Author Archives: markjlenz

21 Unforgettable Quotes From This Year’s Leadership Summit

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195fbff6e89aa01b89abca97c01ee06e“Everyone wins when a leader gets better.” This is just one of many though-provoking truths I overheard at this year’s Global Leadership Summit. Every August, for the past 21 years, the Willow Creek Association puts on a 2-day conference from Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago, highlighting the best leaders from the world of business, politics, athletics, entertainment, education, philanthropy, and the church. The W.C.A. believes that leadership is vital for church vitality. I whole-heartedly agree. So for the past 11 years, I’ve invested into my own leadership to attend one of the 230 U.S. sites that simulcasts the Summit. And every year I’m glad I did.

Many years ago I heard Dr. John Maxwell say, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” These 6 simple words became foundational to my thinking and ministry. Dr. Maxwell was one of this year’s faculty at the Summit and every August, I attend and fill my notebook with notes and quotes that serve to inform and inspire me throughout the year. Here are 21 of the most unforgettable quotes I heard at this year’s Global Leadership Summit. Continue reading →

3 Simple Questions To Help Address Complex Issues

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A co-worker once told me that very complex issues are best addressed by asking and answering very basic questions. There’s a lot of truth and wisdom in his statement. In fact, you might say the more complex the issue, the simpler the question needs to be. Simple questions get to the root of the issue, and I’ve learned to ask 3 simple questions when addressing complex issues that I’d like to share with you.

What business are we in?
The story is often told of an early 20th century drill bit company that was struggling to keep up with the changing drill bit industry, competition, and new technology. One day, the CEO asked employees, “What business are we in?” They all replied they were in the business of making drill bits. All but one. One young employee stood up and said, “No, we’re actually in the business of making holes.” This breakthrough thinking eventually led to the development of laser technology. Continue reading →

3 Layers of Ministry

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Fairly, or unfairly, people are typically judged by three things. Who they are. (Their core values and foundational beliefs.) What they do. (Their productivity.) And what they look like. (Their external appearance.) Linus Morris, in his book The High Impact Church, compares these three areas to an apple. In his analogy, an apple has three parts. The core, the substance, and the skin. The apple core is the inner-most, life-giving part of the fruit. Everything else emanates from it. The substance, or flesh of the apple, is the fruit you consume and enjoy. Finally, the skin is the exterior layer of protection that people see.

skin flesh core JPEG

The same can be said of a person, a ministry, or a church. The internal core is the life-giving essence. The flesh is what is consumed, or the output. And the outer peel is what it looks like. All three are important and it’s good to consider how much emphasis each deserves.

1 Samuel 16:7 says “…The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

It’s clear that the heart is very important. But so is the outcome of a church’s ministry and how things look. But that verse does not say people don’t look at the outer appearance. On the contrary, it says they do! Church leaders would do well to contemplate the importance of each of these three aspects of ministry, so let’s consider each individually.

Core
The core of a church is its spiritual dimension. It’s the life-giving component that makes the church different from other organizations. A church’s theological foundation, its values, purpose and mission need to be solid for it to be effective for the kingdom of God.  

We’ve seen tragic examples of churches, ministries, and Christian leaders with bad cores. Consider Rev. Jim Jones and the massacre in Jonestown, Guyana in 1979. Tragic consequences overtook a large group of people due to the bad theological, ideological, and emotional core of a church and its leader.

Contrast that to a person in ministry with a healthy core. This person loves Jesus, has solid theology, and a good heart. She is humble and in ministry for the right reasons. Remember, the core of a person affects everything that person does. Its importance cannot be underestimated.

Substance
The substance of a church is the ministry it does. Just as people eat the flesh of an apple, people consume the flesh of a ministry. In the children’s ministry, for example, the flesh is the programming and its impact on the children. In the music ministry, the flesh is the music that’s played and the worship it inspires. Continue reading →

3 Principles of Productivity

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In any organization, how decisions are made and how things get done are extremely important. Volumes have been written about strong organizational health, effective managerial principles, and efficient company-wide practices.

The same holds true for the local church. Ensuring wise decision making and encouraging effective work habits are important and of eternal significance. Jesus gave his followers principles related to this idea. He said things like, “be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” And “Let your yes be YES. Let your no be NO.”

Productivity_4Seems simple, right? However, in my 30 years of ministry, I’ve learned that decisions and actions are actually more complex and hold greater significance than one might think. Making decisions and taking action can have far-reaching impact on hundreds, if not thousands, in your church and community. Therefore, it’s important to give this topic its due consideration, and to get this right. So, here are three principles to consider when making decisions and taking action.

