Christopher L. Scott

Many people say Abraham Lincoln was the greatest leader the United States of America has ever had. There are four distinct leadership lessons Abraham Lincoln shows that can be directly applied to my own work in Christian ministry and leadership. The first of the four is about the necessity of reading the Bible and using it as a guide.

Keep a Bible Nearby and Read It Often

One of the three books which Mr. Lincoln often read and memorized sections of during his youth was the Bible.[1]

Later on as Lincoln became President many people witnessed that he always kept a Bible on his desk and read it often.[2] In fact, as the Civil War began and caused increased stress and tribulations he often read it more and focused on specific stories that would encourage him and help with the situations he was in. ³ In Lincoln’s Philadelphia Speech at Independence Hall in 1861 he showed what a solid biblical foundation does for a leader when he needs to stand up on an issue. Lincoln made a speech about how the “weights [of slavery] should be lifted from the shoulders of all men, and that all should have an equal chance.”[3] In the speech Lincoln also explained that the only way there would be bloodshed and war was if it was forced upon the government. Then Lincoln boldly declared his commitment, “I have said nothing but what I am willing to live by, and, in the pleasure of Almighty God, die by.”[4] One of the important things for Christian leaders is to have conviction for what they are doing that is founded in biblical principles.

Additionally, a careful reading of Lincoln’s speeches reveals that he used Bible based scripture imagery and literal quoting on a regular basis when appropriate such as “let us judge not, that we be not judged” and “the Almighty has His own purposes. Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.”[5]

As a Christian leader I too must read the Bible often and memorize chunks of it. To lead people in an authentic way I must know what God’s word says and use it to guide others that way. Knowing God’s verses and stories allows me to pull those out when I need them as I interact with people who are going through difficult circumstances and or I myself am going through difficult circumstances. And perhaps the greatest way to be a well formed Christian leader is allowing God’s word to marinate in my life in a way that molds and forms me into a great leader.

As a pastor I bring my Bible to the church with me each day and then take it home with me in the evenings. The Bible sits on my desk while I work throughout the day, I take it on my pastor care visits, and when I sleep at night I keep it on my nightstand near me.

As Lincoln was witnessed to always keep a Bible on his desk and to read it often, it is a leadership example that if it helped to end slavery and gave him the strength to stand up against it, then I too should do the same. Perhaps some of Lincoln’s relationship to the Bible helped him develop another leadership quality worth noting which will be discussed next: his ability to stand firm.

Stand Firm

Lincoln stood firm on many issues while president against opposition from others both within his own Presidential Cabinet and outsiders too.[6]

No greater quote can illustrate his ability to stand firm on an issue than this quote he made in 1939: “Broken by it, I, too may be; bow to it I never will. The probability that we may fall in the struggle ought not deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just; it shall not deter me.”[7] Historians disagree about whether Lincoln’s quote is about banking or slavery. Early historians (including the pastor who read this quote at his funeral) believe Lincoln was talking about slavery, while historians as of late claim Lincoln was speaking on the topic of banking. A careful study of Lincoln will reveal that as a member of the Whig Party early in his political career (which was at the time he made this speech) meant he was in strong favor of a US bank and it is well known his stance on slavery. Whichever topic he was discussing does not matter because his steadfast commitment to both issues was the same. The only difference was the strength of opinion and belief of the American people when sought to change each issue as he rose in his political career.

Another example of Lincoln standing firm came in the context of Mr. Lincoln standing up for his wife, Mary Lincoln, when others accused her of inviting unworthy guests to the White House. Mr. Lincoln calmly responded to the criticizer that he and his wife will invite whom they please to have as company in their home and that they do not need any outside help in selecting their guests to entertain.[8]

One more great example of Lincoln standing firm was when he talked about the necessity of all men being equal when he commented, “there is no need of bloodshed and war. . . . there will be no bloodshed unless it be forced upon the government. The government will not use force unless force is used against it.”[9] But, Lincoln makes it very clear that he is the one in charge and that there will be use of force if the Confederate States decide to start a war and have a war. There are many more instances where Lincoln stood firm on issues. The most common issue which Lincoln stood firm on for many years was the topic of slavery. Lincoln believed that if it was not abolished, it should at least not be allowed to spread.

In my life there are instances where I need to stand firm, and this probably is an area where I need to have more confidence. When instances come up and situations arise that I have a strong feeling on, I need to take a position and stand firm on what I believe in. But this is sometimes difficult because I am at times scared to anger others. Learning about this quality Lincoln had helps me to realize that some topics are so important that it is okay to anger others when it leads to standing firm for what is right.

Self-Led Growth

Lincoln was a self-grower: meaning he worked hard to grow personally and professionally so that he could read, write, speak well, and lead.

In this way, he pushed himself to do what was needed to be done and he grew along the way.

The level of Lincoln’s accomplishment is amazing when considering his limited formal schooling. Several sources show that Lincoln probably only had as much as a year of formal schooling. One biographer comments on his ability to learn and grow: “He developed a confidence that he could dig into books for what he wanted, and would so repeatedly in the years ahead. And that confidence in his powers of understanding what was written on the page seems to have encouraged a broader self-confidence, in his judgment and his critical powers-let us call it a moral self-confidence.”[10]

Later when the Civil War started Lincoln himself admitted he knew nothing about military strategy, tactics, or how to win a war. Concurrent with his past history of digging into books to find the answer he needed, Lincoln began studying war tactics, maps of the South, and actively working with his military generals to the point that he was a well versed military man by the end of the Civil War.

In the context of Christian Ministry and Leadership I too must have self-led growth. Eighteen months of education in Christian Ministry and Leadership is not going to teach me all the things I must know to effectively serve and lead others. To be as great of a leader as Lincoln was, I will need to practice self-led growth by regularly reading books, attending conferences, and spending time with others who will stretch me to grow and develop.

As we will see next, Lincoln’s self-led growth will be the most important aspect that allows him to actively lead.

Actively Lead

Perhaps one of the Lincoln’s greatest assets was during the Civil War when Lincoln actively led.

