest. It was pretty much that simple.

Maybe we could try a little game in the weeks ahead. Work when you’re supposed to be working. I mean really give it your all. No social. No texting the friend for the weekend plans. No side gig on work time. No searching recipes or home reno designs on Pinterest. Just work. All in while you’re there.

Then when you get home, turn it off! Don’t handle work things on home time. When you’re with the family, be with the family. I’ve learned that it’s easy to allow a little work to creep in here and a little there until we’re pretty much working from home constantly.

I don’t think that a sabbath will solve the problem. I personally think we need to get a better handle on the way and time and locations of our work. I think we need to reestablish healthy rhythms and we’ll find mini sabbaths all through our day.

So find your pause button. Hit it from time to time. Leave your work at work and your home at home. I bet you’ll be able to find that day off or two already nestled in your current week you just had it spread out over a 7 day span of time.

Pie Slinging Problems

April 24, 2024 / / 1 Comment

The tendency, when we face a problem, is to look outside of us for the problem and inside for the solution. We do it all the time actually. It’s the blame game. Something goes wrong and it’s generally someone, or something, else’s fault.

You get to work late, so it’s traffic’s fault. You oversleep. It surely has to be that your alarm didn’t even go off. You can’t stick to a diet. Well it must be that the other people in your house don’t diet the same way you do so you give in just to make them feel better.

This is not a healthy approach to problem solving and it stems from a significant internal issue. There is a better and healthier way to look at things. The problem generally is inside of us while the solution is outside of us.

When we identify the problem as being someone else’s fault, we tend to think we are our own right answer. Going to be late for work? Instead of getting up a little earlier, which often means going to bed a little earlier, we drive a little faster. When the problem is cast onto someone else then the solution is sought by deeper resolve or greater effort.

But what happens if we flip the script on this? What happens when we admit our fault in the problem? Instead of throwing the pie of blame at someone else, we belly up to the table and eat the pie we baked with our own actions.

I unfortunately see this in my life as a pastor as well. It actually happens more often than I’d like to admit. We feel a little dry in our spiritual life. We aren’t getting anything out of church. We feel like the music is meh at best. We don’t like that style or the way he dresses. We don’t like the preaching style or the way she confronted me about that issue (even though I know I’m wrong).

Whatever it is, we all too often react the same way. We cast blame on the other party and leave. We feel like the worship isn’t what we want, so we leave for greener pastures elsewhere. Or we walk away because they are obviously the problem.

The issue is that problem will follow us. The issue is we’re doing it for the wrong reason, with the wrong heart. Maybe it’s not the worship that’s dry? Maybe it’s that our heart isn’t in the right place! Maybe it’s not that we were offended by the way we were called out for something? Maybe it’s that we actually feel guilty. And instead of repenting of these things, it’s easier to just turn and walk away.

But walking away from our brokenness won’t fix it. Blaming someone else for something that really is our problem, won’t make the problem go away. It might delay its effects. It might elongate the time between the problem and the explosion in our lives. But it won’t make it go away.

Isaiah really drives this home in his letter in the Bible. Look some don’t like the Bible because it’s all churchy, whatever that really means. But the Bible is massively practical. Even if you’re not a religious person, I’m sure you can get something very practical out of the things found in the Bible.

Isaiah walks through the life of Israel. He talks about their problems and the many issues they’ve faced in life. Then around chapter 43-44 he starts to show how it’s not that God is the problem. It’s that their heart is the problem. They were offering sacrifices but didn’t really care about them. They were showing up for worship and getting nothing out of it. They were there but not really present.

They were going through the motions! And so do we at times.

Isaiah’s answer…repent and come back. If you’ve run from the problems in life, blaming everyone along the way, then it’s time to stop running. It’s time to turn around, repent/apologize and make amends. It’s time to claim your piece in the pie so you can healthily move on.

If you’re a pie slinger, then you’re really missing out. Some of this pie might be a little bitter, but I can promise you that if you take time to claim your piece of the pie your relationships will be stronger and your life will actually be more fulfilling.

