Leading from the Second Chair

Multi-Site Churches - Stop Signs

2009-12-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

Part 3 of the multi-site church blog tour.

Question: You go to great lengths to say that multi-site is becoming the new normal and that it’s not limited to just a few churches. When is it NOT advisable for a church to go multi-site?

Response: As can be the case many times when a ministry strategy is finding success in multiple arenas, some churches will jump on the band wagon "just because." Our experience indicates that churches need to answer the following three questions in the affirmative before they consider adopting a multi-site strategy:

1. Is your church healthy? Is it growing? Are members excited about bringing their family and friends? If you're unhealthy, why export your disease?

2. Is there a driving impetus behind your desire to go multi-site? All the leaders we have interfaced with over the last 7 years chose to open additional sites because they saw no better options for fulfilling God's purpose and direction for their church.

3. Are key leaders behind the decision? Going multi-site is not easy and therefore it is vital for key leaders to be unified and excited about moving forward with an additional campus(es). Employing multi-site as an "end-around strategy" is doomed for failure.

Multi-Site Churches - Crossing Cultural Bridges

2009-12-15T07:45:00.000-08:00

Here's part two of the multi-site church blog tour Q&A.

Question: Can a multi-site church effectively cross cultural bridges, particularly if it’s using the video model? You have given some examples of international campuses, but it seems that most of the campuses of a particular church are replicating DNA and teaching, which will work best when it’s being imported into a similar context. A couple of the examples in the book touch on this challenge. While the Bible is the same for everyone, the applications may be quite different for white collar vs. blue collar, suburb vs. inner city, urban vs. rural.

Response: We agree that the culture needs to match for it to work well. But even in many international situations the culture does indeed match.

I (Warren) recently heard about a church in Paraguay planting a daughter church in Pittsburgh, PA. Sound odd? It turns out that the wives of the two pastors are sisters. Also the Pittsburgh couple had found a bunch of immigrants from Paraguay, and so they loved being part of a church that had connections and customs from the "old country."

Likewise with international multi-sites, there's usually a familiarity or relational connection between the two groups. In a Spanish-language church in Florida named King Jesus, services are broadcast by television across Central and South America, including places where folks have relatives who attend the Florida church. It's predictable that in those places, video campuses work well, led by the equivalent of a campus pastor but watching Pastor Maldonado as teaching pastor via video.

Because of these factors most churches begin their multi-site journey with a centrally-controlled structure and gradually morph to a more campus based model. Both models, however, require extraordinary attention to effective communication. The biggest challenge for all multi-site structures is keeping everyone on the same page, regardless of who is in charge.

Multi-Site Churches - The "Big Personality" Factor

2009-12-15T07:30:00.000-08:00

In last week's post, I reviewed Multi-Site Church Road Trip. Today, we're part of a"blog tour" with authors Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon, and Warren Bird. Continue reading this (and the next two posts) for three questions I had about multi-site churches and the authors' responses.

Question: I continue to wonder how much of the multi-site phenomenon is personality-driven. You all have made it clear that some multi-site churches do not use video preaching. Healing Place Church (Baton Rouge) is a good example of a church with a very strong DNA that transcends the weekly teaching. But it seems that for the majority, and certainly the high profile multi-site churches, the senior pastor’s leadership is a huge part of their success. This raises two questions for me: Will the multi-site movement continue to be driven by highly gifted communicators with big visions? If so, this has major implications for the many churches and pastors that fall short of this description. Second, you said that multi-site will help smooth out the typically rough transition of long-time pastors facing retirement. I would think that this is only true if they have clearly and carefully developed a successor, and I wonder how often this is the case. It’s possible for someone to be a very good back-up teaching pastor (or part of the team) and a capable lieutenant, but not be ready to step up into the first chair.

Response: I (Geoff) echo your concerns about the personality driven church, but I would expand it to the church in general. I think that many successful (and unsuccessful) churches around the world revolve around the personality of the lead pastor. Apparently this was a problem in the New Testament church as well, as Paul addressed people lining up behind their favorite communicator rather than simply following Christ. Let me take your questions one at a time.

First, will the multi-site movement continue to be driven by highly gifted communicators with big visions? I think the answer would be a qualified yes. I think every movement is led by gifted communicators with a big vision. From the Apostle Paul onward, big leaders have always been effective in communicating huge visions. The reality is that those of us who are less gifted will always be impacted by those who are more gifted. The advantage of multi-site is that we can work together as partners rather than in some kind of competition. Many campus pastors are not highly gifted communicators, but are amazing leaders who are able to have a bigger impact because of their connection with leaders who have unique communication and visionary gifts.

Your second question is about succession planning. This is a huge question for all churches, but is certainly magnified for a multi-site church using video teaching. Many churches use a team teaching approach which greatly lessens the reliance on one primary voice. Preparing a second teacher or second in command for succession in a multi-site church is similar as for any church: not everyone is ready for the task. For churches who only utilize one primary speaker through video teaching I believe succession is a major issue.

Multi-Site Church Road Trip

2009-12-07T08:41:00.000-08:00

I don’t remember when I first heard the term “multi-site church,” but I know when I first became a student of this growing movement. It was in 2004, when our church was considering adding a second campus. Long before their first multi-site book, the authors of Multi-Site Church Road Trip: Exploring the New Normal were a great resource for me. I benefitted from an afternoon Greg Ligon spent with our leadership team (and his overall guidance of this focus area for Leadership Network), from Geoff Surratt’s one-on-one counsel (and for being an interviewee for my “second chair” book), and from Warren Bird’s extensive research and white papers.

Several years ago, I had the impression that almost all multi-site churches followed a standard approach. A dynamic, highly effective pastor with a rapidly growing church exports its DNA and its teaching to a rented facility in a nearby geographic area using a cookie-cutter formula. Many have done this with great success, but what I appreciate about the multi-site road trip is the variety of successful models that the authors profile. For almost any preconceived idea that you might have about multi-site churches, this book will give you evidence to support AND refute your opinion. It’s also full of practical advice on a wide range of topics: the role of the campus pastor, use of technology, internet and international campuses, simultaneous launches, organization structure, mergers with existing churches, and more.

My only critique is that Geoff, Greg, and Warren seem to suggest that almost any church can go multi-site. While I agree that the idea is not limited to megachurches, the reality is that many churches are not healthy enough or clear enough about their DNA and vision to launch a new campus. (There are a couple of brief comments on this point, but perhaps not enough to keep someone from making an ill-advised leap.)

Of course, with something as dynamic as the multi-site movement, questions will continue to arise. That’s why we’ll be a stop on the multi-site church blog tour on December 15. I hope you’ll join us then to interact with the authors.

A Day with Ruth Haley Barton

2009-11-28T08:38:00.000-08:00

I recently had the opportunity to spend a day with Ruth Haley Barton, author of Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership. (See my August 08 blog for a review of her book.) She came to Texas to speak to a group of executive pastors for which I’m the facilitator.

We were challenged and blessed by Ruth’s time with us. She helped us look deep into our own souls to become more aware of the places where we had drawn away from God. I especially appreciated her observation that “when church leaders lose their souls, the church we lead may lose its soul too.” In my own journey and in the glimpses I have into the lives of many other church leaders, I see the pace of ministry and the pursuit of “success” taking a significant toll on leaders and churches. We may justify it as “just for a season” or “doing our best for the Lord,” but are we kidding ourselves? I’m pretty sure we’re not kidding God.

So what are we to do about this? This is an interesting time of the year for pastors. We give thanks for our blessings, gear up for all the extra activities of advent, try to catch our breaths with a few days off after Christmas, and then make bold plans for the new year. Perhaps the boldest thing we can do is say “no” to some activities so that we can say “yes” to the quietness in which God can begin to restore our souls.

Have We Lost More than a Symbol?

2009-11-17T15:33:00.000-08:00

I recently read Dan Brown’s newest thriller, The Lost Symbol. I read it partly because I like a good page-turner, and partly because I wanted to see if Brown would continue the anti-Christian tone of The DaVinci Code.

So did he? It depends on your definition of anti-Christian. Where DaVinci struck at the core of orthodox Christian beliefs, Lost Symbol was more subtle but perhaps even more insidious. Brown weaves spiritual references throughout the dialogue of his main characters, but it’s a new age, universalism that is advocated. In doing so, they clearly communicate that any intelligent person will agree with this “enlightened” view.