Early in his presidency he said he never wanted to dabble in the military, but when the Confederates (in the South) decided they wanted to start a war in order to separate themselves from the Union (in the North), Lincoln had to lead the war.[11] He had to allow his military officers to lead but he also monitored them, which is how he was able to know when to fire them and when to promote them. Because Lincoln had to actively lead both in and out of the Civil War he was quoted saying, “As commander-in-chief of the army and navy, in time of war, I suppose I have a right to take any measure which may best subdue the enemy.”[12] And that is what Lincoln did during the military. He made trips to visit his troops, he regularly communicated with his military generals, he nervously anticipated war reports as they came in over the telegraph machine, and he fired and promoted generals based on their performance and willingness to carry out his orders. Lincoln’s habit of actively leading helped him know when he had a military general who needed to be fired and when he needed to promote someone else. Because he was actively engaged in the war studying strategy and reviewing reports on a daily basis he was better equipped to lead his nation. He so closely monitored what was going on, he knew what results to expect in the war.

The greatest description of how Lincoln actively led while President and during the Civil War is described in “Lincoln’s Personal Motives and Capacities for Reconciliation:”[13]

• Self-control and Forgiveness: His emotional balance in difficult situations was attributable to “acute self-awareness and an enormous capacity to dispel anxiety in constructive ways.”[14]
• Empathy and Cognitive Complexity: His ability to show empathy helped his political efforts and ability to forgive others.[15]
• Optimism About Others’ Potential to Change: His own ability for intellectual growth helped him be optimistic for positive change in others.[16]
• Intellectual Formation and Reconciliation Policy: His habit of reading history and biography reinforced his tendency for precedent.[17]

With these qualities, Lincoln was successful in actively leading. His self-control and forgiveness was necessary during difficult times working with military generals who would not follow orders. His empathy and cognitive complexity helped him to create a proper so called “punishment” for the Confederates (South) after the Civil War ended because he said they would not necessarily be punished, but the result of the Union (North) ending the war over the Confederates would be that they would no longer be able to have slavery.

Lincoln’s optimism for others to change is probably best shown in his original plan that showed the war ending in 90 days. One of the saddest parts of Lincoln’s assassination only one week after the end of the Civil War was that many of his reformation and reconstruction ideas and policies were not implemented. In his mind he already had many great ideas to put our nation back together after the Civil War which were not carried out to their fullest capacities. Actively leading is something I do well. I am good at casting vision and actively plotting us to get there and making progress along the way. Due to the demand to be highly organized and administratively savvy at my current job, it has helped me to develop this quality of learning to actively lead (some would call this “project management”) which I am grateful to have learned about.

Conclusion

When studying the life of a great man and leader such as Abraham Lincoln, there are many things that can be learned about leadership.

These four aspects of keeping a Bible nearby and reading it often, standing firm, self-led growth, and actively leading are great principles that can and should be applied to the life of a Christian leader such as myself.

[1] Ronald D. Rietveld, “Was Abraham Lincoln a Christian?” Bibliotheca Sacra (January 1960): 59. 

[2] David Grubin, Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided, DVD (American Experience and PBS, 2005). 

[3] Abraham Lincoln, “Philadelphia Speech” (speech, Independence Hall, 1861). 

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] The concept of Lincoln developing a Presidential Cabinet of men who often strongly opposed him on many issues is a topic so amazing that Doris Kearns Goodwin wrote a book about this topic titled, Team of Rivals: The Practical Genius of Abraham Lincoln (Simon & Schuster, 2005). In the book she specifically describes how Lincoln mastered the art of leading other men so well that he was able to assemble a Presidential Cabinet of men who mostly opposed many of his beliefs, but how in the end Lincoln was able to masterfully employ them to help keep the Union together and end slavery.

[7] William Lee Miller, Lincoln’s Virtues: An Ethical Biography (New York, NY: Vintage Books, 2002), 144.

[8] Grubin, Abraham and Mary Lincoln.

[9] Abraham Lincoln, “Philadelphia Speech” (speech, Independence Hall, 1861).

[10] Miller, Lincoln’s Virtues: An Ethical Biography, 53.

[11] Grubin, Abraham and Mary Lincoln.

[12] Thomas E. Schneider, “Lincoln and Leadership,” Perspectives on Political Science (Spring 2007), 71.

[13] Daniel Lieberfeld, “Lincoln, Mandela, and Qualities of Reconciliation-oriented Leadership,” Peace and Conflict 15 (2009): 34-44.

[14] Goodwin, Team of Rivals, 607.

[15] Lieberfeld, “Lincoln, Mandela, and Qualities of Reconciliation-oriented Leadership,” Peace and Conflict 15 (2009): 38.

[16] Ibid., 40-41.

[17] Ibid., 42.

The poor character of church leaders is killing our churches.  While in seminary I worked as a caddie at a private golf club for three years. That job provided lots of time to talk with my coworkers. Time after time they shared stories of disappointment and disgust about the church and Christians.

            They talked about TV pastors getting rich from the pennies of poor elderly women. They talked about local pastors caught having affairs with women in the church. They talked about so-called internet pastors who fancied themselves as “apologists” that could disprove evolution when the pastor had no training or knowledge of basic science.

            The poor character of the church leaders they knew about repulsed them from ever wanting to visit a church or become a Christian. We can talk about marketing tactics all we want, but until we fix the character issues within our church, no marketing efforts will work. Thankfully, the Bible gives us plenty of examples of how to be Christian leaders of good character. Some are examples to follow. Some are examples to avoid. Let’s look at one of those from the Old Testament.

Character in Genesis
Judah was outraged when he heard Tamar, the widow of his deceased son, had become pregnant because of prostitution. He demanded, “Bring her out, and let her be burned!” (Gen. 38:24, NLT).[1] What a shame to their family name! What an embarrassment for her! But this story exposes Judah’s poor character and his poor decisions, not Tamar’s.

            Judah’s firstborn son was Er who married Tamar, but Er died. So Judah had his second-born son, Onan, marry Tamar, as was customary to continue the family name and keep their land secure. But Onan died too (Gen. 38:3-10). Judah’s only living son was too young to marry Tamar, so Judah told Tamar to go live with her parents and remain a widow until his youngest son, Shelah, could marry Tamar. Although “Judah didn’t really intend to do this because he was afraid Shelah would also die, like his two brothers” (Gen. 38:11).

            When Shelah was old enough to marry, Tamar realized no arrangements had been made for them to wed (Gen. 38:14). So Tamar devised a plan. She put on a veil to disguise herself, sat beside the road, and waited for Judah. Judah thought that Tamar was a prostitute and told her he would pay her with a goat from his flock if she had sex with him (Gen. 38:14-17).

