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10 Things Staff Need (from their senior leader)

I wrote this article years ago and have held off posting it because as a staff person, I didn’t want a particular pastor or church to see this and to try and “read between the lines.” Most of this are lessons I have learned as serving as a senior pastor and the mistakes I have made as a senior leader.  Having served in most typical church positions (excluding music) and as an executive director, these are lessons from various churches, various positions, various regions of the country. That being said, now the article.

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Leading a staff is never easy. There are various personalities that sometimes need a little extra effort to “get along.” Others click very well at the exclusion of the rest of the staff. Throw in a church that is filled with differing expectations, vision conflict, personal drama, life circumstances, and you have a storm off the starboard bow. All of these things are compounded the larger the church and the larger the staff grows.

There is also behind the scenes, a very real enemy who seeks to “steal, kill, and destroy.” It is the Enemy’s goal to stop the gospel from going out, and to keep the church void of any genuine work. At the helm of all these complications is the pastor whose job is to navigate through these treacherous waters. Often times in all the squalls of life we allow ourselves to become too focused on the immediate and lose sight of the big picture. The following is a quick reference guide to what staff need from their pastor. They are simple ideas, but if ignored the pastor will run the ship right into the rocks.

1. Information

Plan to have a regular time where you convey information that you know as pastor that the staff may not be aware of. You sit in on meetings and are briefed on topics the general congregation is not aware of. The staff should never find out information alongside the rest of the church, deacons, or other volunteer leadership. If you cannot trust the staff to use discretion with information then you need to address the issue with the vocal/informative staff person, not shut down all information to the whole staff. There are few things more demoralizing to staff than for them to find out information behind literally the entire church. You don’t like to get blindsided or surprised, so don’t do it to your staff.

Don’t expect them to support something if they are the last to know. They need time to think about the topic and see how they can support it in their given areas. By them receiving this information with everyone else, you are indicating to them that at a minimum you don’t need (or want) their support, and worse case don’t need (or want) any expertise, advice, prayer, etc.  they may offer on the topic. It doesn’t slow the process down to drop back and explain things to your staff.

2. Clear Direction

If you have a direction that you would like for the staff to go toward, then take the time to make that very clear (even put it in writing; e-mails, texts, notes, etc.) The best way to do this is to have a designated time when you meet face-to-face (or Zoom) and talk about specific topics.

A very helpful first step is a job description and yearly evaluations. Motivated staff want to know that they are working toward a common goal and direction. They hate having to backtrack to go in another direction. Staff with limited budgets, hate having to constantly change direction because it wastes those limited resources. Don’t waste their time and energy because you want them to go in one direction but have not taken the time to make it clear to them. Don’t assume that they can read your thoughts, or what you assume they should understand from your body language.

3. Genuine Affirmation and Respect

When you affirm them in the public setting show genuine respect. You are not showing someone respect when you constantly call them by the wrong name, or haven’t taken the time to learn their kid’s names. Avoid irrelevant platitudes like “she’s so good with the kids.” Instead, give recent real life examples of how the staff person is doing a good job. If you don’t respect your staff, they won’t respect you. This respect also overflows into meetings, and general office settings. Professional courtesy goes a long way toward guarding against frustrations and anger among staff.

4. Honor Boundaries

Each staff person was hired to cover a specific set of job responsibilities and you should assume that they take that ministry very seriously. While working against developing silos (click here for an article on this topics) senior leadership should recognize and honor how there are boundaries in specific areas within the church. When changes are made in one area of the church, be aware that those changes, more than likely, will affect other areas of the church (click here to read an article on how systems affect each other).

Boundaries can also mean days off, personal time, or even asking them to do things for you personally that are not directly related to their ministry positions. If they were hired as a full time staff person then that means those responsibilities on the job description would take the full amount of time. In other words, don’t keep adding things to their job responsibilities that will affect their time at home, weekday evenings, etc. Yes, there will be times when staff need to help the team do things that were not on the job description, but it should not be a constant expectation.

5. Give Staff What They Need To Do Their Job

Often times this takes the form of a budget. Work to see that they have what they need to lead the ministry that they have been hired to do. It is with in the pastor’s position to guide and direct various committees to go in various directions. Because you have taken the time to talk with your staff and understand the direction they are leading their various departments then you have accurate information to be able to see they get what they need.

If they are constantly requesting more funds, donations, volunteers, etc. and they feel you are doing nothing, then they will feel frustrated. It will feel like the staff person is drowning and you are just standing there watching, making no effort to help.