So why is this even worthy of a blog? After all, we shouldn’t be surprised that Brown does this, and plenty of others in the spotlight have similar viewpoints. What struck me was Brown’s use (or misuse) of Scripture to try to undermine Christian teaching. Three times one of his characters quotes Luke 17:21, where Jesus says “the kingdom of God is within you.” Each time this reference is used to claim that the Bible actually teaches a new age philosophy that we are all gods or can all become gods.

Again, this may not be surprising coming from Brown. But I found myself wondering, “How many of the people in my church could refute this teaching? How many are shaky enough in their faith and knowledge of Scripture that they would say, ‘That’s an interesting interpretation’ rather than simply declaring it as wrong?” I don’t know the answer, but I’m almost afraid to ask. My hunch is that biblical literacy, not just in my congregation but throughout the Church in North America, is sadly lacking. For those of us in the Protestant tradition, perhaps it’s time to reclaim a core belief: “Sola Scriptura.”

Lessons from a 5K

2009-10-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

I ran competitively for years … but that was years ago. In my prime, I won my share of 5K and 10K road races. I’ve continued to run as I’ve gotten older, but haven’t logged the miles to be in the top tier of my age group, much less to be at the very front.

This year during spring break, my family stayed at a getaway place that held a 5K run for their guests, so I decided to enter. Much to my surprise, I actually won. I had so much fun that I decided to enter a 5K in our community a couple weeks later. I knew this one would have many more participants and that I had no chance to win, but I figured I would be competitive in my age group. So on a beautiful spring morning, I lined up near the front of a mob of several hundred people, started strong, and … struggled at the end, just one of many middle-aged people trudging toward the finish line. My time was actually a few seconds faster than at spring break, but the results were quite different.

I think there’s a leadership lesson (or two) in this experience. It felt great to cross the finish line first in that spring break 5K. Many ministry leaders rarely, if ever, have that feeling of victory, of stopping after a season in which they ran hard and hearing others say “Way to go!” We need some of those moments. But the second lesson comes from the recognition that my first 5K race was not a real challenge. We need to spend most of our leadership energy in races that push us to grow to our full potential and that require us to rely on God. I’d rather give my best to a big challenge and fall a little short than cruise through life tackling easy goals.

That leads to the final lesson: don’t overestimate your own abilities, and don’t under-estimate God. I clearly had a false perception of my readiness to compete in a large race, and I’ve seen ministry leaders who likewise have gotten into trouble because of their inflated opinions of their capacity to lead. At the same time, if God is truly leading us, no race is too big and no mountain is too high. Ultimately, we’re responsible for preparing for the race (which means plenty of hard work beforehand), showing up to the starting line ready to go, and giving our best when the gun goes off. The rest is up to God.

Are You the "Bad Cop"?

2009-07-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

Many executive pastors I know spend a significant amount of their time dealing with personnel “issues.” Sometimes we take these issues in stride and other times they’re more like a train wreck, either for us or for the staff member involved. Some execs have thick skin or are otherwise quite adept at this part of the job but others struggle. While the need for someone to be the “bad cop” is readily recognized, most would say that it’s not their favorite part of their job.

I think that’s why Jim Collins’ words in How the Mighty Fall struck such a chord with me. He says that the seeds of a collapse are often planted during a stage of rapid growth. It’s in this season that a company (or church) will:

… begin to fill key seats with the wrong people; to compensate for the wrong people’s inadequacies, you institute bureaucratic procedures; this, in turn, drives away the right people (because they chafe under the bureaucracy or cannot tolerate working with less competent people or both); this then invites more bureaucracy to compensate for having more of the wrong people, which then drives away more of the right people; and a culture of bureaucratic mediocrity gradually replaces a culture of disciplined excellence. When bureaucratic rules erode an ethic of freedom and responsibility within a framework of core values and demanding standards, you’ve become infected with the disease of mediocrity (emphasis added).

Maybe this struck me because my default is to add bureaucratic procedures hoping to police people into the right behavior. Maybe it struck me because having the right people and a culture of disciplined excellence is so powerful and attractive. Either way, it gives me a target to shoot for and a new language I can use to describe my ideal. I want to spend my time creating a “culture of disciplined excellence.” What about you?

Do the Mighty Always Fall?

2009-06-29T18:53:00.000-07:00

I’m a big fan of Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and Built to Last. So when I received a copy of his newest book, How the Mighty Fall, I put my other reading aside and dug in.

Collins takes an interesting turn in his latest, research-based project. Rather than focusing on greatness, he examines why successful companies fall and how they might prevent or reverse a meltdown. He identifies five stages of decline that form a consistent pattern in these riches-to-rags stories. Interestingly, the first two stages (and even some of stage 3) occur when a company is still on the way up.

As with Collins’ other works, the lessons for churches are readily transferable. I’ve known far too many that are guilty of “grasping for salvation” (stage 4), thinking that all they need is the right leader or the latest fad program. And I wonder how many of today’s newsmakers might have entered stage 1, “hubris born of success.”

There’s one caveat to this recommendation. Even though How the Mighty Fall is based on the same type of in-depth analysis as Collins’ other books, this one is not as lengthy nor did I have as many “aha” moments. Collins explains in the preface that the project began as an article, but then “evolved into this small book.” The flip side is that it’s a quick read – only 123 pages plus appendices. My bottom line: it’s a worthwhile investment to learn (as the subtitle says) “why some companies never give in.”

God's Gift to ...

2009-06-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

You’ve heard the expression, “He (or she) thinks he is God’s gift to ________.” When that is said, there’s always a derisive or antagonistic tone, as if the speaker is saying, “I can’t stand to be with him because he’s so arrogant.”

I’ve known some second chair leaders who feel that they are God’s gift to their churches. In fact, at times I’m guilty as charged. The truth is that the skills and demands of the second chair role give us plenty of reason to think this way. We’re often like the talented juggler who can keep many balls (or flaming torches) in the air without dropping a single one. Add to that a couple of church members who say, “I don’t know how we’d get along without you” and our egos can get super-charged pretty quickly.

As I read Romans 12:3 this week, I had a new insight into this phrase. We’re told to view ourselves with sober judgment, but the passage goes on to exhort us to use the gifts that God has given. Perhaps it’s OK to think of ourselves as “God’s gift” as long as we properly define the phrase. If God is the gift-giver, then that should remove the swagger from our step. We’re not doing great things; God is doing them through us. This also makes it His choice when and how those gifts are used. It should help us take our responsibilities – being good stewards of whatever we’re given – seriously and yet at the same take ourselves less seriously. So go out and serve today as God’s gift to your church.

What Axioms Guide Your Staff?

2009-06-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

When Bill Hybels’ Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs came out, I debated whether to add it to my “must read” stack. On one hand, I’ve been enriched by everything I’ve consumed from Willow Creek. On the other hand, with 76 short chapters of pithy sayings, Axiom is not the type of book that I typically enjoy.

So once I started reading, I was pleasantly surprised by how much Hybels spoke to me in many of the chapters. In fact, I liked it so much that I bought copies for all of our pastoral and program staff, and made it the focus of a staff development day. We each read the book, and then came prepared to discuss which axioms we considered to be most applicable for our personal leadership development and which would most benefit our staff team collectively. It was a rich time of discussion, and I see it offering ongoing benefits.

Hybels accurately points out that axioms, when they are owned by a group, can become a powerful way to communicate and reinforce important values. I’m working on the axiom of “create your own finish lines” and “real-time coaching.” As a staff, we’re trying to adopt the axioms “excellence honors God and inspires people” and “vision: paint the picture passionately.”

I’ve also found it helpful to think about other important axioms for our church, both those that we currently practice and ones that we need to put in place. Currently I’m thinking about an axiom that might be expressed in the phrase “email doesn’t solve problems.” It might not be quite as profound as some of Hybels’ sayings, but it would sure make a difference in how we handle some “situations.” Pick up a copy of Axiom and as you read, make notes about the leadership concepts that will help you and your team go to the next level.

Sometimes Contrarian Leadership

2009-05-30T14:25:00.000-07:00

When I heard a strong endorsement for Steven B. Sample’s The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership, I added it to my “need to read” stack. In places, I found helpful nuggets from Sample’s musings, which are drawn largely from his years as president of University of Southern California and SUNY-Buffalo before that. I liked his concept of “open communication with structured decision making.” This means that the president (or senior pastor) should find ways to talk to people throughout the organization but should not subvert the established processes for making decisions. I also liked his quote that “one of the silliest things a leader can do is to first rigidly define the responsibilities of a position, and then try to find a human being to match this preconceived job description.”

