Drew Boswell

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Dealing With Problems and Decision Making

Dealing With Problems and Making Decisions [1]

Inevitably when you are a leader you will have to deal with problems. How a leader deals with these troubling circumstances and leads through them is what determines if he/she is a good or “desperately in need of improvement” leader. If you have ever agreed to hold a position where others in the room look to you for what to do when things go wrong then you need to have at least thought about a process for dealing with these problems. In large organizations they call them “contingency plans” but most of us don’t have shelves of three-ring binders we can flip through when disaster comes upon us.

One of the best skills a leader can posses is dealing with problems before they arise (through prayer, advanced planning, training, etc.) but eventually no matter how much you plan there will be times when problems find their way into your life and you have to deal with them.

First and foremost a spiritual leader desires to know the will of God’s concerning what directions or actions they should take.  So as one prays, studies Scripture, and contemplates the circumstances consider the following:

Questions to Answer
Am I committed to doing God’s will in this situation? (Romans 12:1-2)
Sometimes the answer is easy and His will is plain, but we are not willing to do it. It may require us to confront someone who will have their feelings hurt, or we know they will become angry, or we may even lose our job (or place of ministry, or at least we think we will).

Sometimes the decision is not so clear, but we must commit to doing God’s will in each step that we know what to do, and when His will is clear. Sometimes as a leader we lay ourselves down “as a living sacrifice” and be willing to “take a hit” so that Christ’s name may be lifted high. Strong personalities, or strong willed people who feel their way is best (instead of the given direction from the leader) will try to take the organization in a direction that may be away from the expressed will of God and toward what benefits them personally. So opposing these people may be difficult for the leader and even his family. So we begin the process by asking how committed is the leader to following God’s will; is he willing to do whatever it takes to see God’s name and will held as the top priority?

Are the desires of my heart to pursue this particular course? (Psalm 37:4)
This Psalm says that when we delight ourselves with the things of God, He will give us the desires of our heart. So our main objective as a leader is to see that God is glorified and that His name is lifted up. When we lead people to do this as well, then it should bring delight to our hearts. Our desire then becomes seeing others give God glory with their lives.

Is the problem something that you feel needs to be fixed (do you even care about it)? Or would it be best to pass off (i.e. delegate) this problem to someone who is passionate about it, or who “has a heart” for that area? If you say, “This is something that we can’t ignore. Something must be done about this,” then make sure your heart is lining up with the commandments and teachings of Scripture.

Does God provide the power to continue working on the project and make the necessary decisions to achieve it? (Isaiah 26:3)
This passage from Isaiah discusses how God gives the mind peace as the person trusts in God. So the leader must make decisions that result from prayer and contemplation but ultimately result in a step of faith where he/she trusts that God will take care of him/her and work through them in the situation.  It is easy for others to second guess decisions after time has passed and the problem has passed. But what makes one a leader  is that they must make a decision in the midst of the storm. Trust God once you feel you have heard from Him and pronounced a decision.

Also, what makes a spiritual leader different from a secular leader is that they rely on the Holy Spirit for things not provided to those who do not believe and place a saving trust in Christ (such as strength, insight, faith, peace, resources, etc).  Does the leader have a sense of peace as they work through the process that the most current decision is the right one?

In determining what to do next in the midst of a problem it is helpful to define some terms.

Definitions
Decision-making; this is choosing between alternatives. Often times the alternatives are not good and bad, but good and good,  or good and best.

Problem solving; this is the process of formulating and implementing a plan of action to eliminate a difficulty. Problem solving tends to deal with internal issues.

Conditions; these are currently uncontrollable circumstances superimposed on the situation from outside. A considerable length of time is required to change conditions noticeably. Conditions tend to deal with external issues.

Problem Solving Process

1. Determine if the situation is a problem or a condition.  Is the situation coming from outside of the organization or the inside?

2. Clearly state the problem.

3. Determine what will be gained or lost in solving the problem. Don’t create a bigger problem by solving a smaller one.

4. Identify alternative methods and solutions.

5. State the cost of each alternative.

6. Choose between alternatives (as you pray, have Bible study, seek godly wisdom, etc.).

7. Delegate action steps and begin implementation.

8. Evaluate progress.

One of the biggest mistakes leaders make in dealing with problems is that when they are working through this process they don’t take into account the feelings of those in the organization as they begin to make changes. Even if these changes will improve the situation of all concerned, people typically don’t like changes; especially if they don’t play a part in the decision making process. If you are in a “boss-employee” situation then the leader could just state the decision in a memo and be done with it. But in a volunteer organization (such as a church) then people choose to follow or not, the leader has to be sensitive (but not overly controlled by) to other’s feeling and emotions.

The following is a way of asking people how they are feeling and gives an opportunity to discuss the change process as you go through it.

When __________ (occurs), I feel ______________ (state the way you feel), because ________________ (state why you feel that way.)

For example: “When you change things, I feel fearful, because I do not understand where we are going and how it will affect me and my family.”

Your goal is to get honest responses and point them to Scripture and the rationale and reasoning process you have taken to reach the decisions that have been reached.

__________________________

[1] Note: information for this article was taken from notes of Dr. Ken Coley in a class at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary entitled Church Administration in 1998.

Elements of a World Changing Life (Part One)

When I was a kid, one of the best Christmas presents I ever received was a chemistry set. It had glass test tubes, beakers, a burner, various other scientific equipment and racks of chemicals. I would sit for hours and hours mixing, heating, boiling, and crystallizing. As a kid, I kept hoping that I would find the right series of chemicals and steps to make something explode.

