Leadership Essentials: So, Who Do You Serve?
Let’s look deeper at who we really serve through our leadership:
If we love our church, we shouldn’t invest our resources into things that can become a burden during the tough times. Buildings, technologies, and gadgets are tools – they don’t define your church. You define the church.
If we love people, we shouldn’t invest our resources in more staff that will have to be laid off during the tough times. Having a full-time staff is not a bad thing. However, if hiring staff is your first instinct then you serve the organization rather than letting the organization serve the church and community.
If we love our community, we shouldn’t add new programs that will restrict our core mission. Different seasons bring about different needs that sometimes require new programs and depending on new streams of revenue and new resources. If you become too dependent on the program and not serving the need, you may become a servant to the program and fail to keep sight of the true mission. This can happen with churches that are afraid to make changes or do the right thing as it may cause the few big donors to leave and cause revenue streams to dry up.
A word of caution: Don’t get caught up in the idea that if 5000 sq ft is enough, then 10,000 sq ft is better since it “provides room to grow”. This is a marketing trick that encourages you to spend more than you should. Buy what you need for the next 6-12 months, but nothing more. Otherwise, what seemed like a wise idea 2 years ago can create a stress on your staff and volunteers for years to come.
Please understand that I’m not suggesting that every building or program you have built was a wrong decision. What I am suggesting is that leaders have a responsiblity to fully understand their decisions to prevent becoming a servant to lenders or resources that may not be around in the coming years.
The next time you need to make a decision, consider who you are really serving. Check your motives and your assumptions. Perhaps the decision is still the right one to make, but by taking this step first you will ensure you are serving the right thing.
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