This highlights the positives and shortcomings of the book. I thought Sample offered a variety of good leadership ideas, and I suspect that each leader would grab onto different ones as a main take-away. But in the end, I didn’t find his advice to be notably contrarian nor did I find it to be a book that I’d enthusiastically recommend to others. In his chapter, “You Are What You Read,” Sample quotes Thoreau’s advice to “read only the best books first, lest there not be time enough to read them all.” For me, Contrarian’s Guide was not one of the “best books.”

Soul Revolution

2009-03-27T14:19:00.000-07:00

The core of John Burke’s Soul Revolution: How Imperfect People Become All God Intended is the “60-60 Experiment.” He challenges readers to “stay in a continuous, honest conversation with God, willing to do his will moment by moment.” How does he want them to do this? By setting their watches to beep every hour (60 minutes) as “a reminder to reorient yourself into a continuous conversation of willingness” and doing this for 60 days.

Sounds a little gimmicky, right? But how many of us have despaired that the Sunday teaching or the mission trip high seems to have a life span that is only slightly longer than that of a fruit fly? And if we were really honest, how many of us frequently lose sight of God as we get caught up in the busy-ness of the day?

The basic concept doesn’t need a whole book to explain, but Burke does a great job in unpacking what this continuous conversation with God can look like. He includes many examples of life transformation from his church in Austin, taking the reader to a deeper spiritual place with each successive chapter. Soul Revolution is very readable for “non-professionals,” but also will inspire pastors.

So is it a gimmick or the real deal? When I was still on chapter 1 of the book, I happened to be in Austin and stopped at a Starbuck’s between appointments. As I placed my order with book in hand, the barista immediately asked, “Do you go to Gateway (Burke’s church)?” When I explained that I was not from Austin, she pointed to her arm and said, “I’m still wearing my watch. If you’re here this weekend, you should come worship with us.” It was enough to convince me.

Executive or Pastor - In Times of Economic Turmoil

2008-11-14T07:02:00.000-08:00

One recurring theme as I’ve talked to executive pastors lately is, “How are you budgeting for 2009 in light of the current economic uncertainty?” The other day, however, the question took a little different shape. One of my friends is preparing a flat budget and a contingency case with a significant cut. He asked, “What’s the difference between how we handle this and the way it’s done in the corporate world? Where’s the spiritual dimension?”

To be perfectly honest, I fumbled for an answer. At the church-wide level, it’s clear that our external communications (with church members and the community as a whole) should be very different. Our security and hope is not in the things of this world, a refrain that many pastors have declared in recent weeks. But for those of us whose primary responsibility is the internal operations and management the question remains: What’s different in the way we handle a financial downturn?

Now that I’ve had more time to reflect, here’s what I would tell my friend:

1. Be faithful and pragmatic. Jesus taught us to have faith, but he also taught about shrewd managers. To me, this means that we can’t approach our finances in blissful ignorance of the economy, because that would be foolishness. Neither should we panic, because God will provide for our needs.

2. Be a good steward. Whatever we’ve been entrusted with should be spent wisely for Kingdom purposes. If we have to cut programs, the pruning should focus on the areas that are not bearing fruit or that have the least long-term potential. This also means that we must have clarity within the leadership team about what our core programs/ministries are.

3. “Rainy day” funds don’t impact eternity. Many churches have an endowment or some other contingency fund. I won’t get into the broader debate about this, but you might consider the “parable of the rich fool” in Luke 12:16ff. For now, I will say that if a financial shortfall threatens a core ministry, it’s time to dip into these accounts.

4. Demonstrate compassion toward staff. One of the biggest differences in the church versus the corporation should be the way we treat our employees. If reductions are necessary for financial reasons, we should treat people with love and dignity. This may include more generous severance packages, longer time for transitions, or other creative arrangements.

5. Rediscover hidden parts of the body. In boom times, some churches may have filled roles with paid people because it was easier or more reliable than using volunteers. God may have just the talent we need sitting in the pews.

We may not be able to escape a certain degree of a business mindset when we’re looking over a spreadsheet and making hard decisions about how to allocate (or cut) funds. If that discourages us, we should remember that a corporation can’t call its constituents together for prayer or expect everyone to make sacrifices for the sake of a higher calling or have confidence that God is in control.

So how do you respond to the question?

Executive or Pastor?

2008-11-07T19:04:00.000-08:00

It recently occurred to me that the executive pastor title may actually be a cause of stress. (Even if you don’t have the title, others like me may function as an executive pastor without the title, so keep reading.) How can a title cause stress? The tension arises as we try to decide whether to lean toward the executive or the pastor side of our job.

On the executive side, we’re running the operations, managing people, and making things happen. When there’s a financial shortfall, we’re figuring out where to cut. When a staff member under-performs, we’re giving clear feedback or sometimes letting someone go. When a new ministry is being launched, we’re thinking through the details that will enable it to succeed. And if we’re not careful, it will feel like we’re running a business rather than a Kingdom-minded enterprise.

On the pastor side, we’re caring for people or teaching God’s Word or “equipping the saints” to serve in areas that fit their gifts and passions. In a church that is large enough to have an executive pastor, there are endless opportunities to jump in and “do” ministry. And if we’re not careful, we may fill our schedules with these ministries, only to miss the more strategic opportunities that will help the entire organization function more effectively.

Those who come to an executive pastor role from the business realm need to quickly learn that their valuable skills must be adapted to be effective. The church cannot be run just like a business. Those who come into the role as trained clergy must acknowledge that business has valuable lessons to offer and that their leadership repertoire probably needs to be broadened.

Regardless of your background or how you came into the role, it’s important to understand the tension. In many ways, anyone in congregational leadership needs to wrestle with the question of executive or pastor? Those who are most successful will not choose one over the other, but will blend the two into a both/and solution. I’ll explore some specific applications in future blogs. For now, where do you most feel this tension?

Sticky Church

2008-11-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

It’s hard to argue with a church that has experienced phenomenal growth and that has a sustained 80% rate of participation in small groups. If the senior pastor writes a book about how they’ve made small groups work, it’s worth noting. And that’s the case with Larry Osborne of North Coast Church and his new book, Sticky Church.

Osborne writes in a very readable, conversational style (with a good dose of humor and cynicism). He makes a compelling case for their philosophy of “sermon-based small groups” in the first half of the book. The second half is the nuts-and-bolts of how North Coast puts it into practice. He talks about what a “fly on the wall” would observe in a group meeting, how leaders are recruited and trained, how groups are formed, and more. I especially liked the chapter “Why Cho’s Model Didn’t Work in Your Church,” which helped me understand several things I’ve seen in churches that have struggled to make their groups work.

So what’s not to like? Two things bothered me as I read Sticky Church. I’m a detailed person, and even the practical second part of the book left some questions unanswered for me. I would have appreciated a little more “here’s how we deal with this obstacle” instruction, particularly if I were using this as a textbook for launching or retooling groups. More importantly, I kept thinking, “There must be something more than sermon-based small groups fueling North Coast’s success.” I suspect that culture, leadership, and the worship experience, among other things, are critical factors, but these are downplayed in the book. In his emphasis on small groups, Osborne creates the impression that a pastor with below average preaching and leadership skills can have a dynamic church using this playbook.

Despite this critique, Sticky Church reminded me of a lesson from another great leadership book. Jim Collins, in Good to Great, talks about the hedgehog and the flywheel. The hedgehog concept calls us to keep it simple and focus on one thing we can do extremely well. The flywheel principle argues against looking for a “miracle moment,” asserting that success comes from steadily and relentlessly pushing in a consistent direction. Ultimately, North Coast’s results are clear evidence of these two concepts coming to life. We would all do well to pay attention.

Miserable in the Second Chair?

2008-10-04T15:57:00.000-07:00

Not long after the release of Leading from the Second Chair, I found myself deep in a conversation with a struggling executive pastor. Even though he wasn’t failing, he felt like a failure. He had been very successful in other church staff roles, but he wasn’t sure what success looked like in his new role. When I read Patrick Lencioni’s Three Signs of a Miserable Job, I thought back to this executive pastor and many of the other second chair leaders I have met over the last several years.

Lencioni’s three signs – anonymity, irrelevance, and immeasurement – are often experienced by executive pastors. Furthermore, for those who have served in other roles in ministry or in business, the trajectory may point in the wrong direction as they make the transition to the second chair. Consider someone who has spent several years as a youth minister. He or she has deep relationships with students and parents, experiences the joy of being part of the students growing in their faith, and can see progress in the ministry over time. In other words, they may suffer from none of the signs of a miserable job.