6. Have Their Back

Staff members should never doubt that the pastor supports them, what they are doing, and gives that support vocally and publicly. Work out differences privately, but when the staff try new things get behind them and push (hard). If you want to have a high rotation of staff, then keep throwing them under the bus or stepping back away from them when things go “sideways.”

If they ask you to use your pulpit to support them, then see how it could be blended into a sermon or some other way to emphasize it. Remember that innovation, change, and steps forward come at the price of trying things that don’t work. If you don’t support them in those times of mistakes, then they will eventually quit trying and do what they know is “safe.” When staff begin to all do what has always been done, the way it has always been done, then there will be the eventual plateau and decline. But before you blame the staff, take a hard look in the mirror.

7. Make the Hard Calls

The pastor (or senior leader) holds the position to lead and make the hard calls. This often involves strong personalities, spiritually immature, and selfish people. Don’t let these sinful people run rough shod over your staff. If a hard decision needs to be made, make it. Don’t ignore it, wait forever to make a decision, or avoid it. Often the staff can’t move forward until you make a decision — just realize that the senior pastor holds his position because hard calls need to be made. If you don’t make these calls it can be detrimental to your staff moving their specific areas forward. Yes, you may make the wrong call, but that’s ok because your staff and leadership will have your back (see#6) because you have supported them, and they know why you are making the call the way you did (see #1). No one expects senior leadership to make the right call 100% of the time, but if you wait too long to make calls then they are wrong 100% of the time.

8. Get to Know Their Ministry

As a pastor, if you have never served as a staff person or in a specific area (children, youth, senior adults, etc.) then take the time to see what the ministry is like and what is involved to carry it out. You should never have to ask “why do you need a budget increase?” or “why are are you not able to add this new responsibility to your weekly work schedule?” You should know (see #2 & 5). The church has chosen to hire a specific staff person to do a specific job.

This usually involves a designated (or expected/required) amount of hours and responsibilities. Help to guard their plate by not allowing others (or yourself) to continuously add responsibilities to staff. All positions have busy (i.e. stressful) times of the year (for the Children’s Pastor it may be Vacation Bible School i.e.). If you know this, then it would be very helpful to the staff for you to stand guard for them as they do their job, or (heaven forbid) even help in these areas during these stressful and very busy times.

JulyMomPrayers-189. Always Assume the Best

Andy Stanley has what he calls “the gap.” This is where a staff member does something that appears to break the rules or cultural expectations of the organization. Stanley gives the example of arriving to a staff meeting late. When this happens, and with no explanation given, people naturally fill “the gap” with why they are late. If they are given the benefit of the doubt then the person who observes the late staff person will say to themselves, “his car must have broken down,” or “someone must have stopped him for a ministry related issue,” etc.

What ever they place in this gap, it should assume the best of the person. Staff members need to know that their direct supervisor has faith in them and is not always assuming the worst. If their “boss” is always assuming the worst every time something appears negative, then it can be very frustrating and demoralizing. It will wear on them after a while — they will always feel like they have to explain everything. Always assume the best and good quality people will rise to the expectation. Always assume the worst and people will rebel and harbor ill will. [1] This is really a matter of trust. Does the senior pastor trust the staff? If so, trust them to do their jobs and assume they are doing their job to the best of their abilities.

10. Grow Your Staff

Staff need to know that you love them and want what’s best for them (and their families). When you meet with and talk about their ministries, if they begin to pick up that you see them as disposable tools and that they are there to make you look good, then they will not be supportive of your leadership. One of the best ways to convey this attitude is for you to constantly focus on their ministry numbers, performance, events, etc. and not really care about their future (or their family’s future). Staff are not there to make your name known, they are in ministry to make Christ’s name known. If you will invest in them and help them grow, then the kingdom of God is better served for it, and they will respect you.

So there you have it, 10 things staff need from their pastor or senior leader. Let me know what you think in the comment section below. Thanks for taking time to read the article!

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[1] This is assuming that the staff person is not constantly late for reasons of irresponsibility. If a staff person earns the reputation for having negative reasons for the gaps that is another issue entirely. It is really hard to assume the best in a staff person if they are always having “gaps.” If they know they are going to be late, for example, then they should call. This does not make being late “ok,” but it does show the leader that they are aware of the gap and are trying their best to rebuild the trust.

 

 

 

A Defense of Pastoral Leadership In the Local Church

Words of John Bunyun in Bedford England are carved on a statue of him that state;
A very great person hung against the wall;
And this was the fashion:
Eyes lifted up to heaven,
the best of books in his hand,
the law of truth was written upon his lips,
the world was behind his back;
he stood as if he pleaded with men;
a crown of gold did hang above his head.

