Rick Warren of Saddleback Church (Lake Forest, CA) has made a list of seven common church leadership mistakes to avoid.
- You stop growing.
- You stop caring.
- You stop listening.
- You get distracted.
- You get complacent.
- You become arrogant.
- You fail to delegate.
For Rick Warren’s tips on overcoming each mistake, read the full article.
For Discussion:
Are there any leadership mistakes you would add to this list? If so, how can one keep from making those mistakes?
You copycat what you see.
Instead of going to a conference or a church tour and trying to replicate everything you just experienced, we need to apply principles to our ministry. Don’t copycat. Do learn and apply.
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Lack of innovation. Creativity is good, we’re all creative, but when people stop using that creativity to innovate, it’s a slow death for the church.
You start writing lists.
Seriously. Lists like this one are full of gross oversimplifications. I have been a CEO since I was 31 (now 36) and in my experience leadership is a complex mess of contradictions and subtleties that shifts sometimes hourly. Everyone of the above list items can be refuted when one keeps in mind the dynamic nature of leading people. There are times when staying focused and avoiding distraction are essential and right; but equally there are times when I want one of my staff to think more creatively, to break the mold; and in that instance I do all I can to provide some distraction. ‘Forget the focus, go and engage in some inquisitive meandering!’
He mentions arrogance. Again this can be countered by the link between determination and arrogance. I recently started a church in the virtual world of Second Life, which to many early on was simply strange. And yet we have grown to now 6 services a week and around 400 members, and we only started services in May last year. There was a point very early on where I needed to be arrogant, when a number of folks around me thought I was mad. But I knew fulfilling the vision depended on me, and so carried on ignoring their negative predictions. Now I have transitioned to a team of leaders and humility and collaboration is called for more than arrogance. But arrogance had its role to play.
My advice is to never forget that what works at 11am may well desert you at 1.30pm. The key is to be light on your feet always ready to shift direction; and please don’t be ruled by lists in any shape or form.
Mark
http://brownblog.info/