Leadership Tips from Undercover Boss

     Did anyone watch Undercover Boss last Friday night? Enrique "Rick" Silva, CEO of Checkers and Rally's, went undercover at his own company pretending to be a failed pharmacist who wanted to start his own franchise. At his first undercover location he soon realized that the employees were not following the procedures outlined by the company and could not even tell him what they were. The general manager barked orders to the employees, criticized, put down, and even threatened them at one point. Finally, Silva had had enough and called the GM out to the parking lot where he asked him why he was being so disrespectful to others. After a short confrontation, Silva revealed his identity as CEO and demanded that the manager shut down the restaurant. The manager realized that he could not pretend anymore. He confessed to Silva that he had never been trained as a manager; in fact, not a single employee at that location had been properly trained. The general manager position was dumped on him when the previous GM quit. "I'm doing the best I can," he said, but Silva did not agree that this was his best. He had pretended to know what he was doing and had overcompensated for his insecurity by lording his new position over his employees.
     Sometimes unexpected or unwanted responsibilities are forced upon us, and ministry is no exception. When the youth pastor at our church moved away, my parents were the only ones available to keep the youth group running until another pastor came along. It was brand new territory for us, and even with our whole family working together we didn't know how long we could keep it going or if we were making the right choices. Whether it be a single class, event, or entire ministry department, most of us have had responsibilities dumped on us or been thrust into leadership roles that we feel unprepared to handle. If you're in such a position or new to ministry, you may feel inadequate and pressured to meet certain expectations. We all react to this pressure and insecurity in different ways, but tying to act the part and do it all on your own is the worst mistake you can make. Nothing will burn you out quicker.
     If you feel under qualified, connect with another pastor or mentor who is qualified. Don't be intimidated by the term leader; ministry is a team sport. Find yourself some teammates, and don't go it alone. And remember that humility, passion, and wisdom can make up for a lot of training. Ask God for these things and  for help in your ministry. Remember that the true success of any ministry is based on His will and your willingness to follow, not on the strength of your abilities.

10 Habits of a Good Learner

     If you work with kids, then you know that you can never stop learning. I recently attended a seminar by Jim Wideman (http://www.jimwideman.com/) who listed ten ways to keep the learning happening.

Here are my notes:

10 Habits of a Good Learner

1. Read. This includes blogs, tweets, and online newsletters.
2. Listen to teaching. You can't very well teach what you don't know.
3. Ask questions constantly. Questions show your willingness to learn. Ask away.
4. Develop relationships with those you esteem. Connecting with those you admire gives you a chance to learn from the people who inspire you
5. Visit creative places. Give your imagination something to feed on.
6. Go to conferences. One-stop shopping for ideas, encouragement, and networking buddies.
7. Surround yourself with peers you respect. Be choosy. Remember, iron sharpens iron.
8. Be a fly on the wall and listen, listen, listen. This might be a hard skill to perfect, but it is invaluable. Good learners are good listeners.
9. Study successful people. What worked for them might work for you.
10. Join a coaching group. Everybody helps everybody.

So tell me, what keeps your brain going? How do keep learning?

CPC '12 in Orlando

     I love going to the INCM Children’s Pastors Conference! It’s a fantastic time to think and find new ideas and refocus our ministry towards God’s leading. This year at CPC in Orlando was amazing. INCM laid out five key parts of children’s ministry, the “5 Initiatives” as they’re calling them, that they believe are the fundamentals of what we do in the lives of our children. Taking things back to basics, you could say. Each general session covered one of these Initiatives. So, here are the 5 Initiatives and my take-away from the general sessions:

1.       Impart God’s truth to this generation.

Do not underestimate the above sentence. It does not mean “Tell them enough Bible stories.” Are we afraid to tackle tough truths with our kids? Have we watered down or limited the Bible too much in our classrooms?  Kyle Idleman, author of the book “not a fan,” who presented this session said, ”Teaching is not downloading information; kids need to fall in love.” Getting the majority of our kids to remember the days of creation or Ten Commandments or life of David is not our goal. Not that those stories aren’t important, but our kids need more than just stories. They need truth that they can use for offense and defense. They need serious truth that they can use in the challenging times in their life. They need to know that truth is something they should seek after – they should ask the hard questions. Our kids need to fall in love with the Truth.