Fast forward a few years and the same person is serving in an executive pastor role. Because the work is behind the scenes, the opportunities for meaningful relationships are more limited. And because much of their job is managing others, there is little they can point to as the direct result of their ministry. While other staff members are celebrating the success of a program or transformation in someone’s life, this second chair sits in silence. It’s a position that lends itself to anonymity, irrelevance, and immeasurement.

So what should you do if you’re an executive pastor or church business administrator or anyone else who struggles with these circumstances? For starters, realize the ways that you contribute to the overall success of the organization. You may not be able to specifically point to the six teens that were baptized this summer, but you helped hire that youth minister, coached him to succeed, and marshaled the needed resource for his program. And that was just one of the people you managed.

You can also look for new ways to define and measure success. Lencioini’s fable highlights several jobs that would seem to be textbook examples of irrelevance and immeasurement, and he shows that even these roles don’t have to be miserable. The key is to find the right indicators. In your second chair role, what are your unique contributions? How can you track your effectiveness along these dimensions?

Of course, the most powerful solution is to find our reward in the Lord (see my earlier post). But given our human nature, it won’t hurt to acknowledge and address some of the underlying causes of misery.

Three Signs of a Miserable Job

2008-10-03T11:03:00.000-07:00

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed everything I’ve read from Patrick Lencioni, and have found practical uses for what I’ve learned in each book. But for some reason, his latest book sat in my “waiting to be read” stack for several months. Maybe I was afraid that I’d learn that my job was miserable or that I was making others miserable in the way I managed them! I won’t comment on the misery index for me or them, but I will say that I’m glad that I read Three Signs.

Lencioni addresses the issue of why so many people are unhappy and unfulfilled in their jobs. And more importantly, he asks what managers can do to change this. As in his other books, Lencioni uses a fable to present his concepts. And as in his previous work, the concepts are quite simple but have far-reaching implications.

So what are the three signs? The first is anonymity, which is the absence of someone in the workplace (preferably a “boss”) who takes a personal interest in you. Next is irrelevance, which is the inability to see clearly how the work you do is making a meaningful contribution. And last is “immeasurement,” the result of working without clearly defined targets over which you have some control.

Lencioni makes a compelling argument that even people in low paying or seemingly menial jobs can enjoy work if their manager pays attention to these three factors. He also contends that CEO’s, professional athletes and other highly successful people are often miserable because they lack one or more of these key needs.

The book has huge implications for those of us who manage other people, both paid staff and volunteers. For example, do you really know what is going on in the lives of the staff members and key leaders in your church or do your conversations focus on the task at hand? Does the person doing a seemingly insignificant job – entering data, greeting people at the door, changing a dirty diaper – see how his or her work is an important part of a Kingdom-minded enterprise?

Three Signs also gave me some new insights into the struggles of “second chair leaders,” which I’ll address in my next blog. Even thought I’ve “given away” the three signs, you really should read Lencioni’s book to understand how to apply these principles and make sure that you’re not making other miserable!

The Reward of His Presence

2008-09-04T06:26:00.000-07:00

In my previous blog, I reviewed Ruth Haley Barton’s Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership. One idea that resonated very deeply for me came from the chapter entitled “The Loneliness of Leadership.”

Throughout the book, Barton follows the story of Moses. In this chapter, she focuses on his conversation with the Lord after the people made the golden calf (Ex. 33:12-23). The key in verse 15 when Moses says, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.”

I remember seeing this passage with fresh eyes a year ago as I was leading a planning process for a congregation. At the time, I focused on the corporate aspect of Moses’ request: do not send us up from here. Clearly, Moses was interceding with God on behalf of the people, but Barton shows a very personal side to this request as well:

What he [Moses] needed now was an experience of God’s goodness, his graciousness and mercy. All of a sudden this was more important to him than any promised land he had ever dreamed of (p. 158).

She goes on to say:

This is a pivotal moment in the life of a leader. It is the moment when whatever the promised land is for us – a church of a certain size, a new ministry, a new building, writing a book, being sought out as an expert – pales in significance when compared with our desire for God. At this point we might realize that we are missing the presence of God for ourselves personally. … there is no promised land we could ever envision that matters nearly as much as the presence of God in our life right here and right now (p. 158-159).

The question for me, and for you, is: do we really believe this? How have I defined the “promised land” in my life and ministry? Am I prioritizing earthly accomplishments for God over my relationship with Him? When I feel frustrated, is it because I’ve put too much emphasis on short-term goals and too little on abiding in Christ (John 15:5-8)?

It’s clear that God gives each of us work to do (Eph. 2:10) and that we are to do it to the best of our abilities. But the next time that I’m feeling beaten up, despite giving it my best, I’m going to try to rejoice in the reward of God’s presence.

Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership

2008-08-30T08:49:00.000-07:00

During the long, hot summers in Texas, I often need the refreshment of a big glass of cold water. And that’s exactly what Ruth Haley Barton’s Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership offers to the leader who needs to be recharged. (Even if you don’t think you do, keep reading!)

“Strengthening the soul of our leadership is an invitation that begins, continues and ends with seeking God in the crucible of ministry.” These words from the final chapter summarize the central theme of the book. The chapters leading up to it paint a compelling picture of the fruitfulness and joy of leading from a healthy soul that is focused on God, and the risks of soul-less leadership in ministry.

Barton follows the story of Moses through chapters with titles such as “When Leaders Lose Their Souls,” “The Practice of Paying Attention,” “Living Within Limits,” “The Loneliness of Leadership,” and “Finding God’s Will Together.” She talks about her own journey, including struggles and victories. At times she challenges the reader to take stock and at other times she offers practical advice for refilling our souls. And at the end of each chapter, she offers a “practice” that will help readers to reflect on and apply the teaching they’ve just read.

I’m not one to read with a highlighter in hand, but within the first few pages I found myself thinking, “Oh, that’s good,” and marking a couple of sentences for future references. I kept going back to the highlighter as Barton kept taking me to places deep in my spirit with quotes such as:

There is real tension between what the human soul needs in order to be truly well and what life in leadership encourages and even requires.

If spiritual leadership is anything, it is the capacity to see the bush burning in the middle of our own life and having enough sense to turn aside, take off our shoes and pay attention!

Being this reliant on God for the actual outcome of things is a very edgy way to lead. We are much more accustomed to relying partly on God and partly on our own plans and thoughts if the issues at hand are really important.

As satisfying as teamwork can be, spiritual people who come together to lead churches or organizations with a spiritual purpose have a deeper calling – we are called to move beyond teamwork to spiritual community and to have our leadership emerge from that place.

At times Barton’s words were a needed wake-up call and at other times they were a source of refreshment. I’m thankful for both, and I’m sure that you will be as well if you read Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership.

Good or Great

2008-08-23T12:08:00.000-07:00

It’s been fun to watch Michael Phelps swim in the 2008 Summer Olympics. We’ve run out of superlatives to describe his performance. He is truly a great athlete. But the thought that struck me this week is that for every gold medal winning Olympian, there are hundreds of good athletes who fall short of greatness.

There are lots of reasons for this, including a less favorable genetic make-up or fewer opportunities to excel. In many cases, however, another factor comes into play. As Jim Collins says in Good to Great, “good is the enemy of great.” How often has an athlete achieved early success due to a combination of raw talent and competitive drive, but somewhere along the way found this wasn’t enough. Continued success at higher levels of competition required a discipline and sacrifice that he or she was unwilling to make. One of the oft repeated statements about Phelps is that he doesn’t do anything but swim, eat and sleep. Everyone admires his commitment, but many athletes who are simply good fail to emulate it.

And so it often is in our spiritual lives and our leadership practices. We experience some measure of “success” – whether that’s spiritual or organizational growth or some other milestone – but we fall short of the “next level.” When we reflect, if we ever make the time to do so, we may discover that “good” has been the enemy of “great.” We agree to lead or participate in another Bible study, but find that our souls are not being nourished by spending time alone listening to God. Or we take on a heavy load of pastoral care, and wonder why there never seems to be time for creative thinking or dreaming about the future.

An endless array of good options is calling for our attention. I’ll be quick to admit that choosing the best can be difficult. But it’s a practice that will benefit all of us. So what about you? I’m sure you’re doing things that are good. But are you choosing that which is great?

Beyond the Hundredth Meridian

2008-08-06T19:45:00.000-07:00

OK. I don’t really expect any of you to read Wallace Stegner’s 1950-something classic with the subtitle, “John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West.” But maybe you’ll at least read this blog as a challenge to pick up something outside of your normal reading bandwidth in the next few weeks.

When my uncle offered to take me and my 14-year old son on a weeklong rafting adventure through the Grand Canyon, he said that this was the book I needed to read before the trip. I ordered the book out of obligation, and began reading out of a desire to understand what it was like for Powell and company to make that first treacherous trip into the unknown.