            Tamar was smart. She asked Judah to leave his identification seal, cord, and his walking stick as a guarantee that he would bring the goat (Gen. 38:18). After their night together when Judah sent the goat to the woman he thought was a prostitute, she was gone (Gen. 38:20). 

            Three months later Judah heard that Tamar had “acted like a prostitute” and had become pregnant. In response Judah demanded, “Bring her out, and let her be burned!” (Gen. 38:24). But before anyone could kill Tamar she sent the seal, cord, and walking stick to Judah saying, “The man who owns these things made me pregnant. Look closely. Whose seal and cord and walking stick are these?” (Gen. 38:25).

            Judah recognized his items and admitted, “She is more righteous than I am, because I didn’t arrange for her to marry my son Shelah” (Gen. 38:26[1] ). Judah’s poor character caused him A Godly character[2]  would have eliminated a lot of pain, shame, and heartache for Judah[3] .

Judah’s Failure

There were three significant failures of Judah’s character. First, Judah never intended to do what he said he would do. His two older sons had died. He told his daughter-in-law, Tamar, that when his youngest son was old enough for marriage, he would allow them to get married. However, the text in parenthesis provides an insight into what Judah was truly thinking, “But Judah didn’t really intend to do this because he was afraid Shelah would also die, like his two brothers” (Gen. 38:11b).

            Second, Judah didn’t maintain sexual purity. He had gone to the city of Timnah to supervise the shearing of his sheep (Gen. 38:12). While on that business trip he must have had time to spare and decided to pay for sex (Gen. 38:15-16). Without knowing it he paid for sex from his daughter-in-law!

            Third, In addition to deceit, Judah did not follow Israel’s customs to protect property ownership and family lineage. When a married man died his brother was supposed to marry the widow and have children through her (Deut. 25:5-10). Judah was scared to do this because he thought his youngest son would die like his other two sons had died..

Defining Character

In a postmodern culture sometimes we are confused about what “character” is. Lets define it. The Dictionary of Bible Themes defines character, “The moral and mental features that define a person, whether good or evil. The term also means moral strength, which Scripture regards as something to be highly valued.”[2] The Concise Oxford English Dictionary defines character as “the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.”[3]

            As you can see from those two definitions, character is the reputation someone has based on her actions. As Christians we want to cultivate a righteous[4]  character. Righteous character is good and ethical character that shows our love for people, as well as our love for God. One way we cultivate this type of character is by doing what we say we will do.—one that shows our love for people—as well as our love for God.[5]  We cultivate that good ethical character by doing what we say we will do. Judah failed to do this .[6] 

A Contrast in Character: Joseph

Joseph was the half-brother of Judah. As a teenager he didn’t always exhibit the best judgment. In one situation he gave a bad report to his father about his brothers pasturing a flock (Gen. 37:2). He told his brothers about a dream in which they bowed down before him (Gen. 37:5-8). (This meant Joseph would reign over his brothers.) And he also told his brothers and father about another dream he had in which the sun, moon, and stars were all bowing down before him (Gen. 37:9-11). One person told me Joseph in his younger years was “a little bit haughty,” and I agree.

            But as Joseph grew older his character got better. His brothers, in their hate for Joseph, sold him to some Ishmaelite travelers, who eventually sold him as a slave to Potiphar in Egypt.

            Joseph grew into a smart and handsome man. Joseph “succeeded in everything he did” while serving Potiphar (Gen. 39:2). Everything that Joseph did prospered (Gen. 39:3). Joseph soon found favor in Potiphar’s mind (Gen. 39:4) and he put Joseph in charge of everything that Potiphar owned. Joseph was so competent that Potiphar only decided what he was going to eat because Joseph took care of everything else (Gen. 39:6).

            When Potiphar’s wife expressed her desire to have sex with Joseph (Gen. 39:7) he refused and tried to avoid her (Gen. 39:8-10). When Potiphar’s wife was alone with Joseph she grabbed him and demanded he have sex with her. But Joseph ran away from her (Gen. 39:12)! Potiphar’s wife lied and said that Joseph had tried to rape her, so Joseph was placed in jail (Gen. 39:13-20).

            While in jail soon Joseph proved himself a faithful servant and good manager in jail, just as he had been under Potiphar. Soon the chief jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners (Gen. 39:21-23). Later Joseph was released from jail and given responsibility by the Pharaoh of Egypt.

            In Pharaoh’s service, Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of his court and all the people of Egypt took orders from him (Gen. 41:40). Joseph gathered food during the seven years of good crops in Egypt (Gen. 41:47-49). And when the crops stopped producing food and the people were hungry, they all came to Joseph because he had stored the extra food from the seven good years of harvests. When famine came, people from all over the earth came to Joseph and he sold food to them (Gen. 41:56-57).

            During the severe famine Joseph’s brothers, which had sold him into slavery 13 years earlier, came to him asking him for food. Joseph told them to bring their families to live in Egypt so that Joseph could provide for them (Gen. 49:9-11). Which he did until his father died. DECISIONS THAT CAUSED JUDAH SHAME

Judah never intended to do what he said he would do. His two older sons had died. He told his daughter-in-law, Tamar, that when his youngest son was old enough for marriage, he would allow them to get married. However, the text in parenthesis provides an insight into what Judah was truly thinking, “But Judah didn’t really intend to do this because he was afraid Shelah would also die, like his two brothers” (Gen. 38:11b).

            Judah didn’t maintain sexual purity. He had gone to the city of Timnah to supervise the shearing of his sheep (Gen. 38:12). While on that business trip he must have had time to spare and decided to pay for sex (Gen. 38:15-16). Without knowing it he paid for sex from his daughter-in-law!

            In addition to deceit, Judah did not follow Israel’s customs to protect property ownership and family lineage. When a married man died his brother was supposed to marry the widow and have children through her (Deut. 25:5-10). Judah was scared to do this because he thought his youngest son would die like his other two sons had died.

DECISIONS THAT DEVELOP A BETTER CHARACTER

We need to do what we say we will do. Judah could have avoided a lot of embarrassment and shame if he would have simply done what he told Tamar he was going to do. Or if he would have been honest and told her he had no intention of marrying Shelah to her, she could have found another person to marry (see Ruth 4 for an example). But he did not. He said one thing knowing he intended to do something different. For us to be people of good character, we need to do what we say we will do.

