Pastor of Everything Else
Don't Leave Your Garbage on the Senior Pastor’s Desk
As associate pastors, we need to be careful not to create messes for our senior pastors to clean up. Our pastors hope that we will advance the work of the church and relieve some of the work load. When we create messes they need to clean up, they must set aside their own tasks to smooth over hurt feelings or offended sensibilities. This creates extra work and strains relationships.
Steve was asked to speak at a regional youth event. During the Q&A following his talk, a youth asked him why older people in his church didn’t like the new music. Steve responded by saying that he shouldn’t worry about the old people since they would die in ten years anyway. By the next morning Steve’s pastor was taking calls and answering emails from upset youth leaders and parents.
Ben wanted the youth to become comfortable in the church’s worship service so he planned group games in the sanctuary. Unfortunately, a deacon walked through as the youth played beach ball volleyball over the pews. He and some parents were upset and called the pastor. Since Ben’s senior pastor didn’t know about his plans for games in the sanctuary, all he could do was promise to look into the matter. For the next several weeks they put out spot fires in the congregation over the incident, which came up again during the next Board meeting.
Its not that we intend to cause problems. Sometimes our best plans don’t work out the way we thought. Misunderstandings happen. Some good ideas aren’t. If we have enough good will stored up, we will survive the experience, but if good will is lacking people trust us less and suspect us more. If my pastor is looking over my shoulder more and giving me less responsibility, it may be because I am leaving garbage on his desk for him to clean up.
After learning a few times the hard way, I began to find people with good judgement who could help me. Or, rather, they began to suggest ways to help me and I noticed. One set of parents helped me decide whether to travel during inclement weather. If they suggested parents would be uncomfortable, I listened because I knew others felt the same way, even if I disagreed.
I have learned that it helps when I clean up my own messes. After the church furnace room was vandalized during a youth group meeting, that night I called the chairs of my Christian Ed and Property boards to report the damage. By the next morning I was able tell my pastor about the problem, why it happened, what we would do differently, and that the appropriate people were taking care of the clean-up.
I have found that it helps to report problems sooner instead of later. When I avoid telling my pastor , I may make the problem worse, causing even more harm or loss of confidence. During a discipleship campaign, I was taking money for books and keeping it temporarily in an envelope in my desk. Following a worship service, I discovered the money was missing. I was nervous as I told our secretary first, and then the pastor. Despite the problem, it helped my pastor to know I would come to him as soon as possible with an issue.
I also discovered that when I report problems sooner that my senior pastor often has possible solutions. I was once able to recruit two additional middle school leaders because he knew that they were open to the possibility. He told me about them when I mentioned our need, and I followed up. I know that I can’t bring every little thing to him, but I have also learned not to try solving everything myself.
May 2, 2012 Rev. Troy Dennis (BA, MDiv., MA, Arrow Leadership) is Pastor of Family Ministries at Highfield Baptist Church in Moncton NB Canada. Ordained in 1995, he served in associate, solo and senior pastor positions before coming back to associate ministry in 2008.
Showing posts with label leadership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label leadership. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
What Does He Do With His Time?
Pastor of Everything Else
But What Does He Do With His Time?
Everyone knows what senior pastors do because their role is so public: preaching, teaching, leading meetings, visiting in hospitals and homes, etc.
Not so for associate pastors. So much of what we do happens when influential members are not present - after school club, kids program, youth meeting, small group, planning, admin, etc. This is not entirely bad. It was a good thing no church leaders were around for that really messy game! It is easy for people to think that we are wasting their offering dollars because they do not see the ministries in which we are involved.
“What does he do with his time?” is often followed by, “How long before he leaves?” Time audits are about as fun as root canals. “Open wide while we drill into the inner recesses of your life.” At least they give Novocain at the dentist’s office. There are things we can do to avoid this painful and tricky situation.
We need to tell people what we do. I used to think this drew too much attention to me and was selfish. What a stupid thing to think. The difference between shameless promotion and telling people what I do is motive. Am I out just to impress people? Improve my standing in their eyes? To get more money, or a better position? Then its probably kissing up. That’s not what we’re talking about here.
I used to think that if I just did my job well enough, people would notice. They would have to see it, wouldn’t they? It doesn’t work that way. Remember back in high school when we thought everyone was watching us, but it turned out they weren’t because they were afraid everyone was watching them? It's the same principle.
We must tell people what we do. Again, this is not about making ourselves look good, and here is how we make sure its not about us, but we still get word out. Make it about others. Tell the stories about what God is doing in these ministries. Talk about what the groups are doing, this week, next week, or some event in the future. Share the victories, and even the trials.
When someone asks how things are going, tell them about the things you are working on with your groups. “Its a good week - this week in youth we’re going to finally get small groups started and that’s been really rewarding.” “The funnest thing happened at kids group last night...” “One of our leaders led his first devotional last night and he did a great job.”
We don’t always have to paint over the negative. “Its been a tough week because we lost one of our leaders and I’ve had to fill in on short notice,” is better than moping in silence. It is possible to communicate the negative by being positive: “Our kids leaders are doing an incredible job. We could use a lot more leaders, but they’re pulling together and we’ve even seen growth this year.”