Little did I know how much I would learn and how it could even apply to church leadership. Even though the American West was largely an unknown territory in the 1870’s, government leaders had many pre-conceived ideas that were shaping national policy. Ideas such as that the arid regions would suddenly become fertile without irrigation, and could therefore be settled with practices that had worked in the east. It took a persistent, visionary leader like John Wesley Powell to challenge the bureaucracy and begin to reshape some of the laws. I guess we’d never have these kinds of problems in a church, right?

Not only did I find some interesting lessons in the book, I rediscovered a lost personal enjoyment of history. So rather than reading your tenth book on leadership or theology or whatever is your pattern, have some fun with a different kind of reading this summer.

Interruptions

2008-07-31T05:23:00.000-07:00

I was recently in a roundtable discussion with other executive pastor types, and one of the topics of discussion was “how can we get our work done with all the interruptions from staff and other people?” The questions seemed to be about time management, but I think it raises a deeper question: What priority do we give to the people who report to us?

Let me offer a quick disclaimer. I know that people (some in particular) will consume all of our time if we let them. They’ll ask for constant affirmation or hand-holding, or they’ll want to spend 2 hours debating whether it’s better to use 8 oz or 12 oz cups for coffee on Sunday mornings. We must be wise in establishing boundaries to keep these individuals from monopolizing our time.

But I should also offer an honest confession. I’m pretty task-oriented, as are some of you, and I can always find a legitimate reason to put people off until tomorrow. Sure, I’ll meet to talk about the immediate ministry issues – reviewing plans for a fall festival, brainstorming a new communication strategy. In reality, these meetings aren’t about people, they’re just additional tasks on my list. If I’m not careful, the part that gets lost is listening to their hearts, talking about their future, helping them develop more fully as leaders, asking about the state of their marriages and their souls.

I made the time for this blog because it was on my “to do” list. Now I need to clear some space and invite some value-added interruptions.

Need a Fresh Start?

2008-01-09T12:23:00.000-08:00

Need a fresh start? This blog certainly does! So, one of my resolutions is to reignite the flame of the second chair blog.

I am currently doing a new series at our Crosspoint Campus, www.cpointchurch.org, called "Fresh Start: Lessons from the Life and Leadership of Nehemiah." I have placed the word, "Leadership" in the series title on purpose. The reason? Great question! Simply put, it is because of a lack of leadership in our lives that leads us to the place of needing a "Fresh Start." That lack of leadership could be self-leadership or leadership from an authority in our lives. What I am hoping to convey to our congregation in this series is the entire process that must take place so that a "Fresh Start" takes hold to become a permanent change.

Do you need a "Fresh Start" in an area in your life? Might there be a lack of leadership:

physically -- are you eating right and exercising consistently?
spiritually -- are you spending time with God on a consistent basis?
relationally -- are you investing in key relationships continually?
financially -- are you wisely spending and saving, or is there a lack of discipline that is leading to financial challenges or trouble?
professionally -- are you correctly navigating the paradoxes of second chair leadership? Are you certain that you are where you need to be in this season or is it time to move on?

If you need a "Fresh Start" in one of these areas, consider this process:

1. Look Back at the Context! There is a context that will inform us of a failure in leadership. For Nehemiah, the context that informed him was the failure of three kings (2 Chronicles 36) that led to the Babylonian invasion of 605 and the desolation of Solomon's temple and the walls and gates of Jerusalem, the city of God. Examine the context of the leadership failure. Allow it to fully inform your reality.

2. Face Reality! Call it for what it is. In Nehemiah 1, this emerging second chair leader called Israel's failure exactly that, sinful failure to keep up their end of the deal. He named it, repented of it, and asked for an opportunity to do something about it.
3. Envision a New Reality! Nehemiah captured God's heart for God's city and began to envision it. As a matter of fact, he envisioned it for 4 months (Kislev or December to Nisan or April) before he set out to approach King Artaxerses. A great read on this discipline is Andy Stanley's book Visioneering (Multonomah, 2000). What could a new reality be for you? Weight loss and health? Savings in the bank? Renewal of a marriage? Dream big my friend, dream big!
4. D.R.I.V.E. -- the Pursuit of the New Reality! We must develop a process of discipline that expresses our faith to successfully pursue a new reality. D.R.I.V.E. is an acronym from Mike Slaughter's book, Momentum for Life (Abingdon Press, 2005), that highlights a process of daily discipline that will sustain our momentum forward. Frankly, that is what we need, sustained momentum. I know it is what I need! What about you? Is there a process that you own and live by that will sustain your momentum of a fresh start that it might become a permanent fixture in your life?

If you are at all interested in listening to the audio of this series, click and follow this link. The messages are accessible on the bottom right portion of the web page. The message link is: http://www.cpointchurch.org/default.aspx?pid=43

Happy Fresh Start!

Wanted: Boldness

2007-08-21T19:31:00.000-07:00

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the things that hold me back. We are serving in an era when bold leadership is clearly needed, but I’ve concluded that “go-for-broke” boldness is a rare commodity. Since Paul told Timothy that “God did not give us a Spirit of timidity, but a Spirit of power and love and self-discipline” (2 Tim. 1:7), where is there evidence of that Spirit in my ministry (and in yours)?

One of our mantras as parents is, “If you know the right thing to do, then do it.” But am I passing the “do the right thing” test in my ministry? I am not talking about obvious ethical boundaries, such as propriety in relationships or appropriate financial dealings. Instead, I am asking about the important, direction-setting decisions that will drive or influence the church’s future.

In most churches and most roles, it takes extra time and energy to do the right thing. Not only that, but many of us serve in churches that don’t seem to appreciate (or even want) boldness from us. Instead, they prefer the status quo. And then there’s the reality that we’re in the second chair, not the first, and any bold initiative that we’re thinking about must be done under the authority of our senior pastor.

At the end of the day, however, I think that I’m the biggest impediment to boldness in my ministry and in my church. I could make a long and convincing list of the things that keep me from acting with more boldness. But what I need to do is to ignore the spirit of timidity (it’s not from God) and listen to the Spirit of power that’s calling me forward.

Note: the full version of this article can be found at www.SecondChairLeaders.com

Drawing Near

2006-12-29T12:53:00.000-08:00

There’s a common refrain in many of my recent interactions with church leaders. The commonality is not in the “problem” as it is presented, but in the root issue that underlies the situation. In one, a church had been split in an ugly conflict over the senior pastor’s leadership. Elsewhere, a “second chair” leader has felt unappreciated by his senior pastor and wonders what the future holds. Another church has struggled to find its direction and reverse a pattern of decline.

What is the common denominator in these disparate situations? In each case, there is a sense of pulling away when the right solution is to draw near. Many of the problems in our churches – at the individual and organizational levels – would be resolved if people would draw near.

Draw near to what? First, we need to draw near to God. We need to constantly seek His guidance for our lives and admit that we are dependent on Him. The spiritual vitality that this fosters puts everything in proper perspective. We also need to draw near to each other. This kind of relational vitality will not eliminate conflict, but it will lead to a very different outcome in times of turmoil.

Before you give up or pull away, no matter how difficult the season or the situation, try drawing near.

Taking Risks ... Climbing Down

2006-11-06T18:50:00.000-08:00

The newest article at www.SecondChairLeaders.com is entitled “Climbing Down the Ladder: Why I Gave Myself a Demotion.” Phil Taylor offers some excellent thoughts on taking risks and not following the conventional wisdom when it comes to a minister’s career progression.

Most of us have probably developed a “theology of risk-taking” based on a combination of our past experiences and our own study of Scripture. About twelve years ago, I was the co-founder of a start-up company in the environmental services business. I was convinced that God would reward me richly, after which I would be able to coast financially and give much more of my time in Kingdom service. After four years, I was just thankful to get back most of the money I had put in, even without any return on my investment. That was just one of the times when I learned that risk-taking doesn’t always result in the rewards that I want or expect.

My heritage is one of conservative Germanic stock that believes in hard work much more than in taking risks. As I get older, I find it even harder to take big risks. But I know that God can call us to step out boldly in faith throughout our lives (Abraham comes to mind). So I wonder what risks He may call me to take in the near future and what risks you’ve taken in the recent past.

Micromanaged?

2006-07-23T12:42:00.000-07:00

Our newest article (at www.SecondChairLeaders.com) is entitled “What if my first chair is a micromanager?” This frustration has been expressed frequently as we have interacted with other second chair leaders.

