Do This First When You Hit Whitewater

Every ministry hits whitewater from time to time. You may have been sailing along just fine. Then suddenly, a storm descends with a fury. How you navigate the turbulent waters will determine whether your organization cracks up and sinks, or safely reaches its desired destination.

When ministry doesn’t go as expected, where do you first look to discover the problem? You may be quick to determine that the culprit is a disgruntled employee, a slumping economy or a nasty competitor. Of course, any of these, and others, may fit into the equation.

But that’s not where you should start in a crisis.

When you hit whitewater, the first place to look is in the mirror.

I know, that feels completely unnatural and counter cultural. When it comes to ourselves, we are inclined toward a charitable judgement, a positive evaluation. As coined by Stuart Smalley:  “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!” And don’t forget all your drawings mom taped to the fridge door. The source is certainly “out there” that is causing the tempest.

Maybe.

But I have learned over the years the first operation to perform when life turns south is to turn inward. Dare to take an honest look at yourself–especially your relationship with God and others–before you begin to shift blame elsewhere.

When in the storm you have soaked yourself in a hard core self-examination–and have made corresponding modifications–it is amazing how issues seem to take care of themselves, and how much calmer the waters appear. Because then you have cleared away the personal clouds that would hamper a clear view of a ministry gust.

“Know Thyself,” Socrates said–a vital key for following your North Star, especially in whitewater.

H. David Schuringa

Copyright (c) 2016 North Star Ministry Consultants, LLC

Are You a Student in These Three Schools?

Everyone should engage in life-long learning, especially you who head churches and non-profits. But what does this entail? Here’s three proven “schools” for growth in vital knowledge for your important task.

1. The School of Winners
Nothing feels better than a win. You plan, you set goals. When you and your team accomplish the plan, you sit back, lite up a cigar (metaphorically speaking) and bask in the afterglow of your success.

When you win, you learn a thing or two that is worth repeating. Sometime you just stumble on to a victory but you also learn much from positive unintended consequences. So take notes in this school of the good times.  You learn much by doing and by reflecting on what you have done well.

2. The School of the Experts
You learn more, however, by studying under those a little further up down the road. This classroom of experts can take various shapes and forms.

There are your many fellow leader-travelers to tap and, especially, seek out a mentor and professional consultants. From these you can learn directly by sitting at their feet and picking their brains.

A step removed but equally valuable are educational tools such as books, articles, lectures, conferences, seminars and webinars. In this classroom are people-in-the-know. You should always be working your way through a significant book by an expert in your field. Enroll in this school so you can learn the next winning play.

3. The School of Hard Knocks
Where you gain the most knowledge is also the most painful: your mistakes and failures. Naturally we tend to gloss over, rationalize, blame others and shove mistakes out of our mind. It’s part pride and part hurt that wants to just move on.

But every successful leader I’ve ever met readily admits they learned the most from their goofs. So look in the mirror and own up to yours. Ditch your pride. Work through the pain. Pick yourself up, dust off your pants and surge ahead.

When things don’t go right, dare to ask yourself probing questions like …

•  “How could I have done that differently with better results?”
•  “If I could get a do-over, what should I have said instead?”
•  “Who could I have consulted before jumping in head first?”

Never close the door on the school of hard knocks.

The superintendent of these three schools is the School Master of Success.  Stick close to the chief teacher in the life-long learning process and watch your ministry soar.  He will hand you your diploma someday.

H. David Schuringa

Copyright (c) 2016 North Star Ministry Consultants, LLC

Is Your Leadership Bi-Directional?

Successful ministry leadership should be directed from two vital sources. First, we think of the top, where leadership decisions originate.

This is the “deductive”  end of the spectrum from where orders come down for the rest of the organization. Leadership is, after all, responsible for things like vision, goal-setting, implementation and inspiration.

But organizations that are directed exclusively from the top down tend to be one-sided and single-dimensional. A rigid corporate structure comes to mind. Inspired by Enlightenment philosophers, it begins with the big idea and deduces from that the programs to accomplish the mission and the kind of people it needs to fill the cogs. Those who don’t work out in the cogs are highly dispensable.

Equally important, however, is leadership from the bottom up.

It sounds counter-intuitive at first. But vital information for leaders springs from where the work is actually accomplished, technically referred to as the praxis. Think of pilot programs, unforeseen circumstances, unintended consequences, client responses, unique employee suggestions and talents. This information is also vital for the organization to keep going in the right direction.

This bottom up, “inductive” leadership style is today referred to as organic. Inspired by post-modern philosophy, when left to itself leads to chaos.

Both deductive and inductive directions are vital for ministry leadership. Think of these as a paradox within the tension of which (spanningsveld) is an organization that is alive and headed powerfully in the direction of its North Star.

For a more explicit faith-based explanation of bi-directional ministry, check out this article on “Leadership, Heidelberg-Style.”

H. David Schuringa

Copyright (c) 2016 North Star Ministry Consultants, LLC