As a former businessperson and now as a pastor, I know firsthand there are two areas of operation every church, business or organization has to have in place, and that must be managed well, but most ministers and many leaders, especially the more entrepreneurial leaders, usually know little about and really don’t enjoy doing:
I realize the economics may not work that way, but I almost wish the title could read: Tennessee considers business tax reduction to aid jobless.
Here’s a piece of advice for everyone in business, as well as in church life, today. It’s simple, yet complex. It requires time and energy, but it will pay off when needed.
Keep your resume updated and keep it handy.
This is a random post, but I was thinking about leadership again today. There are many leaders I know who certainly have responsibility for an organization, but I wouldn’t necessarily consider them “good leaders”. (This is not aimed at anyone specific; so don’t read it as such. If the shoe fits…)
Organizations hardly ever replace their leadership with the same type of leadership they currently have. When a leader leaves the organization, they look for an almost opposite to what they had in a leader. I’ve observed this trend over the years. It’s true at every level of society. School systems, churches, governments, universities, corporations, and non-profits all do this in relatively the same way.
Is it production or process? In terms of which is more important in your work, is it production or process? In other words, is the end product being produced well more important than enjoying the process of working towards an end product or vice-versa?
That’s a tough question, but it is one I have actually faced that a few times in my life. Once in business where I knew, I didn’t have the energy or the expertise to carry the company to the next level. In my last two churches, I reached a point where knew it was time for another pastor if the church wanted to continue to grow.
There is a Biblical model for identifying potential leaders. It is found in Exodus 18:21. Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, had advised Moses to recruit some leaders. Then he told him what type of people to look for.
Who are you as a leader? Determining the type leader you are is often as important as the leadership you provide. Every leader needs to understand his or her individual strengths and weaknesses, and the skills he or she has and does not have. It is also important to understand the style of leadership you aspire to and what you expect of followers and would think they expect of you.
Some people speak a language they share with the group of people who have a similar lifestyle, occupation or interest. We tend to indoctrinate ourselves with the language and culture of the people we hang around, work with, and from whom we learn.