            We need to maintain sexual purity for a godly character. Sexual purity (especially among men) is an area most of us need to guard. In their book, Every Man’s Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Temptation One Victory at a Time, the authors say, “Sexual sins are the termites in the walls and foundations of today’s marriages.” Sexual sin might be found in novels, movies, magazines, our thoughts, or how our eyes wander to places they shouldn’t. Sexual sin is difficult for everyone: men, women, marrieds, singles, young, and elderly. We must clasp Scripture to help us fight sexual sin and maintain a godly character.[7]  We can memorize these verses to help us with sexual sin in our lives: Job 31:1; 1 Cor. 6:18-20; and 1 Thess. 4:3-7.[8] 

            We need to follow God’s commands for our character[9] . As Christians in a non-Christian world people should look at us and see that something is different. Paul told the believers in Philippi that even though they lived in the city of Philippi (which was part of the Roman Empire) they were “citizens of heaven” (Phil. 1:27; 3:20). Regardless of where we physically find ourselves, living as citizens of heaven should make us look different. Pastor and author Chuck Swindoll writes, “Professors, as well as pastors, corporate leaders, and those who engage in sales, need character.[10] [CS11] ” People should see a difference in us when they look at our lives and our character.[12] 

DECISIONS DETERMINE OUR CHARACTER

Character counts. It effects our lives in more ways than we realize.[13]  If we want to develop our character we should keep Warren Wiersbe’s words close at heart, “Life is built on character, but character is built on decisions. The decisions you make, small and great, do to your life what the sculptors chisel does to the block of marble.” A good character can save us from pain, embarrassment, heartache, and shame. We saw this in Judah’s story above. Good character is built on daily decisions[14] .

Cultivating Good Character for Christian Leaders

How can we cultivate a good character for our lives?

            First, we need to do what we say we will do. Judah said one thing but planned to do something different. Judah could have avoided a lot of embarrassment and shame if he would have simply done what he told Tamar he was going to do. Or if he would have been honest and told her he had no intention of marrying Shelah to her, she could have found another person to marry (see Ruth 4 for an example). But he did not. He said one thing knowing he intended to do something different. But Joseph said he would help his brothers and he did help them multiple times (even when he didn’t have to, and when know one would blame him for not helping them). For us to be people of good character, we need to do what we say we will do.

            Second, we need to stay away from sin. Sin can be blatant gossip about others, uncontrollable anger, drunkenness, or envy of others. Judah sought sex with a prostitute while traveling. Joseph fled the sexual advances of his boss’ wife. There are several things we can do to stay away from sin. The place to start is to not put ourselves in front of temptations. If we struggle with eating a healthy diet we shouldn’t go to the grocery store while hungry. Or a better idea is to only shop at a health food store. Doing everything possible to remove temptations is the best way to start. Another way we can stay away from sin is to pick specific verses of Scripture to memorize that will help us stay away from sin. When we feel tempted we should quote that verse in memory to help us combat the temptation. Another way we can stay away from sin is to surround ourselves with healthy people that are good influences in our lives.

            Third, we need to look different. Judah was “one of the guys.” He had a business and enjoyed the luxuries of travels. Joseph stood out among everyone he was around. Potiphar, the jail warden, and Pharaoh all recognized that something was different about Joseph. As Christians in a non-Christian world people should look at us and see that something is different. Paul told the believers in Philippi that even though they lived in the city of Philippi (which was part of the Roman Empire) they were “citizens of heaven” (Phil. 1:27; 3:20). To live as a citizen of heaven while on earth means we should pray unceasingly, participate in a faith community, and provide for our family and church. Regardless of where we physically find ourselves, living as citizens of heaven should make us look different.

            Character counts for church leaders. It effects our lives in more ways than we realize.[15]  We saw this in Judah’s story above. Hopefully we can cultivate a good character and be like Joseph.

[1] Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

[2] Martin H. Manser, Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies, (London: Martin Manser, 2009).

[3] Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson, eds., Concise Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004).

You did a wonderful job retelling the story in a concise and easy to follow way, well done!

What is “godly” character?

It might be nice to contrast Judah with someone else in the Bible who had good character (even if it wasn’t consistent). Maybe Abraham agreeing to sacrifice Isaac and following through up until the last minute when God told him to stop. What did this obedience produce in him? And how does growing our good character and obedience to God relate? You can add something like this further down in the article where you’re talking about decisions that develop better character.

Christian jargon – please expand in laymens terms, or in a fresh way?

Great!

Excellent!

There may be other things too. Like surrounding ourselves with healthy people that are good influences, not putting ourselves in front of temptations (perhaps Judah could have brought a friend/servant along to keep him accountable or not have such idle time on his hands, or avoided the main entrance where all the prostitutes hang out.

Your first and third points under this section are more general, and this one is very specific. Consider generalizing this section to be how we need to not be sinning to create godly character. You can still keep the content about Judah’s specific sexual sin, but can round out the section to cover more than just that, so it resonate with more readers.

What are these commands?

I’m not sure this quite flows. Why only professors, leaders, and sales people? Shouldn’t everyone? And “character” is not what we need, but specifically “good character”. 🙂

 [CS11]I deleted it. 😊

Totally agree!

I wonder if there is a way to make this more practical for our readers. How are they to develop character?

I’m not sure the “daily decisions” angle is that clear. It seems like earlier you argue that building good character is all about follow-through and doing what you say you will do. This isn’t usually a daily act that begins and ends in 24-hrs, but something that may resurface days, weeks, or months later. When Romans 5:4 says “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;  perseverance, character; and character, hope.” So is good character built on perseverance? And how does this relate to your description of following-through and it’s link to perseverance?

I wonder if there is a way to make this more practical for our readers. How are they to develop character?

“Our church is not for sale to the highest bidder” my senior pastor once told me. We were talking about budgeting methods and why our church used a unified budget.

He then told me a story about how he was serving in another church which had a choir. Someone in the church desperately wanted the choir to wear formal choir robes. However, my senior pastor wanted a comfortable and contemporary feel to the church and didn’t want to spend several thousand dollars on choir robes. He also wanted the choir to be able to sit with their family after the music worship time had ended (something a robe prevented), because they would have to change clothes.

When he told the woman who wanted the choir to wear robes that the church did not have money in the budget for that item she purchased the choir robes on her own initiative. She donated them to the church, then expected the church to give her a tax deduction for her “donation.”