What you do
Getting the job done efficiently is the bottom line in many organizations. Managers assigns tasks, provide instructions, give deadlines, and expect follow through. And your job, as a faithful employee, is to do it. Do it well. Do it on time. Exceed expectations, if possible. And, especially if you work in the church, do it joyfully. That’s simply how effective businesses are run.    

But for church employees there are additional thoughts to consider. In some work environments, it seems what is done is all that matters. But in other environments, like a church, how it’s done is also important. So, it’s a good idea to consider how you do what you do. Continue reading →

4 Things That Make a Great Executive Pastor

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The most significant relationship in the church is between the Senior Pastor and the Executive Pastor. It’s almost a given that these two influential leaders need to be unified regarding vision, complement each other’s strengths, and compensate for each other’s weaknesses. While their roles are very different, each plays a unique and significant part of your church’s ministry. Therefore, having the right Executive Pastor on your staff is critical. So if you are looking to hire one, or you currently are one wanting to increase your effectiveness, here are four things that make an exceptional Executive Pastor.

Reflect the heart of the leader
img3The chief aim of a great Executive Pastor is to reflect the heart of the leader. Getting to know the Senior Pastor’s passions, goals and priorities is vital. The Executive Pastor should be the Senior Pastor’s chief representative, main confidant, and most reliable associate. This relationship must be characterized by trust and transparency. And that takes intentionality. It won’t happen by simply sitting in meetings together or working on the same project. Instead, it will require relational interdependence that comes from common experience and shared passion for the mission of the church.

Recognize your role
An exceptional Executive Pastor recognizes his main role is to make the Senior Pastor successful. Once the Executive Pastor knows and reflects the heart of the leader, he can begin to re-cast the leader’s vision, – not his own. When it comes to defending the leader, a wise Executive Pastor knows he must support publicly, yet confront privately. Again, the relationship must be healthy enough for the Executive Pastor to challenge, question, and give direction to the Senior Pastor. But all these conversations must be done in person, and in a private environment. Continue reading →

Delegating Versus Releasing Authority: What’s the Difference?

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Several years ago, I learned an important lesson about the difference between delegating tasks and releasing authority. I was in a ministry situation where I was selected to be on a small team to plan a special training event for our staff. We were each given different aspects of this task and each of us worked very hard to deliver great results. But as we progressed, it became evident that the leader of our team was running just about every detail past our senior leadership team for approval.

The event came and went, and by all accounts, it was fairly successful. But I learned an unexpected, valuable lesson from the experience. I thought our team had been given authority for the event. But in reality, we had been merely delegated tasks.

After reflecting upon that experience, I came to a greater awareness of the difference between the two. Here are four insights on why releasing authority is better than delegating tasks.

Multiplies effectiveness
When a church begins to grow, the senior leader must begin to delegate tasks. The sheer number of duties in a growing church quickly outnumber the leader’s capacity to perform them all.

px220088But as a church continues to grow, senior leadership needs to do more than assign duties. They need to begin to release authority.

Dale Peterson, the Executive Director of Ministry Multiplication at Eagle Brook Church in the Twin Cities, said that their senior leadership team came to a watershed moment when they learned to release responsibility, not just delegate tasks. It’s when their church went from being a growing church to a multiplying church.

Broadens responsibility
When leadership is shared, it divides the load and multiplies the effect. But if all authority lies with one person or committee, it can slow the decision making progress to a crawl. Bottlenecks begin to emerge. Progress is hindered. And tensions rise.

See Acts 6 and the widow crisis in the Early Church as an example. Their solution? Spread out the responsibilities! The leaders appointed deacons and said, “We will turn this responsibility over to them.” People got fed, widows were cared for and the Church took off.

Today, if a variety of people are actually responsible for different areas of ministry, growth is developed, needs are met, and frustration is minimized. Continue reading →

3 Keys to Managing Momentum in Ministry

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3 keys to managing momentum in ministryOne of the most valuable forces in any organization is momentum. When a local church is energized by prayer, the power of the Holy Spirit, and momentum, it becomes a great force that the gates of Hell cannot withstand.

Webster defines momentum as the “strength or force gained by motion or by a set of events.” In other words, momentum is powerful. Physics tells us that momentum is the product of an objects’ mass and velocity. The heavier the object and the faster it moves, the more momentum it creates.