He describes the preacher as being God’s gift to the world. While I do not consider myself in the same high esteem, I do know many gracious men who I could say this about. The position of the pastor is of utmost importance to the church, as well as his role as leader and representative before God.

The preacher is sent on a heavenly mission (as are all Christians). He is to declare the message of God to the world, “Whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear” (Ezekiel 2:5; 7; 3:11). Preaching was recognized as a gift from God in the Old Testament. Noah was “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5) by those whose testimony the primitive world was condemned (Hebrews 11:7). The psalmist and the prophets delivered their messages of truth in pleading, exhortation, prophecy, and promises from the Lord. The prophets were preachers of their day and the predecessors of the New Testament heralds of the gospel.

After the exile the reading and exposition of Scripture were from the beginning the chief feature of the synagogue service, and is frequently mentioned in the New Testament. Jesus, “as his custom was,” went to the synagogue service on the Sabbath day and there delivered the wonderful message of hope recorded in Luke 4:17-22. In Acts 13:5, “after the reading of the law of prophets” the rulers of the synagogue invited the two preachers, Paul and Barnabas, to deliver this message of exhortation. In Acts 15:21, James the pastor of the church at Jerusalem and the presiding officer over the council in Jerusalem, spoke of the fact that “Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day.”

The New Testament church, likewise, moves on the feet of those who, “preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things (Romans 10:15). It was Paul that declared that faith in Jesus as Lord will save all who call upon him (v. 9), but “How . . . shall they call on him in whom they have believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? (v. 14)” This preaching of salvation that Paul referred to is the proclamation of the Word of God recorded in the Holy Scriptures and centered in the redemptive work of Christ. It is a summons of men to repentance, faith, and obedience before the Lord Jesus. It is God’s appointed means for communicating the gospel of hope to the unbelieving world and for the strengthening of the faith of those who have found refuge in our living Lord.

The apostolic message (kerygma), the preaching of the men who first heard the Great Commission of our Lord, consisted of these seven things:
1.    It was a definite body of facts; it was “propositional truth.”
2.    It was not speculative philosophy but an announcement of the intervention of God in human history for the salvation of those who would hear and accept.
3.    It was centered on the redemptive work of Christ, in his cross and atonement, and glorious resurrection.
4.    It was witnessed to and confirmed in the human heart by the Holy Spirit.
5.    It was historically and organically related to the Old Testament.
6.    It imposed a stern, ethical demand upon men.
7.    It was a vast eschatological dimension. It looks forward to a triumphant forever in Christ.

In God’s plan, there is no such thing as the delivery of this glorious message of truth without a preacher. In the elective purpose of God his will and work are made known to us through a living personality. This is the essence of preaching and is the first, primary calling of a pastor. Each generation must experience falling in love, building a home, rearing children. So each congregation must have a living pastor. The truth of God must be made to live again and again.

That is the calling of a preacher-pastor. It is preaching the Word of God that people desperately need. And it is preaching that feeds the souls of Christians. Paul wrote about the services of public worship in Corinth, “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40).

The verse concludes a lengthy discussion of disorder that marred the meeting of the Corinthian Christians. The worship of God ought to be worthy of his glorious name. Therefore, the pastor has been called to preach God’s Word and to lead the church. He should be allowed to do this so that order and appropriate worship may take place, and the message of the gospel may be preached.

What of Those Who Feel Called?

God originally called the nation of Israel to Himself and established a covenant with them. However, because of their disloyalty they forfeited this claim on God. There is frequently the thought that it is amazing grace of God that the whole people were not consumed and that a Remnant continues to inherit the election. The Israelites were elected to service and that one element of service was a universal mission to the world. Within Israel itself, however the thought is a collective one, either of the whole people or of the group that constituted the Remnant.

*Those who are truly called come from God’s chosen people.

Within the elected nation, individuals were also chosen for service. Several are said to have been chosen before they were born, and in this way it is emphasized that their election is not the reward of their worth. They are not chosen for what they are, or even primarily they will be, but for a specific task that is assigned them and for service God requires of them.  For that service they are equipped by God, and all that is required of them is humble obedience to His will and surrender of themselves to His power.

* Calling has nothing to do with talent, skill, gifting, or worthiness.