My senior pastor, with a smile, then told me about how the Presbyterian Church a few miles away received a bunch of new choir robes. And his church choir continued to wear normal clothes. To that he told me, “We have a unified budget and our church is not for sale to the highest bidder.”

Having a culture of designated giving creates many problems for church leaders. An occasional missional fund or building campaign fund is okay. But I’ve heard of some churches having as many as 27 different designated fund accounts.[1]

Thom Reiner lists five reasons designated funds can be dangerous.

1. They circumvent the will and plan of the church.
2. They create division among the church members and leaders.
3. They create an environment where advocates of a particular ministry solicit designated funds.
4. They often come with stipulations which cannot always be followed.
5. They often hurt the budget giving of the church.[2]

In my past role as an associate pastor and now a senior pastor I believe there are six benefits for a church using a unified budget to fund ministries and priorities through the church’s regular giving.

1. It encourages people to tithe.

Any pastor knows that it is difficult to talk about giving. When you allow designated funds to be a part of your church or you allow lots of fundraisers to occur to support ministries, it discourages people to tithe to the church. Instead people learn to give to whatever they want to support within the church.

But when you promote a unified budget that means you fund ministries from people’s tithes, which encourages people to tithe. People that regularly give to the church get to see what their support makes happen and that’s encouraging to them.

2. It encourages people to trust the church and leadership.

Our culture resists following leaders. People don’t want to be told what to do and they definitely don’t want to allow other people to determine how their money is spent.

Discouraging designated giving in a church and using a unified budget helps people practice Hebrews 13:17, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”[3]

Leading a church that has a unified budget gives them a chance to practice this verse.

3. It keeps everyone moving in the same direction.

Designated funds create a church where everyone decides what the priorities of the church should be. Paul battled this and addressed it in one of his letters written to the believers in Corinth, “Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, ‘I am of Paul,’ and ‘I of Apollos,’ and ‘I of Cephas,’ and ‘I of Christ’” (1 Cor 1:12).

In our churches today we could have people insisting they be in a “camp” and donate their money there. Examples could be: I’m with the group that believes in having Sunday School. I’m in the group that believes in having small groups. I’m in the group that believes in having discipleship groups.

How about we say, “I’m in the group that loves this church and trusts our leaders to know the best path for us to take. I’ll faithfully tithe each week and follow the direction my leaders believe our church should take.”

4. It prevents the loudest ministry leaders from getting the most support.

In an environment where people raise their own support through fundraising or designated giving, the most outgoing, charismatic, and loudest ministry leaders will get the most support. That’s a problem because they might lead a ministry that is least important to the church leadership. Or even worse, sometimes the loudest person is the most spiritually immature.

A unified budget puts the focus on ministries that the church leaders believe are important and aligns with the mission of the church.

5. It is less work over the year.

A unified budget requires less work from the church staff throughout the year.

There are less announcements to give at church because of less fundraising events. The weekly giving is easier to reconcile and process because there are no (or very few) designated donations. The church facilities are used less because you don’t have to use them for fundraising. The church members do not have to work at fundraising to support their ministries and can instead focus on doing ministry.

With a unified budget the church board works hard to plan a budget that aligns with the church’s mission and priorities. Then the church staff and volunteers simply execute that mission with the money allocated to them.

6. It is easier to write in pencil.

Everyone knows that budgets must be written in pencil. Change happens and requires us to revisit the budget we worked so hard on to prepare for the year. When the church activities are on one unified budget, it is easier to make adjustments because everything is in one place. A unified budget provides a snapshot of everything, therefore it is easier to adjust.

Unify the Budget and Unify the Church

I have heard of a few churches that use designated giving effectively. But most often, a unified budget is the simplest and most effective budgeting method for churches. Is your church for sale to the highest bidder?

[1] Robert Dial Jr., “Transitioning to a Unified Budget – A Story,” September 14, 2016, https://www.robertddial.com/transitioning-to-a-unified-budget-a-story/#comment-2750. Accessed June 17, 2021.

[2] Thom Rainer, “Five Dangers of Church Designated Funds,” Church Answers, February 19, 2018, https://churchanswers.com/blog/five-dangers-church-designated-funds/. Accessed June 17, 2021.

[3] Unless otherwise noted all Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

My wife was excited to begin volunteering at a local homeless gospel mission near our home. With a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and a master’s degree in Social Work she was eager to use some of her skills to counsel, encourage, and support clients of the gospel mission. However, after my wife had explained her professional experience and ideal area for volunteering to the volunteer coordinator, she was placed in the waiting room of the gospel mission where she was supposed to “hang out” with clients and talk to them. Every time she showed up she was expected to randomly walk up to clients who were waiting to receive services and talk to them.

Do you think my wife volunteered for a long time? Of course not! She left two weeks after she realized this gospel mission was not using her skills or experience in a way to help clients.

Most of the time people are willing to jump in and help a good cause even if the work is something that is uninteresting to them. However, if you want to have volunteers stay and serve for a long period of time you have to put them in areas they are passionate and skilled.

Passions: What Volunteers Want to Do

You can find volunteers passion either by the ministries in which the volunteers serve or the task which the volunteers do.

My guess is that your church has many ministries that potential volunteers are passionate about.

For example, as an associate pastor I oversaw many ministry areas. I was in charge of small group ministries, greeters, communion servers, men’s ministry, money count after Sunday services, facility maintenance, women’s ministries, and janitorial services for our buildings. There were plenty of areas for service based on someone’s area of passion.

In addition to individual ministries which volunteers might be passionate about, you also can find tasks that volunteers are passionate about. For example, some volunteers might be introverted and love to work quietly at a desk. For these people they are happy to work folding bulletins, organizing the church food pantry, collating teaching materials,  organizing clothes for a clothing ministry, etc. Other volunteers might be extroverted and only want to do ministry that has interaction with people. These volunteers want to answer the phone, serve as greeters on Sundays, make care visits to the hospital, and follow up with prayer requests by telephone. In this manner you can match volunteers with tasks they are passionate about.

Research shows that volunteers who serve in roles that match their passion for serving derive more satisfaction and enjoyment from their service. They also are more likely to continue serving.[1]

Skills: What Volunteers Are Good at Doing

In addition to placing volunteers where they are passionate, you also need to discover what they are good at.

There are two ways to discover this. One is the use of formal assessments. There are assessments available such as Maximizing Your Effectiveness by Aubrey Malphurs, Now, Discover Your Strengths, by Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton, and Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath.

