Another variable in determining strategy that is often overlooked is the strengths of the people within the organization at the time. I posted before about the way organizations typically replace senior leaders. (Read that post HERE.) Organizations usually replace the top position with someone opposite from the one that leaves. They do this to build on a strength they feel the former leader didn’t have.
Even so, in my position, I often have to say “Noâ€. I have to consider the amount of money and energy expended as it relates to the entire church organization. Honestly, there are times I feel like the dream killer more than I get to be the dream enhancer, because I often have to be the “No†voice, but the fact is, as with any organization, we operate with limited resources and sometimes saying no is the right decision at the time. In these times, I have to walk the delicate balance between saying yes and saying no.
Change is necessary, however, if organizations want to continue to improve and grow. The simple fact is that change requires a certain amount of faith. Faith is much easier to believe, and even to preach, than it ever is to live by.
In our recent series “Hunger†at Grace Community Church, I shared a system I have used for spiritual growth that has helped me mature. I had numerous people ask me the following week to describe the details of my “systemâ€. It really isn’t anything scientific or deeply thought out, but has helped me greatly.
Tweet Are you planning yet for a better year? Now is a great time to start evaluating the year and planning for a better new year. I don’t know about…
I was honored this week when Jesse Phillips with CatalystSpace blog called me a “seasoned leaderâ€. I feel I still have more to learn than I have learned, but it did cause me to reflect on some of the experiences I have had and people that have influenced me in my leadership ability.
For years, I resisted a call to ministry, partly because of this advice. The simple fact was that I could do some things besides ministry. I had some success in business. In fact, at one point I was extremely successful in my field. In my own strength, I found I could do many things.
Either:
* They fail
* Nothing changes
* They shine
I was inspired while visiting the small town of Jerome, Arizona on our recent vacation to the Southwest. While Cheryl enjoyed some local shopping, I enjoyed perusing the streets discovering nuggets of the city’s rich history. Jerome began as a mining town. People came hoping to get rich off the minerals in the area, especially copper. When the mines dried up, the city nearly died. Jerome’s population went from a height of 15,000 in 1920’s to 50 people in the late 1950’s.
Earlier this week I was looking for an old file and ran across some notes from a “Dream Big†planning retreat we did as a staff in August of 2007. We were almost 2 years old at that time and the assignment was to brainstorm about “the sky is the limit†and “money is not an obstacle†dreams the staff at the time had. It was amazing to look at the list today and realize that much of the list is being accomplished or could be in a short amount of time. I realized it is time for us to dream big again!