Some are chosen to be judges and kings, to be God’s vice-regents among His people, to deliver them from their foes and to rule them in His name. Gideon was chosen to deliver Israel from the Midianites [1] , and Sampson, even before his birth, was chosen that he might be a thorn in the side of the Philistines.[2]  In the story of the establishment of the monarchy, Saul was chosen by God to enable Israel to throw off the yoke of the Philistines. There are two accounts of the setting up of the monarchy in the Biblical story. According to the latter account the institution had its origins in nothing more exalted than a popular desire to imitate foreign nations, and it was in itself an act of disloyalty to God and rebellion against Him. According to the earlier account the initiative was with God, who said to Samuel, “About this time tomorrow I will send unto thee a man from the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be the leader over my people Israel; and he shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines, because I have seen the affliction of my people, for their cry has come unto me.” [3] Acting on these divine instructions, Samuel privately anoints Saul, who then takes the lead in the rescue of Jabesh Gilead and is in consequence hailed as king by all the people.

* God alone chooses what the calling will be to, i.e. the task to be performed

David was later chosen to replace Saul. Of the rejection of Saul we have two accounts. One attributes it to his impatience in not waiting for Samuel at Gilgal, [4] while the other attributes it to his failure to annihilate the Amalekites. [5] It should be noted that Saul’s failure to annihilate the Amalekites sprang from a defect of character. He accepted the commission of Samuel as the command of God, and yet failed to carry it out, because he set his own will above the will of God. The other story reveals an impatience of spirit, while all the story of Saul there is apparent an instability of character that marred his achievements. But here in this story of the Amalekites there is revealed a deeper defect of spirit, and a rejection of God’s will as final for him. If then election is for service, and its first corollary is loyalty of spirit to God, and if the abandonment of that loyalty is equivalent to the renunciation of the election, Saul had indeed renounced his election. He had revealed the attitude of his heart towards God, and it was no longer serviceable.

* One can disqualify himself from a calling of God by a rebellious and sinful heart.

How prophets were recruited is still unclear, but what we do know is that of several prophets we have some record of their Divine call to their office. They were not prophets because they were born to the office, or because they fancied the life, but because they felt a constraint which they believed to be of God. It is frankly recognized in the Old Testament that to tell a true prophet from a false one was no easy matter. Of the call of Moses in the wilderness, of Samuel in his childhood in the shrine of Shiloh, of Amos when pursuing his daily work, of Hosea in the tragedy of his domestic life, of Isaiah in the temple, of Jeremiah in his youth, and Ezekiel in the bizarre vision that came to him, we have a familiar record. All of these men became prophets because the hand of God was laid upon them. Some tried to resist the call, only to find that it could not be resisted. Amos 3:8 says, “The Lion hath roared, who can but fear? The Lord Yahweh hath spoken; Who can but prophesy?”

* God seems to delight in calling all “types” of people to be His.

All this would imply that the call of the prophet was the arbitrary act of God, and especially if he was called before he was born. Yet there is much in the Old Testament to indicate that it was neither arbitrary, nor so irresistible as the experience of the greater prophets would suggest. There were prophets who did not fulfill the purpose of their call, and who stand under sharp condemnation. The edge of their spirit’s sensitiveness became blunted, and no longer did they feel the command and constraint of God’s hand. More are called to service than truly respond to the call. There is a paradox in this area of calling. The prophet’s response to the call that he feels the irresistibility of the constraint, and he who most justifies the call and fulfills its purpose is most conscious of the Divine element and least conscious of the human element in his commissioning.

Paul could feel himself to be the “chief of sinners,” and it has ever been the case that the nearer a man becomes to God the nearer he wants to come, for it is only he who is very close to God who can feel the gulf that separates him from God. It is apparent that the true prophet is thought of as one who stands in so close and intimate a relationship with God that his personality becomes the vehicle of God’s Word.

* The effectiveness of a called man of God is directly related to his closeness with God.

God calls men by His own volition and gives them abilities to perform the tasks they are asked to do. God always calls individuals to particular acts of service (a pastor, youth leader, associate pastor, etc.) and as with any position, especially that of a pastor, his effectiveness in that position is dependent upon his closeness and dependence upon God. When the one who is called turns from God, he is no longer usable and will be replaced. The calling process appears to be a personal matter between an individual and God, whereby the latter places His hand upon that person “in a special way” and directs them to a position of leadership within the church body.  But there is also recognition of this calling by a body of believers and the apparent power of the prophet.

* God will give His called one what he needs to perform his task and will empower him to show that he is God’s man.

[1] Judges 6:15
[2] Judges 13:3-5
[3] 1 Samuel 9:16
[4] 1 Samuel 13:8-14
[5] 1 Samuel 15

"Your greatest life messages and your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurts." Rick Warren

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