I have to confess to having some micromanaging tendencies myself. Sometimes my desire for things to be done “right” make it hard for me to restrain myself. I’ve also experienced the other end of this – as the micro-managee (?) – and it’s something I definitely prefer to avoid.

But the reason for this blog isn’t about me – it’s an opportunity to hear from you! What experiences have you had with a micromanaging boss? In what ways and in which areas of your job have you been micromanaged? What have you found effective to either change the nature of the interaction or to cope with it? Post a comment – we look forward to continuing this dialogue.

Summer Stuff

2006-07-13T19:37:00.000-07:00

So how is the summer going for the rest of you in second chair land? What is resting you, what is stretching you, and what is stressing you during this season?

For me, I’ve had a couple of nice vacation breaks, including a relaxing getaway with my wife. Neither of us had realized how much we needed the break from the kids and the routine until we were actually alone, and then it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from our shoulders.

As for stretching, I’ve really enjoyed reading Reggie McNeal’s new book, Practicing Greatness. Reggie challenges leaders to take a deep look at their own lives and to adopt 7 practices that will ensure long-term effectiveness in their ministries. I was also stretched by our church mission trip to Port Arthur, TX. This area was hit hard by Hurricane Rita, but has received much less attention and aid than New Orleans and other areas along the Gulf Coast. It was humbling to install sheetrock and do other basic repairs in homes that had been damaged 9 months ago.

And then there’s the stressing part. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I find the summer to be a difficult season in many ways. The vacations are needed, but I find it hard to maintain any kind of rhythm in the summer. And by the time I look up, the busy fall season is staring us in the face and we’re not quite ready. It’s a struggle right now to know what the “main thing” is and to stay focused on it, because so many things are competing for my/our priorities at the church and in the second chair community.

So that’s my lame excuse for the lack of postings! What is resting, stretching or stressing you right now? I look forward to re-engaging in the online dialogue.

No New Insight, Just Checking In

2006-06-09T07:21:00.000-07:00

First, welcome Warrior Girl. Thanks for your comments on some previous posts. Guys and Gals, check out her thoughts on the second chair as warrior post.

Second, isn't it good to be serving our Lord Jesus and His church. Be reminded of this Scripture from Ephesians 1:22-23. It states, "22And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." You are serving His church, which is his body and that which is the expression of his fullness.

I know that at times it doesn't feel this way, but be encouraged. No matter what is coming at you, from your first chair to your congregants, to that seeker who is in crisis, the church you serve is under His leadership and is making a difference.

Oh yeah, you are helping it make that difference. So here is what I am asking you to do. Post some comments just updating everyone in the Second Chair Blog Community of what God is doing in your ministry. This type of reflection is an encouragement. It will also be an opportunity for us all to get caught up and reignite our prayers for one another. So good, bad, ugly, sad, amazing, wonderful, or whatever the way you would describe your circumstances, let us know so that we can serve each other in prayer.

Here is one final word of encouragement. It is my life verse. Romans 15:13 states, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Now trust in Him and overflow!!!!!

My Reward

2006-05-20T19:46:00.000-07:00

"But I said, 'I have labored to no purpose;
I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,
And my reward is with my God.'" (Isaiah 49:4)

This verse really struck me in my quiet time a couple of weeks ago. (I’ve had this post written in my mind since then, but haven’t had time to sit at the keyboard and get it in written form.) It struck me, of course, because I’m very success driven and because too often I derive my self-worth from “my” achievements.

I’ve had several conversations with one person who has been asking how to measure success as a second chair leader. This question recognizes the ambiguities of our roles. After all, children or youth or small group leaders often have tangible results, but a second chair leader is responsible for everything and nothing at the same time.

In these conversations, I’ve been reminded how much I like to measure progress and to be successful - growth in our congregation, people whose lives I’ve impacted, number of books sold! And then God points me back to Isaiah 49:4 and reminds me that these external benchmarks are not the true measure.

Well, there’s my confession. Are you content to trust in God for your reward, even if it seems that you’re laboring to no purpose? How have you dealt with this tension?

Lessons Learned from the Road

2006-04-26T14:56:00.000-07:00

Hey Gang! I just got back last night from a time with the Christian Educators of North Carolina. I had the privilege of sharing the 2nd Chair material with them in our conference setting, and I was greatly blessed.

As you may or may not know, Mike and I have been on the road about once or twice a month for the past few months. We head to Northern California in Mid May for our recording of the 2nd Chair simulcast with the Christian Communication Network, then spend the next day with the California Baptists in a 2nd Chair workshop. All of these opportunities are so exciting and I am grateful to God for each one of them.

As I have been traveling some lately, here are some things that I have been learning:
1. Hunger for community -- Second Chair leaders are lonely and need community.
2. Validation -- Second Chair leaders haven't been validated all that much before and as a result, they need affirmation, encouragement, to be told they aren't crazy, and a day off every now and then.
3. God is with us -- Although our settings are different, our titles aren't all the same, our wonderful Holy Spirit is with us guiding our steps and helping us navigate these difficult paradoxes.
4. My First Chair -- I value my first chair more and more and I am grateful to be serving with him.
5. Second Chair Leaders are Passionate -- Passionate about their Jesus, their church, their determination to make things better.

Thank you all for your affirmation of the work God set before us. We are humbled to be a part of this community of second chair leaders and I am grateful for the relationships that are forming.

Let's keep the conversation going. What lessons have you recently learned about the second chair?

What Does the First Chair Really Need From You?

2006-04-10T12:19:00.000-07:00

So, here is a great conversation starter with your first chair. Buzz his assistant and find a time when you can block out 1.5 to 2 hours on their schedule. When the appointment arrives, go in with a pen, a pad of paper, thick skin, and this question on your lips: What do you really need from me?

What does your first chair really need? Do you know? Have you asked him or her? Can you list in bullet points what they really need for you to do? Does it change as the season or situation changes?

As you respond to this blog, throw in your two cents of what your list would look like if you had this conversation with your first chair. Take a stab at it and let those of us in the second chair community take a look as well. If you need to explain an answer, take your time and let us hear it. What would they say?

Then, I dare you -- have that conversation!!!!!

Roger P

Family Matters

2006-03-31T11:26:00.000-08:00

I want to take our conversation in a different direction with this post, and talk about something that’s been overlooked in many of our conversations – our families. I recently had the joy of spending a week on vacation with my family. We were fortunate that my oldest son’s spring break from college matched up with the spring break for the other kids, so we decided to take advantage of it. What a great week! It was fun just being together. I didn’t completely forget about my church or my consulting work, but I came pretty close.

And in that, I was reminded how much my family matters to me. I’m thankful for each of my kids – God has made each of them very unique, and He has taught me much through them. And I’m deeply thankful for my wife who is an incredible helpmate and companion in every aspect of my life.

The vacation reminded me of a couple of other things as well. It pointed out (again) how easy it is for me to use (and abuse) the “tomorrow” excuse with my family. There are always so many pressing priorities that I often think that quality time with my wife or kids can wait until tomorrow. Of course, tomorrow turns into next week which turns into next month … It reminded me that it’s important for me to refresh my own soul with times of relaxation.

Of course, I’ve been back almost two weeks now, and the refreshment is draining away quickly. But I’m trying to remember my lessons and find a more time for family matters. So after you read this post, turn off your computer, give your spouse a kiss and your kids a hug, and do something fun.

Back in the Game -- Second Chair as Warrior, Finally

2006-03-06T20:44:00.000-08:00

Thanks for your patience with us as we have been quite busy these last few weeks.

First, we had a great day in Springfield. Mike and I both walked away enthused and hopeful for the first and second chair leaders that attended the seminar. This was a tremendous experience for me and one that energized my spirit.

Now, for the second chair as warrior take! I hope that you are ready. Go with me to Exodus 17:8-15. It states:

8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands."
10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."
15 Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner.

Wow! Incredible story! But what portion do you identify with the most in the second chair? Isn't it Aaron and Hur? Isn't this one of the key ways that we as second chair leaders can identify with those who serve alongside another to strengthen them and assist them?

But, doesn't faitful exegesis require us to look down in the valley as well? What is down there? What is going on? Who is down there?

A second chair leader, who, in obedience and subordination ,went down into the valley to fight the Amalekites. This man was sent a special message by God, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it. . . "?

Joshua, this faithful second chair leader, was slinging the sword in the valley, enforcing and exercising the will of another. He was playing the role of second chair as warrior.

What about you? Have you ever had to enforce or exercise the will of another by, "slinging the sword?" Have you ever found yourself playing the role of warrior?

