Volunteer-Centered Leader: Introduction

Volunteer-Centered Thoughts: Your Next Calling

Volunteer-Centered Leader: I, Leader

Volunteer-Centered Thoughts: Reality Check

Volunteer-Centered Thoughts: Be Still

Volunteer Centered Leader: The Leader Max

Volunteer Centered Thoughts: Sharing the Load

Volunteer Centered Thoughts: Bearing Burdens

Volunteer Centered Leader: Leadership Freedom

Volunteer Centered Thoughts: Freedom to Fail

Volunteer Centered Thoughts: Freedom to Succeed

Volunteer Centered Leader: Develop Healthy Leaders

Volunteer Centered Thoughts: Worshipful Leadership

Volunteer Centered Thoughts: The Next Generation

Volunteer Centered Leader: Responsible to Rest

Volunteer Centered Leader: Give It Away

Volunteer Centered Thoughts: Giving

Volunteer Centered Leader: Get Away

Volunteer Centered Thoughts: Wanna Get Away?

Thanks to all of my readers and subscribers for your time and comments during this recent series!

So, now what?

If you are developing new leaders and start to see the fruits, you may be asking yourself what comes next? Although this isn’t a full list, here are some thoughts that come to mind:

1. Take a short rest – spend some time away from the ministry, allowing your new leaders to take control of weekly operations. This will give you time to refresh mentally, physically, and spiritually
2. Invest your time in other leaders – help other leaders within your church do the same thing. I have done this by using my ebook’s small group format in a group of 2-6 leaders to teach them what God has taught me. You can do the same using your experience
3. Move to a new calling – I have heard more than once of leaders that have a new calling in their life that they haven’t been able to realize because of the demands of their leadership. Now you have that chance – don’t waste it!

Whatever you do, don’t waste the opportunity to make a huge impact in the lives of those around you! By taking advantage of the opportunity, you can begin to see God work through the lives of leaders in amazing ways. They will experience a level of faith in God that they have never known before, while making a positive impact on others.

Asking “Now what?” Instead, ask “What is for me now, Lord?”

“I have a special concern for you church leaders. I know what it’s like to be a leader, in on Christ’s sufferings as well as the coming glory. Here’s my concern: that you care for God’s flock with all the diligence of a shepherd. Not because you have to, but because you want to please God. Not calculating what you can get out of it, but acting spontaneously. Not bossily telling others what to do, but tenderly showing them the way.”

How does this speak personally to you?

This reminded me of when I came to Christ in 1998. I was working for a consulting company that was about to close the doors due to lack of work. A new job came up about 3 hours away from home, so I jumped at the chance to take it without consulting my wife. We were only 8 months married, so needless to say I had a lot to learn about being a better husband. Through a story that was related in the book, I realized that I had trampled my wife by my selfish decision.

I wonder sometimes how we may trample on our volunteers in a similar way. Rather than following a 1 Peter 5 approach to leadership, we ignore their needs in favor of growing our ministry. We ignore those closest to us in an effort to reach and serve others.

While this may not be the case for you, there other leaders that are struggling with this. I’ve seen it. That is why I use my Handle With Care ebook to disciple other leaders in caring for their volunteers. I have a passion for seeing volunteers treated properly and cared for in a Christ-like manner. That is why I continue to develop leaders within my church to realize the need to focus on the people, not the tasks. And that is why I write this blog.

Too many volunteers have been trampled on in the past – I was one of them in my days as a new believer. Don’t trample your volunteers.

“To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers–not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”

1 Peter 5:1-4 (NIV)

What a great reminder! We are to care and serve for those we are leading – nothing more, nothing less!

This should be a huge challenge to each one of us:

1. It isn’t about our latest ideas, talents, or how much time we “sacrifice” each week to make church happen
2. It isn’t about who has the biggest team of volunteers or who is doing the most at church service
3. It is about giving everything we can to care for those around us, feeding the flock and leading them into a deeper relationship with Christ

How are you going to give more to your volunteers?

How are you sacrificing for them on a daily and weekly basis?

How are you feeding them to deepen their relationship with Christ?

Peter only developed as a leader by spending time with Christ. We cannot expect our next-generation leaders to grow without providing an environment of love from which to grow in their relationship with Him. We can only do this by becoming a volunteer-centered leader who builds up leaders and prepares them to build others.

Give it Away. Get Away. Give More.

1. Take a mini-retreat – not always feasible, but taking a full day away from the phone, computer, and everything else can help refresh your mind and allow you to think
2. Get away from the church – if you can’t take a mini-retreat, find a different place to hang out around your neighborhood (coffee shop, park, etc). Try to stay off the path your friends frequent, otherwise you’ll be interrupted
3. Take your leaders with you – consider taking a mini-retreat with your leaders for an afternoon and spend time praying for one another
4. Read a book of the Bible in one sitting – nothing refreshes like the Word, but often we don’t make the time to read even a chapter a day. Try sitting down and reading a book all the way through (or perhaps all of Paul’s books, or John’s books). Let the Holy Spirit speak to you through the experiences and history
5. Talk with your spouse – find a baby sitter and just spend time with your spouse. Talk about the challenges you are facing or what is happening with your team. Sometimes a spouse may have a different point of view that can help, while giving you both valuable time to spend together

Whatever you do, be sure to break your routine as that is the most effective way to get away and change your way of thinking.