An Automated Life

April 12, 2024 / / 0 Comments

One thing that is becoming really popular that I’m not sure I’m totally on board with yet is the whole automated lifestyle. I definitely get the convenience factor! But there are some things that are best left to a human. Like driving, especially on the open road! 

I was in Phoenix not too long ago for a conference. We stayed a little farther away from the conference venue putting us in the Tempe area. The hotel was nestled right in the midst of the hustle and bustle of college life.

While walking down the sidewalk on our way to dinner, we were passed by one of those Waymo cars. If you’re not familiar, it’s a self driving car. It’s covered in cameras just about everywhere. It’s honestly pretty ugly, but that’s not the point.

It’s a self driving car! The cameras keep it from running over pedestrians. The mapping system gets you where you need to go with accuracy. But there’s no one in the driver’s seat! That bothers me. Like a lot!

While I’m not a huge fan of automated cars driving through cities or down freeways, I do think there are some things that can be automated to make life a little easier. I like those learning thermostats and automatic lights that you can control through an app. Those are especially cool when someone is watching your house and you decide to have a little fun by blinking lights at them. Really not nice but very funny!

There is a great convenience in the automated world that can be super helpful! I use out of office responders when I’m going to be away from tech for a while. I use template emails to respond to mass email lists. There are some great benefits when using automation, which got me thinking…

Can I automate other parts of my life? The parts that are easy to miss or even skip!

It isn’t really the same as a self driving car or learning thermostat but the principle is similar. What actions can I predetermine to prevent me from dropping the ball later?

A quick example is something my parents taught me growing up. Actually many parents do this! Before going to bed at night, we had to set our clothes out for the next day. This prevented a couple of problems. We weren’t rushing around in the morning. We were guaranteed to have clothes that matched (more of a problem for boys than girls). And the clothes were sure to be school appropriate.

I still do this to this day. I set my clothes out the night before so I can just get up and go in the morning. When I wake up at 4am to get ready for the gym, I don’t want to have to fumble around getting clothes out or forget a change of clothes for work. So I pack a duffle with my clothes for the day and set out gym clothes. Makes life way easier!

You can do this for your meals as well. You can’t automate them unless you do one of those order by mail things, but you can predetermine and prepare ahead of time. If you’re doing a healthy eating kick, you can precook your meals and package them in containers in your fridge making it a simple grab and go in the morning when you leave. I have friends that do freezer meal prep stuff where 3 or 4 of them get together and make a bunch of casseroles and then separate it out into containers to be put in the freezer. Bam automated healthy eating.

The point here is to find what areas in your life you can automate or predetermine. The more of your life you can predetermine, the less likely you’ll be to react in a moment where clarity is lacking. I guess a semi-automated life isn’t all that bad after all!

Decisions

April 11, 2024 / / 0 Comments

We all make them. Pretty much every moment of every day is filled with decisions. Some of us love to make decisions while others have a really hard time making them. But there are some rules when it comes to decision making that might be helpful.

To get things started I want to let you peek into the window of my life. I make decisions all the time. These decisions are mine but at times they are decisions made for others as well.

I decide what time to get up in the morning. I decide what foods I’m going to eat. I decide to get my clothes ready the night before so I don’t get tempted to skip going to the gym. I decide how late I’m going to stay at work and I decide whether or not I’m going to take work home.

Every single one of these decisions are very intentional which means there comes a time when I really don’t want to be making decisions. There are some times in life when I just need a break from making decisions.

We often have a conversation at home about dinner. What do you want for dinner? It’s a question I get asked frequently. My wife is a planner. She plans her day and our meals and many other things! But when I am asked what I want for dinner next Tuesday, tomorrow night or even tonight I generally am zero help. This is in no way a knock on my wife! I love the fact that there’s always something that’s planned for dinner! I just don’t like to make that decision. By the time I get home at night I really don’t want to make another decision. I make decisions all day that impact other people so letting someone else plan my dinner is a welcomed relief! If she plans it, I’ll gladly help make it. I just don’t really care what the meal theme is! And if I’m being totally honest, if I was in charge it would be burgers or steak pretty much on the nightly.

