Today, we had a great experience with a new provider. The service was not working because of an issue in our house. We told them that we were unwilling to pay $80 to fix the problem and that we would just cancel with them and keep our current provider. The response: NO WAY! The on-site representative came inside, fixed the issue for free and said, “I’m not going to let you leave us.” WOW!

Customer service really is a challenge – as you grow, it’s hard to offer the same things at new levels. I think it will always be a challenge.

For instance, numbers tell you something about the health of your church in many areas. Let’s say your church values community for spiritual formation through home small groups. If you begin seeing decreasing numbers of people attending those groups, then the numbers may point to the fact that people are not experiencing spiritual growth in that context. However, at the same time, increasing numbers may not point to spiritual formation. Only more focused analysis could answer that question.

Numbers point us in the right direction for more analysis to change, tweak or create new strategies. And yes, some people arrogantly point to numbers to help their self-esteem. But, that does not make all numbers bad.

So, really analyze the numbers in your ministry context. Seek more information where needed. Improve or change strategies where needed. But, don’t ignore the number – they really matter.

Last week I was reminded that crisis can be a good thing. In the Gospels, Jesus’ entrance into the religious world created a major crisis or chaos. Jesus challenged the status quo of the religious leaders of His day and destroyed religion as it existed. In turn, He set up a new order – one based upon obedience, faith and grace – instead of works and legalism.

The thought hit me: Sometimes God does His best work when we are in a crisis.

People are more willing to listen when they are in crisis. People are more responsive when crisis hits. Often, people change because of crisis.

So, I’m praying that the church will recognize the current crisis and respond by listening and changing. There’s a great opportunity to see major shift that will impact the world in a whole new way.

One of the challenges ministries are facing today is the rapid pace in which the culture of ministry is changing. We’ve noticed that lots of things are changing – some driven by the economy and some driven by a greater desire for stewardship. One area that I see the ministry equation changing is in the area of staffing. In the past, we worked with this equation:

Current Expectations + Added Staff = Greater Output

Churches often believed that new staff had to be added to achieve greater output. But today, churches are facing budget crunches that are forcing new thoughts that affect staffing. The equation today looks more like this:

Increased Expectations = Greater Volunteer Involvement + Possible Staff Hires

In our ministry context, we committed not to hire any new staff members in 2011, but to develop the staff that we have into greater leaders. As we look at hiring in the future, we will likely evaluate the level of volunteer involvement and how an added staff position will increase ministry expectations – instead of just adding staff believing that expectations and output will increase.

What are other equations in ministry that you see changing in the 21st Century?

My friend, Pastor Chris Stephens, has a passion for helping others pastors and churches. Although the church today has tons of potential, many churches and church leaders are struggling. So, he created LIT, a one day, passion filled, conference that will help take your ministry to the next level. It’s being offered in 4 cities this year, and it’s time to register. Here are the dates:

• New Orleans – February 10
• Nashville – March 24
• Knoxville – May 12
• Virginia Beach – November 3

This is the type of experience priced to allow you to bring your whole team. REGISTER by clicking the links above – hope to see you there!

In 2004, we were facing a budget constraint related to debt. In order to “right” the budget, we were looking for areas to decrease the budget. Everyone was on board with the process. As we analyzed the budget we realized that our cell phone charges were getting out of control. You see, in 2002, we had given everyone on staff a cell phone – with no parameters. It was the days of Direct Connect, and everyone was supposed to use that feature of the phone that did not charge minutes. Unfortunately it did not work well and everyone resorted to just making calls to each other. The result: majorly inflated phone bills. It was out of control (that was still a time of bad phone plans and .40 cents/minute overage charges).

But we got a do-over. That year we canceled all cell phones and everyone on staff bought their own phone and plan. We eliminated a major expense in the budget. Fast forward 5 years. In 2009, we reinstated a plan for cell phones, this time opting for personal reimbursement over church provided phones. It has resulted in major savings and a controllable situation.

When you get a do-over, thing strategically about the future. Those opportunities do not come around often!

Where do you need to take advantage of a do-over in your ministry?

I shared the one thing that you need to gain your Pastor’s trust – Wisdom. In 1 Kings 3:7, Solomon says:

Yet I am just a youth with no experience in leadership. (HCSB)

Solomon goes on to ask God for wisdom. The word in the Old Testament has 5 meanings.

• Wisdom in Battle – For Solomon, he needed to lead the army. For you, there is a spiritual battle you need to be prepared for!
• Wisdom in Administration – Solomon was known for his use of resources. Build a great team and finance your pastor and staff’s vision.
• Wisdom in Spiritual Matters – XP’s should be spiritual. No matter what, lead spiritually. Make sure that your team knows that you love God more than anything else.
• Wisdom in Ethics – make right decisions.
• Shrewdness – the word means “sharp in practical matters.”

Senior Pastor’s, hire a wise Executive Pastor. Executive Pastor’s – ask God for His wisdom. It worked for Solomon!

If you would like the notes, leave a comment and I’ll email them to you.

What has amazed me about the oil spill has been church leaders’ criticism of BP’s leadership through a crisis – particularly on Twitter. Honestly, the churches response to the culture seems a lot like BP’s response to the oil spill. Think about this:

• BP has been seen as slow to react. The church has been much slower to react, holding on to out of date methods while forsaking it’s incredible Message of Christ.
  
• BP knew there were problems and failed to respond. The church has known they have problems for years and has done nothing about it.
• BP’s president said he was “out of the loop on decisions.” Church leaders have continued to “be out of the loop” and blamed it on the unwillingness of people to change or the control of denominations.
  

The major difference between the church and BP – BP’s president apologized, saying, “I am so devastated with this accident…deeply sorry…so distraught” while the church continues to prove their lack of care for the culture by modeling a lack of unity and no desire to reach people in new ways.

Did BP make mistakes? Probably more than we will ever know. Has their response been slow? Maybe so.

But what about the church? Why are we as church leaders so quick to point fingers instead of focusing on our own problems?

Most people believe they are good listeners because of the words they hear. But, listening goes way beyond the words people say.

Honestly, at that moment I picked up my pen and began writing. It was just a great reminder that other nonverbal cues give us great insight into people.

So, when you are talking, you should not only listen with your ears to their words, but…

• Body Language
• Voice Inflections
• Tone of voice

Most of the time, words say less than the other things being communicated. One way to realize nonverbal behaviors is to recognize your own. For instance, if we disagree, my heart will race, my foot will tap and my voice will get louder and higher. You cannot see people’s words, but you can see and experience their nonverbal cues.

Have you just listened to people’s words? If so, you are probably only “hearing” about 25% of what is being said.

Listen beyond the words.

These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom…. (Colossians 2:23)

The world is more about doing than being. So, as we walk with Him, the wisdom of the world continually pushes us to focus on what we “do or do not do” over who we are becoming.

So, in the current direction of your life, who are you becoming?

If you are becoming the person God desires you to be, your doing will align with His Word and Will.