Think of momentum as a person standing at the top of a hill and kicking a ball. With one small kick the ball starts rolling…and keeps going. That’s momentum. Not having momentum is like standing at the bottom of that same hill, and kicking the ball up. If you don’t chase after it and kick it again quickly, it will stop rolling and begin to tumble back to where you started.

In Paul’s ministry, there were times when things rolled really well. He’d touch a handkerchief and someone would bring it to a sick person. And the person got well! But there were also times momentum seemed absent. People openly rejected him, opposed him and became abusive.

If you have momentum on your side, you know it. If you don’t have it, you undoubtedly wish you did. Since momentum is a critical contributing factor in a successful church, here are three keys to managing momentum in ministry.

Building It
First of all, how do you build momentum? Sadly, it doesn’t come easily or quickly. In his #1 best seller, Good to Great, author and researcher Jim Collins describes building momentum in an organization. He tells readers to imagine pushing a big, heavy metal flywheel. Lots of energy is exerted, yet because of its great weight, the flywheel only moves a few inches. But with repeated, consistent pushing, the flywheel slowly begins to move, and gain momentum. “Each turn of the flywheel builds upon work done earlier, compounding…invested effort,” says Collins. “Then at some point – breakthrough!” He says that momentum will finally kick in, in your favor. The heavy weight now begins working for you. Continue reading →

3 Categories of Beliefs, and Why Separating Them is Important

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Beliefs. We all have them. They came from somewhere. They probably started forming in us as young children and have been strengthened through time. Or maybe they’ve changed over the years. Changing a belief or a belief system is a big deal because our minds are wired to think that our beliefs are the correct ones. It’s been said we are creatures of habit. That’s because we believe the way we do things, the way we think, is right.

3 categories of beliefs and why separating them is important GRAPHICObviously, beliefs are very significant in the church. Beliefs are the foundation of our faith. What we believe about God, Jesus, people, the Bible and the Church are of utmost importance. And, as noted, beliefs rarely change. As in the political world, our Christian beliefs, or differences in our beliefs, can be the topic of many disagreements, arguments, and even church splits. That’s why it’s wise to separate our beliefs into three different groups based on their importance. Here are three different categories of beliefs.

Die For
There are several beliefs we should be willing to die for. These are the things that are crystal clear in scripture that are of greatest significance. The nature of God. The work of Christ. The significance of the cross. Beliefs about people, sin and repentance. Beliefs about the Church and the Bible. These are the “die for” beliefs that make us Christians. Continue reading →

Book Review: Pull – Making Your Church Magnetic

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PULL by Bob FranquizOver the past 25 years, there have been many great books on how to make church better. I’ve read many of them and each one offers a unique perspective on the topics of what to do, how to do it and why do it? Bob Franquiz’s book, Pull – Making Your Church Magnetic is a great example of this kind of book.

To give a bit of historical background, there has been much debate in the past two decades on the best way to grow a healthy church. For many years the main method was the invitational approach. In this line of thinking, the “product” at your church is so important and relevant, you merely need to invite people to come and hear the message, and they will show up. And their lives will be changed. Yet more recently, there’s been a different methodology embraced by many. Some suggest an incarnational approach recognizes that people will not respond to an invitation to visit a church. So instead of inviting friends and neighbors, a believer should simply allow God to be formed in him or her, share that experience with others, and they will eventually accept Christ. Volumes have been written about this and other approaches to building God’s Church and fulfilling His Great Commission. This blog entry will not attempt to repeat that.

Additionally, phrases like “externally focused”, “missional”, and “emergent” tend to muddy the water and confuse many. But Franquiz is definitely in the attractional camp of doing church, and Pull gives many specifics on how to make church irresistible. I’ve chosen three themes in his book to point out. Continue reading →

Three Kinds of Church Staff Members

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I once heard someone say, “There are three kinds of people in the world. Those who know how to count…and those who don’t.” In fact, many divide people into three different categories. You know: Those who make things happen. Those who watch things happen. And those who say, “What happened?”

Categorizing people, while typically based on generalizations, and having the potential to lean towards stereotyping, often makes sense. It helps us simplify things. So it is with employees at your church. Here are three kinds of critical church staff people, and thoughts on how best to utilize each type.

Experts
Experts get things done. They are those extremely competent staff people who are highly trained and very skilled at what they do. If you want something done, give it to them. They tend to be a bit more task oriented than people focused, but they get the job done efficiently and professionally. They produce exceptional results. Continue reading →