by Clarence E. Stowers | Mar 13, 2008 | Church Issues, Staff
I have the privilege to serve with an incredible staff…a fired up group of people
who love their church and have a “by any means necessary” mentality towards
ministry.
However, in my ministry experience, both in the life of Mars Hill, working with
other churches and conversations with many pastors and leaders I believe there are five phrases that we should NEVER
hear from someone on staff.
#1 – “That’s Not My Job.”
When a staff member is asked to do something and they reply, “That’s not my
job,” then you can be assured that he/she does not have a heart that is fully
devoted to the ministry.
The staff we have here at Mars Hill walk around with fire in their eyes…and
when asked to do something they just make it happen. Now…I have seen this abused & do not think
ANYONE should allow themselves to be ran over; however, when asked to do
something that might not serve the person BUT WILL SERVE THE CHURCH…the answer
should always be yes.
#2 – “That Can’t Be Done.”
I have noticed something about staff members that say something cannot be
done…USUALLY the ones who say that are the ones who are going to be asked to do
the particular project they are freaking out about…and it will require tons of
work…SO, they just say it can’t be done.
I have a confession to make…I don’t like hearing “it can’t be done.”
Here’s the kind of attitude I like:
Someone who’s realistic with me and says, “Now we CAN do that…but it will
require such and such and we don’t have that–and if we want it then it is going
to cost this…so what do you want to do?” I LOVE THIS ATTITUDE!
Trust me, when a staff member continually says that something cannot be done they either have a lazy work ethic
OR a very small view of who God is…neither are beneficial for your team.
#3 – “All I Need Is More
Staff & Money To Make This Happen.”
When people begin to use resources as an excuse for a stagnant or failing
ministry then you can be sure they are in trouble and have most likely became
spoiled, thus forgetting the art of being innovative.
#4 – “Recognize Me!”
Beware of the staff member who is always telling you how much work they did,
how many hours they put in and how tired they are.
HOLD
ON
…as
a leader it is our job to make sure that staff members are not sacrificed on
the alter of ministry. We should pay them well and make sure they have adequate
time off.
BUT…when someone is always demanding attention for the work they’ve done
then you can be sure that either pride or insecurity is coming out…and neither
are good!
#5 – “My ministry needs BLANK
to…and if we don’t get it then…”
When a staff member begins to focus on his/her ministry more than the church
as a whole…trust me, you have a HUGE problem.
A good staff member does have passion and vision for their particular area
of ministry; however, they have an even greater passion for the church as a
whole and will gladly lay aside their plans if it means that it is best for the
church.
The church will either operate as a loosely organized group of sub
ministries…OR ONE BODY with many parts…and if a staff member cannot be a part
of the body then they most likely do not have a kingdom mindset.
by Clarence E. Stowers | Mar 11, 2008 | Communication
Those who know me will tell you that I’m the consummate gadget man. In fact, some secretly call me "Inspector Gadget." I just left the Apple Store (they know me on a 1st name basis) and got a chance to review a few of the proposed updates for the iPhone. Oh my God! TRUST ME – APPLE’S GETTING READY TO CHANGE THE GAME!!!
Apple’s software developers have virtually fixed all my concerns and added a few more apps that’ll make my life easier.
For example:
Notes
Leopard’s (Mac OS X) Apple Mail supports a feature called Notes. Notes can be
attached to any type of information within Leopard Mail, and can be
grouped, sorted and filed within the Mail application. In fact, they
even behave like Notes on the iPhone, where the first line becomes the
title.
To-Do’s
Todo’s in Leopard Mail are filed and treated in the same way that
Notes are. Apple describes how you can highlight text anywhere, and
right click to create a ToDo item. If you do a ToDo based off a mail or
note, it retains a link to that note or mail. They also automatically
appear in iCal. Its pretty safe to say that on the iPhone, Todo’s will
be used much as they are in Leopard: as task oriented adjuncts to any
piece of content.
Contextually Sensitive Mail
Mail in Leopard detects if a message has an address, a time or a
phone number in it, and will help you auto-sort it. iPhone already has
some features like this, and they should be extended.
by Clarence E. Stowers | Mar 7, 2008 | Communication
Need I say more…
by Clarence E. Stowers | Mar 7, 2008 | Communication
I finally pulled the plug on it and decided to sell my iPhone. Now I am back
to my Verizon wireless BlackBerry 8830 and boy am I happy – no ELATED!!! If you truly need the features of the BlackBerry, the iPhone won’t replace the BlackBerry. I’ve had my iPhone for two months and here’s what the iPhone
"does not" have in comparison to the BlackBerry 8830:
· No voice memo option
· No voice text option
· No real keyboard – can’t get with that touchscreen
keyboard.
· No auto text (I set up in my blackberry that if
I type "plmk" it types out "please let me know" and a 100
other auto texts I set up to be fast and efficient
· No cut and paste (are you kidding me?)
· No help feature within the phone itself
· No draft option for emails or texts (I was in
the middle of a long one, my phone rang, poof, my email was gone when I hung
up.
· No ring profiles (at night I put my bb 8830 in
phone only mode for emergiencies and then texts and emails don’t ring all night
· No search feature (for finding emails, texts,
calls or subject matters)
· Capitalization requires two strokes on the
keyboard, bb8830 only one (holding down the key)
· No way to jump to the bottom of a long email or
texts or to the bottom of a list of emails or texts
· No way to start typing the name of the person I
want to call. I have to remember how I organized their name in my almost 1000
list of contacts in order to call them.
· Doesn’t sync the tasks from my Outlook
· No speed dialing
· No LED light to tell me I have missed a call,
have a text, email or alarm. I have to physically pick up the phone to look at
it.
· No way to easily add a phone number contained in
the text of an email and add it to address book (in the bb8830 you select the
number, menu, add to address book, done!)
· No cut and paste. THAT’S RIGHT, I SAID IT AGAIN!
· No camera settings menu from the camera option,
no zoom
· My 1st calender entry repeated itself for a week
(even though I coded it "repeat: none" and blocked out 8 hours for
each of those days, even though it was a 1/2 hour appt.)
Fancy webpage graphics and music won’t fix all this. I’m lucky enough to work
in the corporate world at home and my BB keeps me efficient and mobile. Wish I
read a post like this before I got caught up in the iPhone bedazzlement.
FYI…I’m selling my iPhone w/all the extras…anyone interested email me!
by Clarence E. Stowers | Mar 5, 2008 | Leadership
1. KEEPING PEOPLE PAST THEIR EXPIRATION DATE. I’m what you call an eternal optimist. My first instinct is to see the best in people and work to bring it out in the open. I’ve sent people to conferences, personally mentored them, invested time and resources into their development only to be disappointed.
Dismissing a person is never easy, sometimes it’s inevitable. From experience, I’ve learned that the first person you fire is ALWAYS the most difficult. Before I replace someone, I ask myself: "Does the person really need to be replaced?"
A sharper focus can be gained by asking:
1. Is the person’s ineffectiveness, poor leadership, or example blocking the progress of the ministry?
2. How much harm is being done?
3. What if the position goes vacant for a while (one of my favorite questions)?
4. What standard am I using to measure job effectiveness? Sometimes we measure people against impossible standards. We must distinguish between someone who cannot do a job from someone who can but lacks the necessary skills.
The right people
don’t need to be managed–they just need to be pointed in the right direction.
Jim Collins said, "If the person came to tell you that he or she is leaving to
pursue an exciting new opportunity, would you feel terribly disappointed or
secretly relieved?" If you’d be relieved, it’s time for them to go.