Everything we do is based off of a decision we make. But there’s a rule I follow when it comes to decision making. Ok there are a couple. The first one is pretty simple.

Make your decision then move on it. Don’t second guess it until you have the perspective necessary to evaluate it objectively. There’s a lot there, so here’s a quick unpacking.

So often I see people make decisions and immediately wonder if it was the right decision. They decide what to do and before they can even start moving there is a sense of guilt, confusion, fear and anxiety that overwhelm. It’s almost life stopping.

There’s a line that’s been attributed to a church guy named Martin Luther. The line goes like this If you’re going to sin, sin boldly. The idea is to just go for it. I mean when it comes to decision making, just decide then take action. Stop lallygagging around and dragging your feet. Be confident in the decision you made and take the necessary action to pull it off.

Never make a permanent decision based on a temporary emotion.

This is a big one that I see happen far too often. It’s easy to let the emotion of a moment, generally one of those heated moments filled with anger and hurt, to get in the way of a sensible approach to life.

Someone says something that we aren’t sure we like, so we blast them on social media, disown them as a friend, leave and never look back. We don’t like how things are going at work so we walk into the boss’s office and quit. Or in today’s climate we just don’t show up the next day. We hear someone say something that we feel is edgy or controversial and instead of having an honest conversation about it, we just break the friendship and walk away. We cancel them from our lives and act as if they never existed.

When we lead from our emotions we often open the door for some nasty storms to follow us. And if we’re honest, in the end those decisions have left us in a bit of a vulnerable situation.

So don’t make a decision that can alter your life when you’re in the heat of a moment. Never make a permanent decision in the heat of anger or the dread of fear. Don’t say yes to the guy just because you’re in a moment of desperation for someone and I guess he’ll do because he’s here. Permanent decisions made based on temporary emotions generally don’t work in the long run.

Decisions are critical to life. We have to make them but we have to be very careful that we’re not making rash decisions out of an emotionally turbulent moment.

Mental health is Health 

April 9, 2024 / / 1 Comment

One of the most challenging things in this world is asking for help. Especially if you’re a type A kind of personality. We like to do things our own way and blaze our trail. But sometimes there are situations in life when you just need to ask for help. You know one of those phone a friend kind of moments. 

Ok so let’s start here by assuring you I’m good! This post is a response to a situation I encountered recently where I was the helper not the one being helped. So please don’t get all weird on me. What follows is pretty important and serious stuff.

I’m not going to give any details here because it’s just not appropriate. What I can tell you is your mental health is your health. There was a time when “getting help” or “seeing a counselor” was seen as almost a sign of weakness. But in the past couple of years that has completely flipped. Now it seems like everyone sees a counselor or therapist almost making it seem like a popularity contest. 

But I want to assure you that it is not a contest, your mental health is your health. Getting help for a broken arm or blown appendix or mental stress isn’t weakness! We wouldn’t look down on someone who legit broke a limb if we saw them at the doctor. And on the other side of the coin, we don’t just go hang at the doctor’s office until something really wrong pops up. Health is health whether it’s in your arm, stomach or mind. 

One of my roles in life is that of chaplain for our local sheriff’s office. We see a ton of things in this role! And I never get a call unless it’s the worst day in someone’s life. We get to sit with a family at the tragic loss of a loved one. We go with, or in place of, a deputy to notify a family that their loved one has died. We’re also there for the officers who see some pretty tragic and awful things! 

We’re really there to listen and provide some form of support. It’s honestly what I do as a pastor but in this case it’s for the entire community. I wear a uniform that lets people know I’m with the Sheriff’s office. It’s a volunteer gig so it’s really an extension of the ministry I do at church.

Back to the mental health idea. It’s real! Depression is very real. Our jobs or relationships can cause our minds to take us places we’d never go on our own. The scenarios in which we find ourselves can play tricks on our brains forcing us to see what’s not there and carry a burden that isn’t even ours to carry. 

I’ve seen the aftermath of unchecked depression. I’ve seen the heartbreak left in its wake. I’ve watched as families have to try to recover after a husband or father takes his own life because things just seem too hard. I’ve seen children reeling in pain when their mom thought the only way out was to end her life. Mental Health is your health!

