Tag Archive - mission

Hiring Quality #1 // Love Your Spouse

June 8, 2010 in Ministry with 6 Comments

Yesterday I introduced the topic of choosing a quality ministry staff team. Interviewing, reading resumes, checking references, and discussing a candidates strengths and weaknesses are all a part of the process.  However, there are three things that I’m looking for in every person that has the potential to join my ministry team!

First, I’m looking for somebody involved in a healthy married relationship. (Of course if they are not married, they are exempt.) I’m not going to hire somebody that can’t say something nice about their husband (or wife.)  I want somebody that is secure in their relationship, and won’t be coming to work everyday looking for my approval for them as an individual.  It’s a dangerous game for me as a man to surround myself with needy women that don’t get enough attention at home.  That sounds harsh, doesn’t it?

Now, how do I find this out?  Legally, I can’t ask questions about their spouse; but I can listen for little things.  For instance, do they mention their spouse when I ask about their purpose?  Do they mention their spouse when I ask them to describe how they make decisions that affect their families?  I’m always looking and listening for the little things people say about the person they’re married to.  It always makes me feel more comfortable with a person that speaks well of their spouse.

You will disqualify yourself almost immediately if you disparage your husband, belittle his past ideas, or tell me that he doesn’t want you to work for the church.  By the way, I’ve heard all these things in interviews over the years.  This filter helps me to determine how committed a person will be to their purpose and passion serving our church in a ministry staff position.  If they’re committed to their spouse, and consider themselves blessed to share life with them, then I know that they will feel the same way about many other committments they make.

I have a team of all women, besides myself of course, yet the same applies when the day comes for me to hire a male counterpart.

Building a Ministry Staff Team

June 7, 2010 in Ministry with 4 Comments

I’m fortunate to have a stellar ministry team that I get to work with every single day to create these environments for children every weekend.  Some of them are administrative experts, others are creative geniuses, others are gifted communicators, and every one of them is truly dedicated to the vision of our church and ministry vision, values, and mission.  I’m speaking of our paid staff team that does Children’s Ministry at Trinity Church.  Every one of them has been hired by myself, and they all fit together nicely.  Do we always get along?  I’ll let you ask them!

When building a volunteer team you often take what you can get your hands on, then work to find the right place for them.  That means sometimes you bring someone on for one volunteer role, then move them elsewhere when you discover more about their gifts and/or talents.  However, with a ministry staff team I have to get it right the first time, and except for the rare exceptions; I need them to do the job they’re hired for because… I’m paying them!  The reality is that the ministry staff team that I build has more to do with the health of my volunteer culture than many of the volunteers.  Choosing the right person to come on staff is important, and it’s a slow process.

When I’m going through the hiring process, of which I’ve been doing quite a bit over the past 3 months; I look for some key qualities in those that may potentially join my team.  Over the next three posts, I’ll be covering the three most important things I look for in a person that has the potential to join my ministry staff team.  This is not meant to be an exhaustive search, as there are many, many, many things I’m looking for in each staff candidate.  However, these are the big three that are the same for every position and every person.

Looking for Jesus

December 3, 2009 in Ministry, Personal with 0 Comments

bizarro-magic-baby

This Christmas my family and I are using the Countdown to Christmas game, and enjoying our every Sunday Advent candles and readings.  We’re doing much of what we’ve done as a family in years past (see HERE and HERE.)  The main objective for our family during the Christmas season is to create anticipation about the coming Savior, not the gifts.  We talk all month about how the people before Jesus were waiting for Him, how they needed to be redeemed, and how they anticipated the return of a King. Everything is about Jesus.  The Jesus candle is in the center of our Advent Candles, Jesus is the reason why we exchange gifts, the Birth of Jesus is the answer to the prayers of God’s people, and there is no other reason to celebrate Christmas if you take out Jesus!

This year our family prayer is that we’ll see Jesus in the midst of everything else we partake in during this Holiday season.  I know that my children will be experiencing Christmas parties at school, they will be inundated with toy commercials on Disney, they will see countless Christmas light decorations, eat delicious Christmas cookies, watch Christmas movies, and enjoy this fun kid-friendly time of year.  In the midst of this I want to help them find Jesus.  I’m not talking about finding the actual “Baby Jesus” in the nativity scene, but finding the things that point to Christ.  Everything points to Him, if we will only look closely.

We’ve already talked about how our excitement about being out of school is similar to the excitement God’s people felt about the coming Savior.  The lights on our candles light up a dark room, in the same way the presence of Christ lights up a dark world.  I know, I know… it’s a stretch, but I want my kids to see that Jesus is in everything we do at Christmas.  He’s really there.  Just look closer…

What steps are you taking to make sure your family finds Jesus this year?

HT IMAGE: Bizarro

Dysfunction Distraction

September 24, 2008 in Ministry with 1 Comment

Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way. I have serious perfectionist leanings. I’m a problem solver by nature, and if it’s broken I want to fix it or hire the person that will. As I’ve aged and/or matured I’ve learned to lay off a little. Having kids disrupt my life was a good thing, and forced me to not always expect everything to be perfect. I’ve grown to appreciate the imperfections in life, but I’m still a work in progress.

