Brian Dodridge

Church Member Perception of Ministers, part 1

Preface: This is an aspirational post about something I believe should become a reality. It’s a subject matter I’ve not mastered yet – but it’s an area in which I’m trying to improve.

“I know you’re busy, but can I have a few minutes of your time?”

If you’re a church staff-member and you’re hearing that question often, it’s a bad sign. Here’s why:

Either you are actually way too busy, or you’re non-verbally communicating something about you that is not a reality.

The first scenario if happening regularly means one of two things is happening. Either you’re not managing your time well, or you’re about to have a breakdown. Managing your time poorly leaves no margin for disruptions. Being that busy isn’t sustainable, and a physical or psychological breaking point is coming down the track.

The second scenario is probably more common for a lot of us, though. Chances are we’re not actually too busy to spare a few minutes. But we have forgotten that ministry involves people (and some of those people even pay our salary).

Somehow, we’ve begun to communicate with our body language or reputation that “I’ve got important tasks to get done which have already been determined for me by others – and your request isn’t as important.”

While it’s important to be aware of this all the time, I think it is particular important to be aware of it on Sunday mornings, or whenever church services occur. Those times provide congregants a few hours to connect with their ministers – and it’s important that we communicate a mindset of ministry, rather than busyness.

This “I’m too busy” perception is further fed by the way we respond to people’s questions. For example, if someone asks “How are you doing?” and we reply with a long list of things we’ve been working on or still need to finish, it communicates that we have nothing extra to give to that person. We’re likely trying to manage our busyness-image.

I think there’s something sinful about that. I’ve done it before, and I’ve confessed it. It’s something that I’m working on right now in my life, and I’d encourage you to do an audit of how you respond to people – especially when they interrupt you or your plans.

Practical takeaways:

If you’re too busy on a consistent basis to not have a few extra minutes to spare, make some life changes. It’s neither healthy nor sustainable to function with no margin in your life.
Don’t respond to “How are you doing” questions with a self-promotional list of things you’ve done or still have to accomplish.
Create margin for yourself on Sundays and another times you interact with people, to be available for unplanned conversations. Unrushed conversations in the church hallways can be a great ministry. Chatting it up in the hallway isn’t a waste of time – it’s a ministry of presence.
When you ask someone how they’re doing, and they reply with how busy they are that week, consider saying something like this: “Well, I have a few minutes right now. Would you mind me praying over you? I’d like to ask God to help give you peace in this busy time.”

I’m not proposing that you chase rabbits, become a counselor in the church hallway, or give away all your time. But an unrushed conversation with an appropriate ending, which may or may not involve future action on your part, should be the norm rather than the exception.

Busyness is not a badge of honor, and it’s usually not as honoring to God as we might think it is. In contrast, being available to others is honoring to God.

Dealing With Admin vs Ministry Tension

Most ministers struggle with the day-to-day tension between administrative duties and pastoral duties. It sometimes feels like a competition: business versus ministry.

Can the two co-exist?

Some church staff roles are primarily operational, and some are primarily pastoral. But usually, whether it’s implied in your title or not, most roles are a combination of the two.

This is especially true for churches with smaller staffs. But whether your church has one staff-member or hundreds, most ministers face this tension everyday.

Meeting organizer or ministry in a home?

Controller of finances or stewardship teacher?

Staff manager or staff mentor?

Funding work or funeral work?

Preaching preparation or policy preparation?

The tension’s impact is highly visible on the resource of time. And in church ministry, it’s usually the “tyranny of the urgent” that wins out.

There’s also tension placed on a minister’s calling. Like many who lead staff, many of my role responsibilities are executive in nature (strategic direction, implementation, managing budgets, and staff). But God didn’t call me to be just an executive – He called me to participate in shepherding His church.

Do I use my spiritual gifts and executive experience to accomplish work for the church? Yes. But for me to be fulfilled in my Gospel Ministry calling, I must be able to connect performance reviews, rainy day funds, and information technology to people pursuing Christ. I need to perceive a clear connection between my executive work and the church working as God designed it.

If all my work is in the admin sector, then my work can seem meaningless, and unappreciated. If I’m all pastoral, well, usually the train begins to leave the track and it impedes ministry for me and even the church.

Does this resonate with you? If, like me, you need some help balancing these two elements of your role, here are a few techniques:

Know and be comfortable with your role’s ebb and flow. There are seasons when one role may be dominant – and that’s okay.
Be involved in hands-on ministry. Without it you lose touch, and your ministry becomes all head and no heart.
Do an exercise with your team where you try to connect administrative duties you’re all engaged in to life-change outcomes. Can you connect the dots?
Do some pastoral care, regularly – even if it’s not in your job description.
Embrace those around you who are better at balancing these roles. See what they can teach you about working efficiently in each role, without losing balance.
Be intentional in looking for and listening to stories of life-change.
Even if it’s not you on the front-line, celebrate when work you’ve contributed to has an ultimate impact for Jesus.
Plan for both ministry and administration in each day. A consistent disregard for administration for the sake of sermon preparation can have negative impacts. And a disregard for administrative tasks can really get in the way of sustainable ministry work.

All ministry matters, even it’s budget planning. You are a resource to the church and you need to allocate your time effectively so the church can be all that God called it to be.

3 Words That Make Delegation Clear

Check. Do. Report.

You might hear a sentence like this spoken at the place I work:

Supervisor to assistant: “This is a ‘Do – Report’ task. Please reach out to the senior leaders for their input from our calendaring meeting, and then report back to me with a summary of their comments.”

“Check – Do – Report” is called the Delegation Triangle model in a leadership training course we require of all staff at our church, called Model-Netics. I’ve blogged previously on the what and why of this course for us. This simple delegation language is known by our employees.

Do items: Full discretion to complete task

Do – Report items: Full authority to do task, but report back when complete

Check – Do – Report items: Check with supervisor first for instructions and authority; do the work; report back

Early on in a delegation relationship, many delegated tasks will be “Check – Do – Report.” Over time, as trust and competence increases, delegation of many tasks moves to “Do – Report,” and finally, “Do.”

When it’s taught in Model-Netics, this principle is demonstrated by a triangle (pictured). Overtime, the supervisor wants to flip the triangle so only 20% of the delegated tasks are in the “Check – Do – Report” compartment, and the majority of tasks are in the “Do” compartment.

“A common language sets clear expectations for the delegate”

Some delegated tasks will always require checking in before launching, doing, and then reporting back to you. But a common language sets clear expectations for the delegate. In contrast, when I tell someone this is a “Do” task, it communicates authority and trust for them to complete the task, and only put me in the loop if something goes awry.

Practical Takeaways:

Trial this with the person you delegate to most often;
Explain the concept and meaning behind words;
And try it out for a few weeks.

Like me, you’ll likely find that these three simple words communicate a lot and lessen the need for delegation follow-up.

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