Friends take care of yourself and one another. The long and short of this post is to let you know there’s nothing wrong with getting help. Sometimes just talking through a challenging situation is enough to clear your head and let you move on. Other times you need a longer term relationship with a counselor. And there might even be a time when some form of medication is needed to help take the edge off of the stabbing pain depression causes in your brain.

Whatever the scenario, your pain is yours. Don’t compare it to someone else. Don’t just get over it. Find someone to talk to. Someone who will listen. Someone who can be an honest and balanced source of feedback.

When I enter a home to share the kind of news I share, I spend most of my time sitting silently. When the news is shared, the next thing I do is sit quietly and listen as the survivors go through layers of emotion. There’s nothing magic about it. It’s the simple process of unloading a burden and letting someone else listen.

Your mental health is your health. If you’re battling the demons of depression and anxiety, please stop trying to fight it alone. Look for someone who can sit and listen. Talk through it with someone who will care for you. There are tons of places that have qualified people to provide care for you. Your mental health is your health.

What’s It Gonna Take?

April 3, 2024 / / 0 Comments

As I get older I start to think about the world differently. Some of you are chuckling at that statement. A handful of you are likely rolling your eyes saying what do you mean start to get older you’re already old! While others of you are thinking, just wait til he is my age and then he’ll really start to think about life! Either way this isn’t really about my age but about life perspective.

You see your maturity and perspective is not determined by your age. In life you’ll likely meet the 50 year old who acts like they’re 18. Then turn the corner to find the 13 year old who seems to have their life together far more than most 60 year olds. Trust me I’ve seen both!

The reason here is about perspective. It’s about the things in life that kind of sink into the noggin a bit and make you pause, even if for only a few minutes.

I think much of our lives can be summarized by the motto taken for granted. Really think about the things you do and say and even believe. How much of it do you really give a second thought? And how much is kind of second nature?

You get up in the morning shower, get dressed, and make your coffee. You walk your dog and get your morning chores finished before leaving for work. How much of that did you just do on autopilot? But what if the power is out? Yeah you’ll quickly think about that morning coffee and shower a little differently.

Maybe you walk on a treadmill or jog around your neighborhood or even lift weights. How much of that do you actually think about? Probably not much. When we do something enough times, we just kind of go into autopilot and don’t give life much thought. But add in a small injury and every move gives you pause.

Life can be like that sometimes. We need to have the regular flow of our lives interrupted in order to really see things, even the things right in front of us.

So the question we ask today is What’s it going to take? What’s it going to take to make you take your health seriously? For me it was a ridiculously high cholesterol reading. What’s it going to take to make you adjust your workouts to something more in line with your fitness goals? For me it was a dislocated shoulder. What’s it going to take for you to take your finances seriously? What about your marriage and parenting? Or what about your faith?

The more years I have behind me in this life, the more I realize I’ve probably taken a few things for granted. There have been some moments I needed that proverbial wake up call to shake the cobwebs loose so I can see just how important things are in life. What’s it going to take for you? Don’t wait til you get smacked upside the head with one of those 2x4s of life. Slow down and take seriously the things in your life. You won’t regret it. I can guarantee this one.

An 8 In A World of 9s.

March 20, 2024 / / 1 Comment

Ok so the title here might seem a tad weird. If you don’t know things about personality profiles and especially the enneagram, then this title won’t make sense. Here’s a quick 30,000 foot view of what these numbers are about.

The enneagram system has broken a personality into nine different types. Each of these types means something different. There are types ranging from reformer, to achiever, to challenger and peacemaker.

The personality type associated with the number nine is the peacemaker. This person is fairly easy going, receptive, agreeable, reassuring, and many other things like these. I am not a nine.

This doesn’t mean that I can’t be agreeable. It just means that gaining consensus isn’t the most important thing to me. I’m an eight, which is the challenger. This means that I tend to challenge the status quo. I am willing to try to new things and tackle obstacles without a fully thought out plan.