Sometimes assessments can be a barrier to getting volunteers involved in ministry.  Several articles in nonprofit management and leadership journals reveal nonprofit organizations have more success by limiting the assessments of their volunteers in the initial offer to volunteer.

For example, parks and recreation organizations along with forestry and wildlife organizations have found that their volunteers are most successful when they simply allow the volunteers to go out and work instead of stopping the volunteers to complete assessments, do trainings, etc.

Don’t let assessments get in the way of your volunteers doing work. Sometimes you don’t need to assess the strengths and passion of your volunteers. Sometimes you just need volunteers to do a task which the volunteers already know how to do.

A second way to assess volunteer strengths is to talk about it. In addition to formal assessments to discover what volunteers are passionate about and good at, you can also talk with volunteers to discover what they are good at.

Help volunteers identify where they might excel. When volunteers come to you they might not know what volunteer job they want to do. Furthermore, the volunteers might not even know what they are good at. Your job as the leader of volunteers is to help those volunteers discover what they are good at.

If possible, finds ways to match volunteers skills with their passions.

Don’t Go Too Far

Like most things in life, too much of a good thing can be bad. This idea of matching volunteers’ passions and skills can cause problems if it is too strict.

Someone has to take out the trash. Someone has to type numbers into an excel spreadsheet. Someone has to unclog the toilet during services on Sundays. Someone has to fold flyers and letters for the mail.

You will not be able to match the passions and skills of every volunteer perfectly. But, your job as the leader of volunteers is to do your best to discover the passions and strengths of your volunteers and to place volunteers in the positions that best matches those passions and strengths.

[1] See Clary, E. Gil, Mark Snyder, Robert Ridge, John Copeland, Arthur Stukas, Julie Haugen, and Peter Miene. “Understanding and Assessing the Motivations of Volunteers: A Functional Approach.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 74, no. 6 (1998): 1516-1530.

Alan came to our office each week to volunteer. I usually brought the work to him at his desk and provided instructions when he arrived. But I was busy and had already left work on his desk for him to start doing when he arrived.

            I did not know a coworker left some donor forms on Alan’s desk. She had spent an entire day carefully sorting the names and information of donor forms into a special order so that the forms could be processed into the computer. When Alan arrived and saw a stack of 200 pieces of paper on his desk (donor forms), he did what he was always instructed to do with paper placed on his desk: separate the pieces of paper that had printing on one side from the pieces of paper that had printing on both sides.

            An hour later I walked over to Alan’s desk to check on him and I noticed that he was sorting out donor forms. Alan had undone a day of work that one of our staff had done. Ouch! All of this headache could have been avoided if I had taken time to walk over to Alan’s desk and provide him clear instructions when he arrived.

            In this article I share with you seven simple steps you can follow to provide clear instructions when leading volunteers at your church.

#1. Prepare for the Volunteer

To communicate clearly with volunteers there is specific information you need to know before the volunteer arrives at your church to help.

Know what needs to be done.

What should be done first? How many things need to get done? If the volunteer finishes early, what do you want her to do next?

Know how it needs to be done.

Is there a specific process that the volunteer needs to follow? What does she do first? What does she do last? Does it matter how the task is done? Where do you want the work placed when completed? Are there any necessary safety procedures she needs to follow?

Know when it needs to be done

Provide a deadline.People like a challenge and want to accomplish something (especially when volunteering their time). Tell the volunteer when you expect the work completed.

Know who can and cannot do the work

Knowing who can and cannot do the work that you have for volunteers is difficult.

            For example, Alan (not his real name) would come to our office twice a week to help with work. He had an intellectual disability that limited the work he could do. Alan was capable of doing most of the work I needed him to do, but there were some times when he was not able to do the work. I found that I could do a “test run” with Alan. If there was a new project I was going to give to him that I wasn’t sure if he could complete, I would provide him a small sample of the work to see how it turned out.

#2. Describe What Must Be Done

Share with the volunteers what needs to be done, how it needs to be performed, and when it needs to be finished. You are conveying all of the information from step one. Tell the volunteer this information several times. You might tell her at the beginning when she arrives, as you do the work to show her, and while she does the work while you watch.

#3. Explain What Why It Must Be Done

Tell the volunteers this:

Reasons this is important.

Why does this project matter? What difference will it make? What does it provide to people in need? How did it help to serve people the last time volunteers did this work?

What will happen once it is done.

When the volunteers complete the project what happens next? Where does the finished project go? How does that finished project help your church?

What will happen if it is not completed.

This is perhaps the strongest motivator for volunteers. Share with them what will happen if the work doesn’t get done. Who will not be served? What services will not occur as a result of this volunteer work not getting done?

Connect this work to the big picture and vision of your church.

How does this small task play a role in the big picture of the entire organization? Show volunteers why this apparently menial task is vitally important to your ministry.

#4. Do a Sample.

It is not enough to simply tell volunteers how to do the work; you must show them how to do it. Here’s a simple process I have followed when instructing volunteers about how to do a task. First, go through each step slowly. Second, explain what I’m doing and why I’m doing it. Third, if the volunteer doesn’t understand, I slow down even more.

            Research shows that we five senses of learning: taste (1 percent of learning is received this way), touch (1.5 percent), smell (3.5 percent), hearing (11 percent), sight (83 percent).[1] Because we learn primarily by sight you must show volunteers what to do.

            It is better to spend extra time up front ensuring the volunteer knows how to do the work than to spend time coming back to redo the work.

#5. Watch a Sample

You are not simply watching. You are instructing, coaching, and encouraging.

            Watch more than just one. Almost anyone can get something right the first time. Watch the volunteer do the task a couple of times to ensure that the volunteer is doing the work correctly and that she doesn’t have any questions.

            Let the other volunteers who will be doing the same work watch as well. One of the best ways to instruct in a group setting is to use someone as an example, a peer that the volunteers can follow and emulate.

            Let the volunteer know that you are watching to make sure you explained everything and that you did not forget something. This is important. Most people will feel nervous to know that you are watching them. Let the volunteers know that you want to make sure that you did everything correctly.

#6. Provide Feedback

Praise the volunteer for good work done.

Find something! Anything!You might have to look hard, but find something positive to say to the volunteer. Even if the volunteer is doing the work wrong but she has a smile on her face, you can compliment her on her good attitude.