2.       Provide a safe and relevant environment.

The environment is the first thing that lets kids and parents know how much we care about them and about what we do. It should impress the parents with its organization, assure them of its safety, and still be fun and engaging for the kids. Here are three things all good kidmin environments should have:

a.)    Signs – Good signage is a must. People like to know how to get where they need to go, like the bathroom for instance.

b.)    A means of collecting information – Someone should be collecting information from the parent/guardian: Who will be picking your child up? Does your child have any allergies or health concerns? Where will you be sitting or how can we reach you in an emergency? Etc.

c.)     Emergency plans – All teachers should be aware of the emergency or evacuation plans for power outages, fire, intruder, and medical emergencies plus any disasters that are common in the area such as tornadoes, earthquakes, or tsunamis.

Aside from being safe, we need to make sure that we are giving kids a place where they can have fun and learn and be themselves.

3.       Communicate with families

Parents, guardians, and other family members spend more time with the kids in our ministries and therefore have more influence on those kids than we can ever hope to have. Connecting with families is essential, but don’t stereotype the idea of family ministry. Families don’t need a better picture of what family “should be.” In most cases, the families in our ministries will never be able to become a mom and a dad with 2.4 kids, a dog, and a picket fence. Our families need to know that God is working in and through each family just as it is. Parents need to be encouraged that God has a bigger story to tell in their family, that they will be accepted as a family that God is using, and that they can succeed as the family God made them to be. And, as is true with everything else in our ministries, you, me, we set the example. We must make our own families the most important ministry we will ever be involved in. What does it profit a man to bring many souls to the Kingdom if he loses those he cared about the most?

4.       Network with a community of leaders

Ministry is a marathon not a sprint and most of the time it takes teamwork. We need to look for and ask God to bring into our lives people we can team up with to encourage and inspire and build up each other. In the Information Age networking has become so easy that there really is no excuse for not trying. Join a group on Facebook, get an email pal, find a mentor, and make lunch dates with other kidmins or pastors. Give yourself an outlet and a chance to be a good team member and friend. God never meant for us to go it alone.

5.       Pray for the international children’s ministry community

Prayer is one of the most powerful tools in our arsenal. When we pray, we should not only pray that we can think of a game by Wednesday and that a certain little boy will behave but also for others who are trying to minister just as we are. While we worry about getting a snack for the preschoolers, some churches are worrying about famine. While we worry about having enough volunteers, some are worrying about getting caught attending a secret Bible study. We need to remember the big picture – that the Kingdom is so much bigger than just us. Praying for each other builds connections that reach across continents and into eternity so that their kids become our kids and ours become theirs and God gets the glory for them all.

Be renewed in the spirit of your mind - Eph. 4:23

So, it’s a new year. Time for a new start – new outlook, new goals, new strategies, new programs – but it’s also the perfect time for spiritual renewal. Renewal is important for both ministries and individuals. No person or ministry can grow without taking time periodically to recharge and strengthen its ideals. Take some time and be honest with yourself, brutally so. Breathe, use your hindsight, refocus, look at the big picture, and most importantly, let God do all of it for you.

Every January, the volunteers in our children’s department go to the INCM Children’s Pastor Conference. We get away and worship and fellowship. We get out of our church building and out of our boxes and hang with other kidmins and share our problems and ideas. It’s just a great time.

Conferences are a fantastic way to get encouraged and inspired, but they’re also noisy. The static that is new ideas, new resources, networking, and note-taking is not renewal. At almost every conference I’ve attended, everyone says that their favorite part is the worship services because that is where the renewing Spirit of God is felt.

Renewal is giving yourself back over to God again – letting Him heal the hurts, fill the empty places, and bring you back from the places where you’ve strayed. When we let God renew our spirits, He will clear our minds and hearts for the ministry He has ahead for us giving us the strength and wisdom we need to press on.

Remember, our ministry is all about serving our kids and bringing God glory. But we can’t do that if we’re worn out, empty, discouraged, or overwhelmed with all the holes we’ve found in our boat. So often in ministry, we force ourselves to keep going no matter how much water we’re taking on because we feel like we have to. God never intended for it to be that way, and we have to give ourselves time to be reminded of what God truly wants for us.

So, take a day off for prayer, have a private worship service with your bible and your iPod, or go to a conference – but make sure to make some time to spend with God so that He can renew your spirit for ministry.