Working in church and para-church environments for over 8 years now, I can honestly say that I’ve seen my fair share of dysfunction. Even in the most healthy of environments there is always some form of dysfunction. I’ve worked in some environments where the dysfunction was the norm, and was universally accepted as “the way it’s gonna be.” I’ve seen dysfunction creep in because of a lack of authority, heavy handed authority, and even because someone hired their offspring to do a job they weren’t qualified for. I think dysfunction will always exist where people exist, so the key is identifying it and fixing it when it’s found.
However, sometimes it’s not my job to fix it. I’m hired to do a job within my church, and currently that job is to keep our kids learning about Jesus! I could spout out my mission statement here, but I’ll save you from that. It’s not my job to fix dysfunctions in areas that don’t immediately concern my area of responsibility. However the little dysfunctions in other areas can seriously distract me. I want to fix them, I want to offer my two-cents, I want to make suggestions, and trust me I’m never short on opinions. However, I’ve learned to keep my mouth shut in meetings, and try to share my suggestions when I feel it’s appropriate. (and it might never be appropriate…)

So here’s the call out: How do you deal with the dysfunction distractions all around you? Or are you in that perfect world?

An Abnormal Children’s Pastor

May 9, 2008 in Ministry, Personal with 11 Comments

I am a Children’s Pastor.

For those of you NOT in the know; that means I work at a church and my primary responsibility is for those members of the church having just been born up until they finish the 5th grade. There are many different areas, departments, and budgets within this broad scope of Birth through 5th Grade, but basically I work with the kids. Like most Children’s Pastors at a church my size, I don’t spend as much time ‘teaching’ kids as I do planning for what others will teach them. I basically manage the department that facilitates spiritual growth in the lives of the kids at the church.

Maybe you read this and you think that you have me pegged as a CP (Children’s Pastor). Let me clear up a few things, to help you understand me more. Here are some truths about me, that often cause me to not fit in so much with the other CP’s I meet.

  • I’m a man. Can’t change that, and it has even kept me from getting a job before. Reverse Discrimination?
  • I hate puppets. Seriously, I hate them. Everywhere I’ve ever worked, the first thing I’ve done is thrown out the puppets. Who uses puppets anymore? There not on TV, they don’t make Muppet movies anymore (or at least they shouldn’t), and I can’t justify doing things in front of kids that are so 1980′s.
  • I hate kid’s music. I really can’t understand why anyone would want to listen to kids sing worship songs on a CD recording. I get the value of music like THIS for background stuff, but why is kids’ music so weird? It’s just terrible. I do however, like to play music that is kid-friendly, and trust me… there is a difference.
  • I have never, nor will I ever, dress up like a clown. I wear normal clothes for someone in their early 30′s (at least I think they might be normal.) I do not wear green socks with red pants, and a cartoonish veggie tales tie to church on Sunday Morning.
  • I don’t like ‘Christian’ movies for kids. I think 90% of the ‘Christian’ movies and tv shows for kids are garbage. What I mean is that they are poorly created, poorly thought out, and rarely make any kind of spiritual impact. I’d rather my kids watch Clifford the Big Red Dog than most of the ‘Christian’ DVD’s I see around.
  • I hate making announcements from the stage on a Sunday morning for Children’s workers. Hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it! It’s like telling people to jump on our sinking ship, and it confirms the fears most people have that we’re desperate for help; which isn’t the case. Not to mention that it never works. I also hate for my Senior Pastor to make pleas for workers; it’s even worse than making the announcement myself.
  • I think that what I do in the church is equally as important as every other ministry that falls under the umbrella of our church. Not more important, not less important. Aren’t we really all doing the same thing, but on different levels?
  • I really consider myself someone who works more for families, than someone who works with kids. I love working with kids, but if that is all I do then I would really hate this job. It’s all about getting kids to have an encounter with Jesus that impacts those around them. (That’s you, Mom and Dad!)
  • I’m not a CP because I failed at speaking in front of adults. I really love speaking in front of kids, but not because I’m scared to speak in front of adults. I’m comfortable speaking in front of any age crowd, as long as I have something to say.
  • I’m not patiently awaiting a promotion to Youth Pastor or Senior Pastor. I really like working with kids. They’re more honest, more energetic, less grumpy, and they’re much easier to beat in basketball.
  • I’m not good at crafts. I don’t do coloring sheets in my spare time, and you can’t find craft sticks and glue in my office. I’m just not a crafty guy, so I’ve hired others to do that for me.
  • I don’t act childish. I don’t feel that I have to act like a 10 year old to get the attention of kids, and I think you’re fooling yourself CP’s out there if you do. That doesn’t mean I don’t tell jokes that only 10 years get, or that I act all snooty all the time. I’m just authentic, in a way that kids can understand.
  • I cringe when people call me a pastor. (I know, I know, I am a pastor. I’m educated and trained and ordained…) It took me years to come to this place, but I really can’t figure out what to let the kids call me. I think Mr. Jonathan is a little weird, and I think Pastor Jonathan makes me seem snooty in some way.
  • I read business leadership books. They’re better than most church books out there, and I think leadership is one area that CP’s should spend more time studying up on.
  • I don’t homeschool my kids. Let’s not go there, OK? (Except to say that I think everyone should do what they have convictions to do…)

There, it’s out there. I’ve gotten the burden off my chest, and I can peacefully coexist with those that think I’m a nut. One of the great things about having a blog and reading blogs is meeting other CP’s that are just like me. It wasn’t until I started reading blogs that I realized that I’m not alone. I’m still in the minority, but I’m not isolated!

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