Insist on the Highest Standards—Leaders have relentlessly high standards, which many people may think are unreasonably high.
- Our mission as church leaders is the most important thing on the planet. There is nothing more important than what churches do. So why do we lack that level of intensity? I’ve met a lot of church leaders who tolerate incredibly low standards, and I think that is the one thing that is holding their ministries back. Building a growing church takes a lot of intense work—emphasis on a lot and intense.
Think Big—Leaders create and communicate a bold direction that inspires results.
- You can’t out-dream God. 10x your thinking. Don’t launch one campus … ask what would happen if you launched five in one weekend! Don’t settle for having your book published … give it away to 30,000 people … for free! What happens if you fail? You only launch three campuses … or only give away 20,000 books? Think of the impact.
Bias for Action—Speed matters in business. We value calculated risk-taking.
- “Jesus is coming back, look busy.” There are seasons in your ministry when you need increased momentum. When people are ready to invite their friends … do everything you can to encourage it. Don’t wait to launch that new student ministry next year … those kids just keep getting older. For whatever reason, God seems to work with those people who are willing to take action. I don’t totally understand it, but I do know that faith is a verb and it requires us to participate. Do something … see what happens … adjust course.
Embrace Frugality—Frugality breeds resourcefulness, self-sufficiency and invention.
- Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ first desk was made of doors bought from Home Depot and bolted together. He still uses a “door desk” today … and many of the conference rooms at Amazon have “door conference tables.” Spend money where it makes an impact on your guests and cut back on everything else, so you can spend it on your guests. Your offices can be too nice. Your staff party can be too extravagant. Watch your spending and invest in what matters most.
Be Vocally Self-Critical—Leaders do not believe their or their team’s body odor smells of perfume.
- Love this one! Leaders who believe their own good press drive me up the wall. You’d think this value would be easy for church leaders to live out … we are all keenly aware of being fallen and our need for a Savior. However, we do like the smell of our own perfume just a little too much.
Earn Trust of Others—Leaders are sincerely open-minded, genuinely listen and are willing to examine their strongest convictions with humility.
- Trust is earned and not given. It’s earned through listening with humility. What process do you have in your church for listening to people who might disagree with you? Recent scandals in our community prove that there can be an unhealthy culture in churches where leaders don’t listen to people around them. In fact, they use spiritual language to silence people who disagree with them. This needs to stop.