            Provide praise quickly. The legendary coach of the UCLA basketball team, John Wooden said, “One of the greatest motivating tools we have is a pat on the back. It doesn’t have to be a physical pat – it could be a smile, a nod. Everyone likes to be complimented in one way or another.”[2] Share praise and encouragement as soon as the task is done.

Accept responsibility if something was done wrong.

You are responsible for the success of your volunteers. If something went wrong it was your fault. You need to convey this when communicating with volunteers. Don’t say “You misunderstood me.” Say “I am sorry. I did not explain correctly.”

#7. Answer Questions

Some volunteers require extra communication. Yes, they will regularly interrupt your busy work day to ask simple questions or talk through a problem for which they already have a solution.

            But remember that they are here to help you. Give them a little extra time for guidance and they will give that time back to you by taking care of tasks you don’t have to do.

[1] Donald Regeir, “Audiovisual Support for Your Teaching” in The Christian Educator’s Handbook on Teaching, edited by Kenneth Gangel and Howard Hendricks (Victor Books, 1988), 196.

[2] John Wooden, “The Quintessential Coach,” Toastmaster, Oct 2010, p. 23

I’ve been through some unique experiences in ministry. In the first church I was part of, our founding pastor of seven years announced he was resigning to become a missionary to Germany. The church had no official membership and was not ready for the founding pastor to leave. The next church I served at was recovering from a horrific death. Just before I arrived the senior pastor had been murdered inside his office at the church. At my current church, the founding pastor of nine years abruptly left one year earlier than planned. (One day I received a text message saying he was moving up the timeline that had been in place for almost two years).

Those experiences have taught me how to navigate crisis, change, and uncertainty within a church. In their book, Ministering to the Mourning, Warren and David Wiersbe write, “It’s a fundamental law of life that a crisis will bring out either the very best in people or the very worst, depending on their character.”[1] When a crisis happens, you can’t change the staff you have at your church. You’ve got who you’ve got. But, there are four things you can do to help the staff and volunteers thrive through the crisis. I call these four keys that unlock an effective staff as you navigate crisis. Let’s look at the first key, which focuses on the staff’s family.

Family Care Must Come First

Staff members cannot focus on ministry if they are concerned about their family. And by family, it’s not just a spouse and kids that need to be the first priority. It can be parents, grandparents, or grandchildren that staff worry about above the needs of the church. 

Family is a gift

In Psalms, we read that “Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him” (Pss 127:3).[2] There is a natural protective desire we all have. We see that protective desire in Noah’s life who “in holy fear built an ark to save his family” (Hebrews 11:7). We know that children (and family) are a heritage that God has given us.

You might object, “Now is a crisis time. We need our staff and volunteers now more than ever! Especially our elders/pastors. We need them to focus on the church!” Yes, during a crisis, you need your staff and volunteers more than you ever have in the past. But, if those deeply needed staff are worried about their family, they can never focus on the ministry of the church.

Family needs trump church needs

Give staff time off to check on their families. This might be an afternoon to do a few things for their family. Or a day or two to check on parents in a nearby state.

Perhaps the staff member can still work, but those normal hours need to be from home. Or, because of kids, the staff member needs to work early in the morning, late at night, or midday while the kids are napping. Perhaps finances are an issue. Get the staff member a gift card to Wal-Mart or a grocery store so he or she can get the basic family items that are needed. Small gestures like that make a big difference.

Family is more important for good staff

Why such an emphasis on caring for family? When you selected your pastors/elders for ministry in your church, you selected them with the qualifications of 1 Timothy 3:4-5, “He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)”[3]

If you selected a pastor (or any other staff) correctly, then he will take care of his family before taking care of the church. So, let him care for his family. Once he knows his family is safe, then he can care for the church and staff. And that starts with the mission of the church.

Focus on Your Mission, Not Your Methods

Crisis is when you blow the dust off your church’s mission statement. Remember when you spent days at a retreat with your staff to craft that mission? If not you, then someone before you dripped sweat and tears on that mission statement to create it. Crisis is when you need that mission most because you must focus on what is most important for the church.

What is a mission statement?

Mission statements are “declarations of action”[4] They describe what you are supposed to be doing and should be the marching orders for your church.

What’s the mission of the church?

Bill Tenny-Brittian reminds churches in his consulting that their mission statement is to “make disciples of Jesus Christ.”[5] You already know the mission of the church, but here’s a reminder.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20)[6]

Those two verses are the essence of every church’s mission.

Why focus on mission?

Why all this focus on mission of the church and ministry philosophy? “It’s a crisis” you say, “We need to do something!” In Aubrey Malphurs’s book, Advanced Strategic Planning, he outlines nine ways a mission affects the church. A mission:

• dictates the ministry’s direction
• defines the ministry’s function
• focuses the ministry’s future
• provides guidelines for decision making
• inspires ministry unity
• shapes the strategy
• enhances ministry effectiveness
• ensures an enduring organization
• facilitates evaluation[7]

As you can see, your mission affects every aspect of your staff and your ministry. With a crisis pulling everyone in different directions, focusing on a mission statement brings everyone back together.

How to implement the mission

The hot topic among churches now is how to do virtual church. Whether by choice or by force, all churches have faced the issue. YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Vimeo, etc. are among the many options.

With those options come dissension about which one is the best method. During a crisis, don’t worry about methods, focus on mission. If you think Facebook Live is better than YouTube, then go with it. If your pastor doesn’t want to use Instagram and has never heard of it, then don’t push the method, focus on the technology he will use and use it to accomplish your mission.

During a crisis, anything that helps you deliver your mission is your friend, not your foe. Your mission brings people together and having a close-knit staff/volunteers is the third key you need during a crisis.

Fasten Yourselves Together

During chaotic times you must stick close together. As a staff, this is the time to come together, not distance apart. The most difficult part of the COVID-19 crisis is that it forces everyone to isolate. We cannot meet in the same room, shake hands, pat each other on the back for a job well done, or hug in loving fellowship. If you are not careful, that forced distance can easily creep into relationships.

The Bible’s team

Remember that you are on the same team. God wants us to be unified, but God knows we naturally drift apart through conflict. That’s why he gave so many reminders for us to stick together.

God tells us to have unity.  

• I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. (1 Cor 1:10)
• Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. (Rom 14:19)
• How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! (Pss 133:1)

God tells us we have the same Spirit:

• Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Eph 4:3)
• Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel. (Phil 1:27)

God tells us we are supposed to have one mind together:

• Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. (Phil 2:2)
• Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. (1 Peter 3:8)

As Christians, we should be unified because we have the same Spirit and are supposed to have one mind. During a crisis, we must remember that we are on the same team.