I have and it has not been a pleasant experience. As a matter of fact, this role as warrior has been the most difficult to play. Frankly, I have never been able to play it without it taking an emotional toll on me.

There are two very distinct times when I have had to play this role. The first time was a few years ago, the second, more recently. In both of these experiences, I finished the task with tears.

One of the things that has helped me is a lesson that I believe that Yahweh wanted Joshua to learn. Simply put, this is a lesson on perspective. Think about it! Joshua was down in the valley, and all he knew was war, swords, sheilds, death, and brutality. He didn't have a mountain top perspecitve. Only Moses, and his servants, fully understood this mountain top perspective and what was taking place up there. Yahweh saw fit to give Joshua a special message to help him know that there was a different scene playing out in a different realm, but at the same time and dealing with the same issue.

You and I must trust this message to Joshua, when, in times of tough assignments, we can only see the war portion of our assignments and we don't understand the higher perspective playing out in a different realm. We must trust that God, in His sovereignty, is going to honor us, even when we carry the load of the tough assignment as warrior.

Lessons Learned from Springfield

2006-03-02T06:10:00.000-08:00

Share with others in the Second Chair Community some of the lessons you have learned form the Springfield Second Chair Leaders Conference. Just hit the comment link below, post as an "anonymous" blogger and hit the publish post key. You will be asked for "Word Verification" and just type in the letters you see.

Gasping!

2006-02-28T07:51:00.000-08:00

Yes, the frequency of new posts has slowed down quite a bit lately. Frankly, I’ve been gasping for air.

Some of this gasping is self-inflicted. I like to keep my plate full and run as fast as possible. Unfortunately, that doesn’t leave much capacity when the unexpected happens. Preparing materials for a second chair seminar this week, coaching two teams (the curse of overlapping basketball and softball seasons!), and some extra consulting and coaching are causing me to gasp right now.

Some of it is externally-driven. None of us, especially in the second chair, has complete control over our priorities and schedules. In this season, my first chair has become much more involved in the day-to-day and in reshaping priorities for all of the staff, and it’s consuming tremendous amounts of time and energy.

So what do I do in these seasons? I try to be sure and keep my early morning prayer time. In an earlier stage of life, that would have been the first thing to go, but I’ve learned how much I need that time with God. This week I’m giving thanks for a wife and family who extend grace to me when I get too busy for them. And I’m praying for my senior pastor, because God has helped me realize that his current actions are the result of a heavy burden that he is carrying.

I am also being much more careful with my calendar, trying to make time for the truly important things, and postponing those that can wait. When life is busy, I tend to crank up my pace, which has the downside of my being impatient or of people feeling like I have run over them. I’m trying to be careful about this. And in the midst of it all, I’m making sure that there is still some time for the things that help me relax – like watching some of the Winter Olympics or getting out for my regular pick-up basketball game.

I’ve prayed for this second chair community this week, because there’s been a sense that we’re all gasping lately. Likewise, I covet your prayers in this season.

Second Chair as Warrior! Is this Biblical?

2006-02-14T14:11:00.000-08:00

I'll give you my take on this later, but I wanted to hear from you all in the Second Chair Community. Do you ever see yourself as the Warrior who is sent into battle to fight the fight for the first chair, to keep them from getting too messy? Give us some of the story, some context, what you learned about yourself, how you felt.

There are some Old Testament Themes in and around this concept. What about in the New Testament Church? Is the Second Chair a place that executes judgment when it comes to church discipline?

I don't have all my thoughts formed around this, and I don't know if I am alone in this thinking. All I know is that over time, I have been given some pretty rough assignments and sometimes I was executing the will of another as part of my role. Don't you just love the second chair?

When your chair cushion is worn out!!!

2006-02-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

So here are my thoughts on all that we have been collectively enjoying this week. I believe that we in the second chair community have been hit pretty hard this week, and Sunday isn't even here yet! How about you?

So, what can we do when the chair cushion is worn out? How do we get it fluffy and comfortable again? Is that the right question to ask anyway.

I know this much. We can run to our Father for He knows what we need before we even ask of Him (Mt. 6:8). That is what I am going to do. May God bless you today as you lead from the second chair.

Juggling Balls and Spinning Plates

2006-02-02T14:28:00.000-08:00

I had a great phone call today. I have started coaching a high potential second chair leader who is juggling too many balls and spinning too many plates. He is in an environment of expansive growth and his time is in high demand. The problem. . . . . . way too many balls and plates. Such that in a recent staff retreat, the bouncing balls and crashing plates became the focus of the "problems" in the organization. Don't you know he loved going home that night to his wife and expressing to her his frustration.

What happened? The organization grew! He was and is the go to guy so they went to him. Now he is overwhelmed and nearing burn out.

Try another anology-- traffic!

Have you ever been in a traffic jam when you rolled along at 5 miles per hour for twenty minutes? Have you ever thought, "Wow! There must be a bad wreck up there? What could be causing such a back up? I can't wait to see the mangled metal of this one!" To your surprise and disappointment, there was no such wreck. No, the construction crew chose not to post signs about road work and just started narrowing everyone to one lane. Going from three lanes to one in a moments notice isn't all that fun now is it? People get angry, frustrated, and can even get hurt.

This is what can happen if the second chair leader has to have his or her signature on everything. In this type of ministry traffic jam, leaders push initiatives up the line and wait for decisions and approvals. In their waiting, they get tired, angry, even frustrated. The second chair leader feels overwhelmed, under appreciated, and doesn't know how to clear away the bottle neck and traffic jam that is outside of his or her office door.

Sometimes this traffic jam is created by a staff member who isn't pulling their own weight. Other times, it happens because the second chair isn't comfortable giving power away.

My take: Life is too short to have to approve everything. I want to do only that which I can do and empower and inspect that which I am able to delegate and give away. To do this, I have got to be willing to deal with conflict, communicate effectively, and enlist and train other capable people. This too takes time but it will be very rewarding to both the organization and to the people the organization serves. Look for, enlist, train, and use your people. They are your greatest resource!

What do you do to keep the traffic from stacking up too much outside your office door?

Loneliness

2006-01-28T18:30:00.000-08:00

The theme of loneliness in the second chair has struck me several times in the last couple of weeks. It was a theme that we sort of stumbled into as we were interviewing different leaders for the book, and I continue to hear it in other conversations.

No doubt about it, the second chair can be a very lonely place to serve. It’s often hard to share frustrations, fears, or even dreams with your first chair, and it may not be appropriate to talk freely with those you supervise or with lay leaders (if you’re on the church staff). So who can you talk to?

I’ve been blessed to share the second chair with someone who is a good friend and a trusted advisor (Roger), but I know that my situation is more the exception than the rule. If you’re not this fortunate, where should you turn? In addition to Roger, I’ve found rich community with many others outside my church. Some are second chair leaders and some are just close friends, but the time with them is a great antidote to loneliness. Is your second chair a lonely place? What are you doing to overcome it?

Listening for the Most Important Things

2006-01-25T16:26:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had one of those days in the second chair when all you were doing was jumping from one meeting to the next and dealing with problem after problem? As a result, you might find yourself at the end of a day wondering what contribution you made that day. If this persists, you can find yourself frustrated, burned out, and wandering through a maze of emotion and confusion about how effective you are in ministry.

This can be a difficult place for those of us in the second chair. It can also be a place where we commit to going deeper to see what God might be saying to us. For me, I believe that God wants me to listen more intently for the most important things.

I don't always listen well in my meetings, as I am often thinking about the next meeting, the emails and phone calls that keep hitting my blackberry, and the struggle of balancing the demands of the second chair. In the last week, I have had to reschedule three appointments because my pastor called me into meetings that I had to be attend. This is a struggle, as I don't always get to handle my calendar proactively. Instead, I find myself reacting to get it all done and the pressure to get it all done makes it difficult to listen to what is really being said.

What is really being said is the key component of what second chair leaders in the church must discern. If we miss what is really being said, we can't advise the first chair, coach our subordinates, properly pray for the spiritual needs of those in our congregation, or see the whole picture clearly. The wide gets confused with the deep and the counsel or assitance that we should be able to give loses its potency because we haven't truly identified the issue--the deep spiritual issue.

I must confess, I haven't been hearing the eternal issues as clearly as I should becuase the noise of the temporal screams out at me for attention. So, in a meeting today (no blackberry in attendance) I jotted this thought: So bombared w/the temporal you can't see or hear the spiritual.

Guilty as charged, but thankful for the Grace of my loving Jesus and the still small voice of his Spirit.