I wanted to see some kind of a big flash, foam, a puff of smoke, or some kind of “cool” reaction.[1]  But no matter how many sequences, or combinations I assembled in my test tubes I was never able to get the cool reaction I wanted to see. After a few weeks the chemistry set went back into the box, and it stayed there for years. Why play with the set, if nothing really cool never happened? I was not content to see salt form, or water changing colors.

You may not have a childlike fascination with chemistry but I would be willing to bet that at some point you have wanted to see your life have a “cool” reaction for the Lord. You have desired to see people’s lives changed because of how you have ministered to them, or to see people receive Christ for the first time, or even see families reconciled, the hungry fed, the blind to see, or the dead to be raised. You are not a Christian, if these desires have not expressed themselves in some way in your life.

When I was in advanced high school chemistry I discovered that there were some key elements that had been removed from my kid’s chemistry set. I still had the kit tucked away in a closet, so I went and examined it. It was these key ingredients that would specifically keep those “explosions” from happening.

If Satan knew what these key elements were, and could remove them from your life’s chemistry set, do you think he would do it? My parent’s wanted a kit that was safe, and so that I would not blow up the house. Satan desires for you to be a safe Christian, and to not “turn the world upside down.” Is there anything sadder than a safe Christian? She has the potential to change the world, but settles for changing nothing.

The Elements that we are about to discuss have the potential to be explosive. When combined together, they will literally change the world. These are what Christ has commanded that we do, and it is what Satan fears you will discover.

The Elements

John 17:18, 20
Matthew 28
Acts 1:8

Christ has called all Christians to make disciples. His last command as He ascended into heaven was “go and make disciples. . .”

I. Element #1; Invest
If we begin with the premise that Christ has commanded all of His followers to make disciples, then how do we do this? We make disciples the same way Jesus did, when he said, “Come and follow me.” For three and a half years Jesus invested himself in twelve men intensively and in thousands with less intensity. Jesus’ disciple making was done with an end-goal of sending them out to make even more disciples.

The focus is not the program, and the management of those programs. Instead, it is and has always been about people investing themselves in the lives of other people – for the express purpose of “making disciples” – and the end goal of sending them out to invest themselves in the lives of other people.

The people Jesus invested in varied from three to thousands.  It varied from intense discipleship to “simply” a healing touch or conversation.  But He invested himself none-the-less.

So the first element of a world changing life is investment. You can invest your life in others in varying degrees. For the girl at the grocery store, you may only have a minute. But for the little boy in your Sunday school class you may have a year. However much time you have, make wise use of it – never waste it.

David and the exploding film container.

While I was in high school my friend David and I experimented with chemicals that we would “borrow” from the advanced chemistry lab. David and I began a series of experiments that included various combinations of chemicals placed in a small black 35mm film container. Our goal was to have a delayed reaction from chemicals mixed together. We had little success until . . .

One evening after school we had planned to hang out and talk about our teenage diabolical plans, so we arranged to meet at my house. As David was driving into my backyard the canister that he had placed in his front shirt pocket suddenly and without warning exploded, sending hot sparks, and extremely stinky grey smoke all over him, his clothes, and the interior of his car. He had the presence of mind to stop the car, and put it in park and then jumped out. As he ran around yelling, slapping his face and shirt to put out the flames, I yelled with glee that we had finally succeeded! His eyebrows and hair were singed, and man did he stink. His clothes were ruined, and he was going to have a hard time explaining the interior burns of the upholstery to his parents. We had succeeded, but it was not exactly what or when we had expected.

When you invest yourself in the lives of others for the sake of Christ, you may find yourself suddenly very messy (even in pain), eyebrows singed, and stinky. But don’t forget that this is a success; you are a part of radical change in this person’s life. Just don’t expect it to be clean, neat, or quiet.

II. Element #2; Go and Multiply.
Where? So if we are to invest ourselves in the lives of others, where will these “disciples” come from? So, where are we to look for these people that we are to invest in? Do I just keep talking to people until I get goose bumps or a spiritual “funny feeling?” Should I wait on top of a mountain for them to find me? Christ tells us that we are not to wait for them to come to us, instead we are to go to them. Acts 1:8, helps us to answer this question.

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (ESV)”

When Jesus gave this teaching to the disciples he was in Jerusalem. So, he says that we are to begin at home, and then work outward. We are to focus the investment of ourselves in four areas of outward progression.

  • Jerusalem (our home)
  • (and) Judea (larger context of home – like your state)
  • (and) Samaria (those who are culturally different than you, see Luke 10:25 ff.)
  • (and) The end of the earth (other nations)

Notice that this verse says, “and” in Acts 1:8 but not “or/either.” We do not get to choose if we focus all our efforts into one of these areas, instead we are to balance our investment in all four. In financial terms this would be diversification.

[1] NOTE: I am not a terrorist, and my desire to see things explode has been surpassed by what I desire to see God do on other people’s lives. I would also like to avoid any entanglement with the Homeland Security Agency.  I do not have any explosives, not even the chemistry set when I was a kid.  But I do have a book that has drastically changed people’s lives all around the world.  If there are any Homeland Security Agents, who happen to be reading this, who would like a copy of this book, just let me know.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith." Ephesians 2:8

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