2. Are the relationships around here healthy?
No community should have better relationships than the local church.
After all, our faith is based on a savior who reconciled the world to himself, forgiving our sin. What could we possibly hold against one another?
And yet often the local church has some of the most fractious, passive-aggressive relationships out there.
We have a savior who came full of grace and truth, yet often church leaders will swing to either extreme: all grace, so issues are never dealt with, or all truth, so people get hurt.
Even if you don’t lead a church (leaders from a variety of backgrounds read this blog), realize that many people love the mission of the organization they work for, they just can’t stand the personal politics and dysfunction.
One of the greatest gifts church leadership can give to a congregation is healthy relationships. So be healthy.
Not sure what that means?
Start by changing one thing. Talk to people you disagree with, not about them. That will change far more than you think.
Additionally, almost every organization has toxic people in it. Here’s a primer on how to spot and deal with toxic people.
3. Will serving help me grow spiritually?
It’s ironic that in many churches and organizations, people equate serving with burning out, not being renewed.
And yet Christian service should be a paradox of renewal: When we give our lives away, we find them. When we serve, we grow.
Part of growing is providing a healthy environment. Pay attention to the issues addressed by the other six questions and you’ll have an environment that favors growth.
But you also need to care for volunteers spiritually, or at least provide an environment in which spiritual growth flourishes.
Pray for them.
Pray with them.
Share your journey.
Encourage theirs.
Mentor your key leaders.
You can’t guarantee spiritual growth will happen, but you can provide the conditions in which it can easily happen.
4. Am I just a means to an end?
I wish I could get some of my early years of leadership back. As much as I would have denied it at the time, I think I naturally saw people as a means to an end.
The end was (and is) a great one: fulfilling the mission of Christ’s church.
But people matter. A lot.
Nobody likes feeling used, but that’s often how churches and other organizations treat people.
Care about them. Encourage them. Ask questions. Listen to their stories. Pray for them.
When you have a healthy, Christ-centered, energized team that knows they’re valued, the mission advances further and faster anyway.
5. Will you help me develop the skills I need?
I had a friend who has visited a lot of churches and nonprofits tell me recently that—as well-intentioned as leaders are—the vast majority of organizations are, in his view, poorly run.
That’s a tragedy.
Why is the local Walmart better run than the local church? Seriously. One is selling products that last a day, a month or a year. The other is brokering life change that lasts forever. The church should be the best in the world at recruiting, training and releasing people into ministry and their calling.