We need to use every opportunity we get. And, we shouldn’t wait until we’re asked. Are there exciting things going on? We need to tell people. Are there troubles? We can share these appropriately. At the store when we run into church members, in meetings, at the office, while we’re out walking the dog.
Invite church leaders to attend meetings. Invite them generally and specifically. Let them know they can drop in, but they may or may not come, so also invite them specifically. Ask them to help serve snack or attend a special occasion. Ask the pastor to do a devotional once in a while.
Post group schedules in obvious places. It is surprising how many people are connected through social media and the internet, but paper still works, too.
Involve groups in worship and service. Use plays, skits, puppets, music. Take up the offering or hand out bulletins. Anything that puts the groups in the public eye.
Write reports. We need to tell people our vision, our plans, progress. If something changes which affects how we use our time, we need to tell people. Most people don’t care about the nitty gritty details, but they should know the big things, at least.
Finally, we can keep record of what we do. I used to get frustrated because I came to the end of the week and couldn’t tell if I had done anything productive. If I can’t see how I was productive, I can’t convince someone else. So now I keep a journal where I make quick notes along with the time I was involved. This could be electronic. Either way, I can look back and know how I used my time. It also helps me see patterns of how my time gets eaten so I can compensate accordingly.
Apr 16, 2012 Rev. Troy Dennis (BA, MDiv., MA, Arrow Leadership) is Pastor of Family Ministries at Highfield Baptist Church in Moncton NB Canada. Ordained in 1995, he served in associate, solo and senior pastor positions before coming back to associate ministry in 2008.
But What Does He Do With His Time?
Everyone knows what senior pastors do because their role is so public: preaching, teaching, leading meetings, visiting in hospitals and homes, etc.
Not so for associate pastors. So much of what we do happens when influential members are not present - after school club, kids program, youth meeting, small group, planning, admin, etc. This is not entirely bad. It was a good thing no church leaders were around for that really messy game! It is easy for people to think that we are wasting their offering dollars because they do not see the ministries in which we are involved.
“What does he do with his time?” is often followed by, “How long before he leaves?” Time audits are about as fun as root canals. “Open wide while we drill into the inner recesses of your life.” At least they give Novocain at the dentist’s office. There are things we can do to avoid this painful and tricky situation.
We need to tell people what we do. I used to think this drew too much attention to me and was selfish. What a stupid thing to think. The difference between shameless promotion and telling people what I do is motive. Am I out just to impress people? Improve my standing in their eyes? To get more money, or a better position? Then its probably kissing up. That’s not what we’re talking about here.
I used to think that if I just did my job well enough, people would notice. They would have to see it, wouldn’t they? It doesn’t work that way. Remember back in high school when we thought everyone was watching us, but it turned out they weren’t because they were afraid everyone was watching them? It's the same principle.
We must tell people what we do. Again, this is not about making ourselves look good, and here is how we make sure its not about us, but we still get word out. Make it about others. Tell the stories about what God is doing in these ministries. Talk about what the groups are doing, this week, next week, or some event in the future. Share the victories, and even the trials.
When someone asks how things are going, tell them about the things you are working on with your groups. “Its a good week - this week in youth we’re going to finally get small groups started and that’s been really rewarding.” “The funnest thing happened at kids group last night...” “One of our leaders led his first devotional last night and he did a great job.”
We don’t always have to paint over the negative. “Its been a tough week because we lost one of our leaders and I’ve had to fill in on short notice,” is better than moping in silence. It is possible to communicate the negative by being positive: “Our kids leaders are doing an incredible job. We could use a lot more leaders, but they’re pulling together and we’ve even seen growth this year.”
We need to use every opportunity we get. And, we shouldn’t wait until we’re asked. Are there exciting things going on? We need to tell people. Are there troubles? We can share these appropriately. At the store when we run into church members, in meetings, at the office, while we’re out walking the dog.
Invite church leaders to attend meetings. Invite them generally and specifically. Let them know they can drop in, but they may or may not come, so also invite them specifically. Ask them to help serve snack or attend a special occasion. Ask the pastor to do a devotional once in a while.
Post group schedules in obvious places. It is surprising how many people are connected through social media and the internet, but paper still works, too.
Involve groups in worship and service. Use plays, skits, puppets, music. Take up the offering or hand out bulletins. Anything that puts the groups in the public eye.
Write reports. We need to tell people our vision, our plans, progress. If something changes which affects how we use our time, we need to tell people. Most people don’t care about the nitty gritty details, but they should know the big things, at least.
Finally, we can keep record of what we do. I used to get frustrated because I came to the end of the week and couldn’t tell if I had done anything productive. If I can’t see how I was productive, I can’t convince someone else. So now I keep a journal where I make quick notes along with the time I was involved. This could be electronic. Either way, I can look back and know how I used my time. It also helps me see patterns of how my time gets eaten so I can compensate accordingly.
Apr 16, 2012 Rev. Troy Dennis (BA, MDiv., MA, Arrow Leadership) is Pastor of Family Ministries at Highfield Baptist Church in Moncton NB Canada. Ordained in 1995, he served in associate, solo and senior pastor positions before coming back to associate ministry in 2008.
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