Get Away and Get a Big Idea

Refreshing your leadership requires that you stop and focus on big ideas. These are the things that will drive you and your team over the coming months. Things like:

1. Is the focus of our team or ministry still the right focus?
2. Are we carrying out this big idea on a weekly basis?
3. Is God calling us to a new or different big idea?

Without spending time on the big idea for your team, it is easy to get stuck doing the same thing for months, or even years, at a time.

So, how often should you get away and get a big idea? I prefer scheduling it monthly on my calendar, though quarterly may be a good start.

Get Away and Get Real

Once a week, you should be getting real. This means taking the time to assess how things are being done and if they are effective. Some things to consider include:

1. Are there tasks that can be made easier, quicker, or better?
2. What kinds of things could go wrong (risks), and are we prepared for them?
3. Is there a team member that is struggling, needs more training, or needs to be moved to another position?

These are the tough questions, not the “pie in the sky” fun of big idea thinking. The answers may be even tougher.

Try to get away and get real at least twice a month, but one a week is best as it allows you to react and deal with things quickly.

Get Away and Get Creative

It is difficult to be creative while being close to what you do on a weekly basis because too much of what you do is grounded in reality. Being creative means that you take the big idea, combined with reality, and find new and amazing ways to do things. Being creative may also mean being innovative – taking an idea from someone else and applying it to your team. Here are some ways to spark creativity:

1. Search for articles and blogs that are related to what your team does. Find out what is interesting or innovative that they’ve been doing
2. Talk to other leaders in your community. Perhaps your church isn’t as edgy as they are, but there is still much to learn. While you can’t always adopt all of their ideas, learning a new technique or approach may infuse life into your team
3. Read a book or blog on a completely different subject. Sometimes the best ideas come from how another field solves their problems creatively.

Try to be creative every week. You’ll see experience a new way of thinking about your team.

Just Get Away

It may not be easy to get away as often as I mentioned. Start simple, grow this technique as you get better at it, and soon you will see a huge change in the effectiveness of your team, your leaders, and yourself.

• Give Blood
• Give Thanks
• Give In
• The Spirit of Giving
• Give a Hug
• Some Gave All

What do you think of when you think of giving? Do you have a picture, phrase, poem, quote, Bible verse, or story? What inspires you to give? Post it in the comments and let us know!

Involving her took longer, but it taught her that she had choices: a choice to keep one toy while giving away another. While my wife and I were struggling with whether this technique worked, we found that it did. We realized this when, on her own, she brought a toy that she no longer wanted and said “Momma, I would like to give this toy to someone else. I don’t need it anymore.” Wow!

As a leader, your volunteers are watching you as my daughter was watching me. Through your actions, they see what you do, not what you say.

Leaders Must Give Love Away

You must be willing to give away your love to them. If you do, they will learn to give theirs to others just the same. This means spending more time in prayer with them, more time in prayer for them during the week, and more time caring for them while they are giving their spare time to your team.

Leaders Must Give Control Away

As a leader of leaders, they are watching you demonstrate leadership every day. Whether it is from your emails, phone calls, or how you treat them during the weekends, your leaders will do as you do. They may not be a child, learning for the first time like my daughter, but many are first time volunteers and leaders. They may know how to lead a team at work (or even a large company), but volunteer leadership is much different. You have to demonstrate this by allowing them to have control in their leadership. Only then will they be forced to make decisions and lead others, leaning on what you have done along the way to guide them. This also means that you need to be prepared at all times, as they will see you as a guide in their process of understanding.

Leaders Must Give Success Away

By giving them love and control, you allow yourself to give away the success. While you may have had a contributing hand in what they have been doing, your love for them won’t allow you to take credit for what they are doing. In fact, you will want to honor and reward them for their hard work. If you retain that love and control for yourself, you may get the reward, but you’ll be there by yourself to receive it.

It can be a difficult thing to give – Jesus demonstrated this through His own sacrifice. Are you willing to follow His example and give it away?

So, how about you? What day is your day to rest? You see, you may be the leader of a single team, church, or a CEO, but no matter what you lead you need to rest. If you haven’t been taking a day each week to rest, you need a new attitude. Really.

God calls us to be responsible, but never to be in control – that is His job. So, when God tells us to rest a day each week, we better rest.

I don’t care if you are the only person that can do a particular job or have a rare skill. You need rest. Becoming a leader of leaders allows us to rest, because we can share the burden with others so that we may rest.

It also allows us to move on. Consider what Ray Stedman says regarding the Year of Jubilee:

Here is the reason God has instituted the year of jubilee: It is, first of all, to teach this great fact: The land is God’s. It doesn’t belong to anyone else. “The land shall never be sold in perpetuity. It cannot be possessed forever. It belongs to me.”

Your leadership role is on loan from God. Your job is on loan from God. Your local church, your volunteers, and your employees are on load from God.

It is time to rest.