Pastor, Boss, and Friend

2006-01-18T21:39:00.000-08:00

How about a little more tension in the second chair? Clayton asked me to stick my thoughts out there about the relationship to the first chair and the tension of my boss being my pastor, and my pastor being my boss. More than that, what happens when he is my friend, too?

First, I want to be friends. I am so relational, that friendship is the basis for a good working relationship. So, I work at sharing stories, asking him how he is doing, and making sure that we can enjoy a meal together and talk about how we were shocked that Peyton Manning and his colts lost to the Steelers. But, we don't hang out when we are away from the office.

As pastor, he and his wife have been there for the birth of my two kids, welcomed me to my new home with a plant, celebrated my graduation from seminary with a surprise party, and have visited my wife in the hospital when she had foot surgery. I have been able to share my burdens with him, my failures, and have even wept with him. All of this over eight and a half years.

As boss, wow, he has kicked my butt a time or two! We have had our disagreements, heated discussions, and he has called me on the carpet when I have been insubordinate. We don't always see ministry the same, as he and I are from two different generations. Also, he has given me substantial raises, given me substantial promotions from youth pastor to associate pastor, and has given me the opportunity to co-preach/teach with him every week, as we rotate between our two campuses.

Barry Landrum is a good friend, good boss, and a great pastor. He doesn't always listen to me, doesn't understand some of my ideas, and we frustrate each other at times.

I guess the question is how do I seperate it all or keep it all together with him as my friend, my pastor, and my boss? I hope these concluding thoughts help! I would also love to hear your thoughts on the matter of you and your pastor/boss/friend.

Initially and for the longest time, he was boss! This was our first relationship and it is the easiest relationship to carry out, as I am the follower and he is the leader. In this relationship, he says jump, and I say, how high? If this is where you stay with your first chair, you are in trouble. A BIG key to your success is this relationship and I think it is best when you can work your way through this part of the boss/pastor/friend tension. I say this because if all he or she is is a boss, and all you are is an employee, you are held at arms length. If this is where you sit, you will find yourself frustrated because you won't be able to impact the organization as a whole. Remember the definition of a second chair leader? Someone in a subordinate role whose influence with others adds value to the entire organization. At arms length, you can't add value to him or her and thus you will find it hard to add value to the entire organization.

As relational and opionated as I am, I pushed the friendship thing. He received it as well, and I believe that when he saw potential in me and a desire to work hard, he pushed the friendship thing too. We have fun discussing theology, how he feels about John Piper today, how he will feel about Piper tomorrow, and sharing stories about life and things we find funny. We chase rabbits and joke a lot as a team. This keeps things light, especially when the intensity turns up. I like bringing levity and a little sarcasm to the table when it will lighten things up just a touch.

Through our time together and my life experiences, he has become a great pastor to me and my family. We like his preaching ministry as well. He has done this part of it. He has cared enough about Julee and me that he has come to the hospital to visit us and pray with us. He treats us like anyone else in the congregation, as this is a tremendous strength of my pastor. I too have returned the favor, checking on him when he has had a procedure or two, calling him the night before for prayer, etc.

But I think the best thing that I can say is that I don't seperate these roles and look for weaknesses in how he has or hasn't been my friend, boss, or pastor. I could easily pick him apart for any of these if I wanted to. He could do the same and question my motives if he were insecure or perceived me as a threat.

He is boss/pastor/friend all of the time, and like a smooth luxury car, we are able to shift in and out of these different gears with ease and comfort. This is how it should be and I am grateful to say that it is what I get to experience most of the time.

Yet, I am no fool. This is a relationship, and every relationship is a two way street. So, I must do my part, and I am very proactive about my part, because I have been called to serve him. Servants don't stand around waiting to be told what to do. If you do, I wouldn't call you a servant as much as I would a responder. Servants initiate, anticipate, and seek to assist. So, in my relationship, I anticipate, initiate, and assist as an employee, congregant, and friend. In doing so, I have found it well received and appreciated.

Again, please let me remind you, this takes time. I have been where I am for almost nine years with the same first chair. That is a long time to meet, discuss, listen, and respond. Take your time. Don't be overly critical, and do your part of the relationship to ensure growth.

Sharing Your Leader's Burden

2006-01-07T07:05:00.000-08:00

This idea of sharing my leader's burden has been floating around in my mind the last few weeks. We have just gone through a process of evaluating why our numbers have fallen off in our attendance at our two campuses. We are further realizing the need for further spiritual transformation as we feel like our people are not renewed, are entangled in the world, and need to be called to repentance. Much of this evaluation was forced onto us by our pastor, as he called our staff to prayer and laid upon us the burden of this situation.

Like it or not, he laid upon us his burden. Most of the second chair leaders on our team didn't like it at first. They thought his rationale for getting us to this place was misplaced. They didn't identify with his burden and couldn't understand this tension. For me, I completely understood where he was coming from, but didn't completely share his burden, because it wasn't as "alarming" for me as it was for him.

In this process, my team of second chair leaders began to discuss and pray about how we might share his burden. We struggled to fully understand it, and much of the way we approached the understanding was clearly a generational difference. With many younger second chairs following an older first chair, there is often disagreement and misunderstanding. Nevertheless, we began to pray that God would help us to carry his burden.

God did!

As we approached this with this spirit, our leader could see that we genuinely wanted what was best for the church, and we were willing to go with him into battle and deal with whatever it was that needed to be dealt with. This gave him a confidence in our counsel, helped him feel like he was not alone, and gave him a place to rest his burden as he grew weary.

I am reminded here of the story of Moses, Aaron, Hur, and Joshua as Joshua went out to fight the Amelekites (Exodus 17:10-13). It states:

10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

These guys carried Moses' burden. They did this because they were following a leader who had a burden for the safety, health, and survival of Israel. One went into battle, risking his own life, while the other two propped up their first chair before the Lord.

One of the things that God continually impresses upon me is that I don't feel what my first chair leader feels. I am not burdened like my senior leader, because I am not the senior leader. I can't fully grasp or understand the burden. But I can ask the Lord to give me what I need to help carry his burden. And when I do, and when the team does, God is glorified and the first chair is strengthened.

In My Chair or On My Knees

2005-12-12T06:51:00.000-08:00

I have a confession – I tend to live as if I believe the cliché, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” For me, this means that I confront challenges directly. I assess the situation, determine a solution, roll up my sleeves, and get it done. Honestly, that has served me pretty well in my career, both in business and in the church.

But more and more I find myself asking the question, “Am I leaving room for God, or have I left Him out of this process?” Many years of education, training, and life experience have taught me to rely on myself, and only go to God as a last resort. It’s easy to do this in a second chair role. Many competing demands scream for attention. And they’re usually not saying “Seek God in this” – they just say, “Fix it now!”

For second chair leaders, I believe the best answer is a balancing act in which we do both. God called us to be good stewards of all that He has given us, and that includes our abilities as problem-solvers and gap-fillers. But He also wants us to be dependent on Him, to ask Him for wisdom and for His power to be made perfect in our weakness. So in the future, I hope you’ll find me in my chair AND on my knees.

Wanting your Leader to Fail

2005-12-05T05:56:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wanted your leader to fail? This admission was shared with me over dinner Friday night, as a strong, up-and-coming second chair leader sat there frustrated, confused, and uncertain as to what he should do! He said, "Some days, I just wish he would fail. I know that is my flesh, or pride, or whatever, but his incompetency and lack of initiative are keeping us from going anywhere. . . I wish he would fail so that I could get his job and show everyone how it is done!"

Pretty intense! Kind of hard to step around this one, huh? But, isn't he like us all who have been wired to lead from the second chair? In some ways, haven't we all wanted to be the leader who comes to the rescue after our leader fails miserably? Maybe your pride hasn't been that awful, but what about the times that you have hoped that your first chair leader will at least recognize their need for you to bail them out of a situation?

If you were in this guys shoes, as a strong second chair leader of a para-church organization, but were frustrated with the regional guy's leadership, what would you do? Would you bail? Would you confront? How should you handle it?

Maybe you are just like this guy and you too feel frustrated for one reason or another with your first chair. How should you handle it? What next steps should you be taking for your own career path? Which way would you go?

Entering the World of Blogging

2005-12-02T08:24:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our new blog for second chair leaders. We are excited about the way this blog will capture more community among second chair leaders in the church across the globe. Please let us know of ways that we can enhance our new blog as we move forward, seeking to add to the conversation of what leading from the second chair really looks like.

Please take the time to post questions about our book, Leading from the Second Chair, comments about your second chair experience, and struggles that you are experiencing, or whatever is on your mind.

We hope to hear from you.