Now to make matters a tad more interesting, I also have tendencies toward the number three which is the achiever. I get things done. I have a tendency to like to succeed and win while doing it. This combination of a 3 and an 8 has been so lovingly called the bull in the china shop.

Really and truly this person, aka me, is the kind of person who sees something that needs done and makes sure it gets done. Sometimes we get things done with the help of others. Sometimes we do it in spite of others. Sometimes we get things done by plowing over others.

I’m not defending this by any means! I’m just telling you how it often plays out for me.

You see the problem with being an eight/three kind of person is the world isn’t really full of this kind of personality. There are definitely some people out there like me, but if I’m being honest I’m very glad we’re not the majority!

I know this is who I am which is why I surround myself with the people I generally surround myself with people who are not 8/3 kind of people. I generally will find nines, lots and lots of nines, to help me out. I even tend to hire people who are nines. The other personality numbers are important for sure but something I feel the need for in my circle is to surround myself with nines – peacemakers.

Now personally profiling is something that I find super interesting! It helps me know how to talk to someone and how they respond to leadership. It helps get people involved and keep them moving.

Knowing your personality helps you see how you respond when stress hits or when life gets upside-down. For me, and 8/3 kind of person who acts like a bull in a china shop, when stress bombards me I tend to double down and push harder. I can get a little edgy and sometimes a bit hard to be around.

Again, this is not an excuse! I know this about myself which is why I try to curb this part of me. Some days I’m way better at this than others.

Why do I share this?

Being self aware is a tremendous character trait to possess. If you’re not self aware, you can steam roll people and not know it. You can blow up and have no idea why. I’m not perfect at this by any means. That’s not the point here. I am however working on this part of my character.

The more I know me, the more likely I am to be able to curb the outbursts. It’s like Bruce Banner from the Marvel world. Banner is the one that becomes the Hulk, the big green monster. When he becomes more self aware he can stay out of situations that cause him to get angry, thus becoming the green monster with unimaginable strength.

When we can harness our strengths and tame our weaknesses we can become a ton more effective in life and leadership. So what are you? An 8? Maybe a 4? You might even be one of those 9s I was referring to in this post. Whatever you are know yourself and how you react in stress situations, and you’ll be surprised what you can accomplish and how much better life can be for those around you!

Collaboration

March 13, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Every week I try to pick a word that sums up something I’m working on or thinking about in my professional or personal life. This week I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of collaboration. A simple definition is the action of working together with someone to accomplish a task or product.

Unfortunately, collaboration isn’t always an easy task. We tend to like things our way. Especially those of us who are strong type A personalities and like to drive things forward, it’s hard to slow down to collaborate with others. Equally, there are some who feel they have something to prove. They want to make a name for themselves. They think their way is the best way and anyone who doesn’t do things their way isn’t worthy to be part of any collaborative efforts.

It’s so very unfortunate that collaborative efforts are lacking in so many industries. Whether we feel someone is always out to steal our stuff or like we have something to hide or to prove, thwarting collaboration is detrimental in so many areas.

As a pastor I see this far too often. Churches don’t collaborate on ministry related matters. Three churches in a given area each have a pastor and each have their own ministry and volunteer staff. While this is great, why can’t they work together? Can they share a single staff person among 3 congregations? Can one ministry be replicated in another location to maximize all the time and planning efforts it took?

So often we hide our gems and don’t let anyone see them or use them. We keep our staff close to the vest so no one takes them from us. We are afraid to do ministry in combined settings because we’re afraid the members of one church will like the other church better and we might end up losing them.

I’m sorry but this is kind of ridiculous and purely selfish. To think that I’m the only one who can do a certain thing or that the people at the church I serve can’t get served better by someone else is ludicrous. I don’t chase people. If someone doesn’t feel this is the right place to connect, then I’ll help you find a place that better suits you.

Collaboration in ministry should be the normal way of doing life, but it’s become the thing so many run away from at all costs. Let’s put our heads together and we might actually learn something!

Churches that are thriving can help churches that are declining. Declining churches can help thriving churches understand the dynamics of getting everyone moving in the same direction. We can all learn from one another if we just sideline our prideful motives and lean into the strengths of others.

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