Stay close with virtual video meetings

Knowing we need to fasten ourselves as the Christian community is more difficult than doing it. Here are practical tips that can help you.

Require video conferencing together — emphasis on the “video” part. There’s a special dynamic that occurs when you can see each other’s faces and interact. Extensive email and text messages over time cause strife in relationships. It’s easier to be rude in a text message or email because you don’t have to say what you are thinking to a person’s face. It’s also easy for people to misinterpret what is said or to read into what is said when that wasn’t meant.

I had to call my senior pastor once to clarify what was said and meant. The senior pastor, youth pastor, and I were on text messages. The senior pastor misinterpreted what the youth pastor and I were saying and responded, “Well, since you guys have a no-growth mindset, I’m going to go start a different church somewhere else.” Whoa! Hold on boss! Neither of us had indicated we had a no-growth mindset. He was misinterpreting what we were saying about how many services to add to our Easter weekend. All of that because of two text messages.

There is something special about being together that you can’t substitute. The author of Hebrews tells us, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25). Get together even if each person is at home.

Keep your meetings professional even when everyone meets from an informal location such as their home. Remind people to dress professionally, style hair, put on makeup, brush teeth, etc. Lovingly inform them it’s still a professional meeting. (One person told me of a recent video call among a boss and his employees in which one woman was making her bed, another was putting on makeup, and another wore her bathrobe.)

During times of crisis, you need to meet, even if it has to be a virtual video meeting. Use Zoom, Google Hangout, Facetime, or any other app (remember, it’s not the method it is the mission). Don’t hesitate to pay for an app or software that will help you all meet. If you were meeting at your church, there would have been money spent on lights, for a table to sit at, chairs to sit in, custodial workers to clean the room, snacks, drinks, and climate control to keep the room at a comfortable temperature. With those normal expenses to meet together in a room, it’s not a big deal to spend $25 a month on a virtual video conferencing software. It’ll be worth it.

Virtual video conferences won’t prevent conflict among your staff and volunteers. You’ll need another key to unlock that area.

Forgive and Give Grace

Do you remember doing group projects in school? The teacher would put four or five students together in a group, and you all had to work together on a project and received a group grade. There was always one person that didn’t show up for group meetings or do the work you gave him, but he still received the same grade as everyone else.

Doing ministry in a crisis is like that group project. There will be staff that don’t show up to your virtual meetings and aren’t committed to the mission, but they are part of your staff and seen as part of the church.

In normal, everyday ministry, staff must give grace and forgiveness to each other. Times of crisis require your grace muscles to be exercised like never before.

Bible Verses required for doing ministry

There are two verses I have read repeatedly that have helped me give grace to other staff members. They helped me forgive past failures of staff and the hurtful things they have said or done.

• Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. (Ephesians 4:2)
• Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)

For several years I wrote those two verses on the pages of my staff meeting journal. When faced with a struggle I had with another staff member, I would glance down and read those verses quietly to myself. Sometimes I would highlight them when I needed to apply them. And after highlighting them sometimes, I would underline them with a pen, further trying to get myself to apply them.

Grace

One of my favorite passages that explains grace was written by Paul to Titus,

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7)

Paul tells Titus that people are saved not because of any righteous things they have done. Instead, they are saved because of God’s grace.

It is easy to slip into the mindset of “we’re doing ministry, and if you want to work here, you need to do a good job.” While there might be certain expectations that staff must uphold, remember that if our salvation is not based on the things we have done, perhaps our participation on a church staff shouldn’t be either.

I appreciate Warren Wiersbe’s description of grace, “God in His mercy doesn’t give us what we do deserve but in His grace gives us what we don’t deserve”[8] In a crisis you have to give the people you work with what they don’t deserve: grace. They might have wronged you or fumbled a project, but grace is needed during a crisis. 

Forgiveness

Forgiveness isn’t easy, but it’s necessary. Church staff need to learn to forgive each other. And during a crisis, the need for forgiveness increases because everyone is under more pressure and is more stressed. Mistakes get amplified, words can carry more meaning, and we can take things personally that we normally wouldn’t let affect us. In his book, The Making of a Disciple, Keith Phillips writes, “Forgiving others is a hallmark of the Christian faith.”[9] As the hallmark of our faith, church staff need to model and practice forgiveness for others. We are professional forgivers!

Grace is risky

“But Christopher, you don’t know who I work with!” Here’s the important thing about grace: you give it when it’s not deserved. In Seminary, I was taught that grace is “God’s unmerited favor.” Catch that important word in the middle—unmerited—it’s not something that another person deserves. And because of that, Max Lucado says that “grace is risky.”[10] People might abuse grace, but that’s okay because it is still something you give regardless if someone deserves it or not. If you’ve done ministry for any length of time, you learn that grace is required.

Doing Church in Crisis

I’ve been in a few churches navigating crisis and conflict. The churches survived and thrived because we knew that a crisis required change. These four keys unlock an effective staff in crisis: family must be a priority, focus on mission, not methods, fasten the staff together, also forgive and give grace. Those four keys will unlock your church from the damage that a crisis can cause and open the door to strengthen your staff, volunteers, and church during these difficult times.

[1] Warren and David Wiersbe, Ministering to the Mourning (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2006), 145.

[2] All Bible translations are the NIV (2011) with italics added by author.

[3] We also see the other end of this qualification later in Paul’s letter to Timothy, “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8).

[4] Gary Collins, Christian Coaching, 2^nd ed.(Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2009), 173.

[5] Bill Tenny-Brittian, “Why Most Church Mission Statements Aren’t Effective” on The Effective Church Group. https://effectivechurch.com/why-most-church-mission-statements-arent-effective/ Accessed April 9, 20202

[6] Also see Mark 16:15; Luke 24:45-49; and Acts 1:8.

[7] Aubrey Malphurs, Advanced Strategic Planning, 3^rd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2013), 106-109.

[8] Warren Wiersbe, The Delights and Disciplines of Bible Study (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2018), 191.

[9] Keith Phillips, The Making of a Disciple (Old Tappan, NJ: Revell, 1981),  63.

[10] Max Lucado, In the Grip of Grace (Dallas, TX: Word Publishing, 1996), 81.