THE MINISTRY MBA

10 Practical Courses to Lead a Thriving Church

Could Getting Better Be The Secret to Getting Bigger?

Feeling stuck in your growth efforts? This post reveals why focusing on improvement, as demonstrated by Chick-fil-A’s success story, could be your key to unlocking bigger achievements. Find out how getting better can lead to getting bigger.

You Are Necessary, Becuase Change is Needed

NEW ARTICLE: 2.5 Minute Read…

If you’re a leader, you are needed. 

Probably more than you even realize. I know you don’t need my validation, but humor me for a few minutes. I want to explain why you are required.

Some quick linguistic context first, though. Words matter, and at times, we inappropriately use words interchangeably. We tend to do this with leadership and management. Interestingly, much of what we consider “leadership” is just management. Forming budgets, organizing teams, administering programs, and paying bills, while important, aren’t leadership efforts. This is the stuff of management. Don’t get me wrong, management is critical to organizational success, but this isn’t leadership. It’s management. Management is the process of organizing and administering what exists.

Then what is leadership? I’m glad you asked.

Leadership is the act of creating what must exist.

Leaders innovate and conceive. Leaders look at where things are against where things could or should be and close the gap. Leaders start companies, redefine product lines, and introduce new ventures. Leaders move locations. They change models and institute new strategies. This is the dynamic of leadership. It’s the action of creating what needs to exist. 

Ultimately, leaders create internal change to meet the ongoing presence of any external evolution. Leaders exist because change is required. And change is necessary because the world around us never stagnates. No business, company, or church is immune to our changing world. Just ask Blockbuster, Kodak, or the defunct church down the street.

Change is unrelenting. In the words of Heraclitus, “the only constant in life is change.” There is no stopping the change external to us. As leaders, we choose to change with the times or get left behind – personally, professionally, and organizationally. That why your leadership is so necessary. That’s why understanding and embracing change leadership and transition management are vital to success. 

Take a moment and remove your management hat. How is your church, really? Are there things that need to change?

Let me give you some potential options I see floundering in many churches today:
– Your culture
– Your staff structure
– Your strategy
– Your model and methods
– Your vision
– Your digital and physical channel alignment
– Your volunteer recruitment, retainment, and engagement
– Your generosity stream
– Your engagement pathway
– Your guest experience 

You don’t have to change anything, of course. You can choose to manage what you have. In doing so, I fear that you will one day look back and realize the opportunity to change has passed. 

It might be time to take a long, hard look in the mirror and decide to engage some change. Your community, your congregation, and those following you will be grateful. Not initially, but eventually. 

The Four States of Transition Management

Leaders often mistake change and transition. They are not the same. In this post, I discuss the difference between the two and provide insight into managing the emotional and psychological transitions experienced by the people involved in the change.

Getting Bigger by Getting Better

A long time ago I heard a story from the board room of Chick-fil-A’s corporate headquarters. Their competition was quickly growing, and their leadership wanted to maintain their market share and competitive advantage. You can read the entire post for the full story, but the conversation ended with then CEO Truett Cathy exclaiming, “If we get better, our customers will demand we get bigger!”

I realize you are not running the best chicken sandwich restaurant in the world, but Truett’s statement is true of whatever you are leading.

In this post, I explain why restarting your church might be the most dangerous thing you can do and what questions you need to answer to prepare to get better.

Last thing: Getting better will require change, and change isn’t to be taken lightly. This is exactly why I created Transformation Solutions. At Transformation Solutions, we help churches discern what needs to change and coach pastors through the challenge of change. If you are ready to get better, I’d love to support you and your church through the process of evaluation and execution.

Go right now to mytransformationsolutions.com and sign up for a free, 30-minute conversation to decide if working together works for you.

The One Insight That Makes Change Happen

MakingChangeHappen

Hey again.

I came across this quote from Jeff Igor’s book “Leading Major Change in Your Ministry” while doing my doctoral studies. It caused me to think… a lot.

“Foundational to helping people through major change is this seminal idea: change is different than transition. Change is the new circumstances introduced into organizational life, i.e., a new staffing plan going into effect on a specific date. Transition, on the other hand, is the emotional, psychological, and spiritual adjustments people go through when change is implemented.”

I’m still thinking about it. So much that I decided to write some more about change in light of this concept.

If you can, check it out and leave me a comment to help launch a conversation.

Thanks.

The One Challenge Facing Every Church

I’ve decided to start something new. If you don’t mind, here’s some quick background and an announcement of sorts. First, some background. A decade ago, I stood in the North Point Community Church hallway, watching thousands of church leaders walking to the parking lot. Our DRIVE Conference had just concluded. Inspired, encouraged, and probably challenged, […]

11 Lessons from Announcing our Name Change

If you’re a leader, you’ve had to make and then announce a big decision before. How’d it go? I bet like me you learned a lot in the process.

At the church where I lead, we just announced we are changing the name of our church from Watermarke Church to Woodstock City Church. If you’re not in the world of church, you should know this is a big decision and a big announcement. It’s the equivalent of changing a company name where the name is the product. This change could be problematic in any size church, but with over 5,000 people attending our church every Sunday, our scale increases the possibility of resistance and complication.

Interestingly, with all the potential pitfalls of an announcement of this magnitude, thus far we have received nothing but praise on the heels of going public. Why? Well, partially due to the name we are leaving — Watermarke Church. Why the silent “e?” What does it mean? Well, nothing really. The silent “e” was added to avoid a potential lawsuit (very Christian-like, huh?).

But the real reason this change has been so well received is because of our approach.

Growing CHURCHES need growing LEADERS.

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