Leadership

Why Pope Francis is good for Christianity

As Pope Francis starts his papacy, it is very clear that his leadership will set a very different tone for the Catholic Church. Upon leaving Rome, Pope Francis paid for his own room, rejected lavish apparel, and referred to himself more as a bishop and less as Pope.

At a time when priest scandals, closing churches, and aging membership threaten the growth of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis is starting his tenure on a positive note. In the face of alleged papal scandal and a retiring pope, Francis has decided to change the tone of the Church’s messaging. Last week, Pope Francis reminded Catholics that Jesus, not the pope, is at the center of the Church. He added that the center should focus on “poor, and for the poor.” Even the selection of his namesake, Francis of Assisi, invokes compassion, peace, and uplifting the poor.

At 76 years of age, Pope Francis is comparably young. This newest pope will need the energy to galvanize the Catholic base and gain the trust of the disfranchised. However, Francis is doing more work among Christians in general, not just Catholics. The sex abuse scandals not only eroded the trust of faithful Catholics, but also with the general population. Public polls show that lawyers and bankers are more trusted than clergy. The perception among the “nones”, who make up 20% of Americans, is that churches and organized Christianity is not worthy of their attention.

It appears Pope Francis is setting a new tone for 1.2 billion Catholics. The tone is not centered in doctrine, Church law, or hierarchy but on bringing unity to the Church and caring for the least of these. The LA Times interviewed one of the faithful and compared the last pope and current pope:

But devotees have been agog at the complete contrast in style between the two men. Benedict tended to be stiff and reserved in public, unlike Francis and his engaging manner. Benedict “distanced people, but this one — you can tell from his expression — he makes jokes, he is closer to us,” Lorenzo Tortorati, 33, said, adding: “He’s what you need for the church.”

Protestants and Catholics share a close historic relationship. And, the two sects have influence one another. The Reformation created a Counter Reformation. Vatican II brought the church to the modern world as Protestant churches were growing. Catholics and nominal Catholics have been looking for a positive leader who can bridge the divide of theology and ecclesiology. Ashley McGuire with The Washington Post expresses the mood of Catholics and Protestants:

Pope Francis, meet a generation of young Catholics longing for you. Longing for someone to show us in the most tangible of ways that the Catholic Church defends the most vulnerable among us, be they in their mother’s womb or hungry in the streets. Meet a generation of Protestants looking to see Catholics assure them that our faith is first and foremost about Jesus Christ. And what could remind people more of Jesus than seeing a man with authority take that authority and bend it like Beckham. Bend down on one knee and wash some feet.

Indeed, we Christians (Catholics and Protestants) have a common denominator in Jesus Christ. Pope Francis is good for Christianity. His leadership will help the followers of Christ to do the things that Christ commanded: Feed the poor, visit the sick, uplift the lowly, protect the weak, and proclaim the Kingdom of God.

Pope Francis is that type of John Paul II pope who Catholics celebrated and Protestants could agree with. Francis will bring Catholics into the future and we Protestants can join with them in the common cause in the name of Jesus Christ.

Leadership

Why leadership and ethics are the next big thing

“I choose Business Ethics” – Billy Madison

In the movie Billy Madison, young Madison (played by Adam Sandler) must out wit his rival to take control of his father’s company. Billy Madison picks the category of ethics in a winner-take-all contest because he knows his opponent lacks any sense of fairness when it came to business. The immature Billy wins the day because his opponent breaks down under the pressure of a sense of right and wrong.

If Bernie Madoff, Enron, Bear-Sterns, and the sub-priming lending disaster are our examples of business ethics, then our culture could use more business ethics. Recently, Slate posed the idea that teaching ethics in business school is a tough proposal, but a needed one. Ethical failures cost companies… a lot.

There is a shift occurring in the world of business and organizational operation. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, middle management was a prime focus in business. Somehow and someway, managing people became the norm for companies. Do people and problems really need managing? It seems managing people and problems is more placation than about leadership. Leadership has more to do with moving organizations and people forward towards a goal or idea. Management has more to do with keep things kosher within a business or company.

The MBA, the recent standard of middle to upper business/organizational management, is beginning to see changes – hopefully for the better. Most programs teach students how to run a company or business, but few teach how to lead people… a more complete concept. Years ago, the trend was to crank out problem managers rather than making leaders. Xavier University is one of the growing schools focusing on leadership and ethics, rather than cut-throat profit and get-ahead tactics. Here’s the program in a nutshel l:

Church Leadership, clergy burnout, Leadership

Underestimating staff burnout

You don’t think your staff are stretched thin? Don’t think you are above burning out? Have you checked the health of your organizational staff? Perhaps you underestimate the power of staff burnout in your congregation or organization. It’s real and it can hurt not just your organization, but families.

Recently, a high-profile Baptist pastor in North Carolina became the latest ministry burnout case. Rev. Steve Shoemaker, who leads a 2,200-member Baptist church in Charlotte, entered a 30-day treatment program. In a rather quick move, Shoemaker sent a letter to his congregation outlining his need to step away. He wrote, “I’m physically, psychologically and spiritually depleted and must get help.”

What leads to such powerful emotional wounds?

Pastors and church staff often succumb to burnout. Long hours, high expectations, lower pay, being “on” 24/7, and stress all bring a higher work load to staff. This is often an under reported story in mainstream media, but in 2010 the New York Times wrote a story on clergy burnout. The first two paragraphs were striking and left no room for doubt of the power of burnout:

Leadership

Change: 12 Guidelines for Deciding When to Persist, When to Quit

Kanter’s Law: “Everything can look like a failure in the middle.”

Navigating change or transformation within an organization or church is a challenge, but when it time for a new ideas to hit the road? What is a good yard stick to measure a new program, ministry, or initiative? How can organizations and churches evaluate success? Often, there is a messy middle where the future is uncertain and evaluation is difficult.

The Harvard Business Review has an excellent piece on how to evaluate the effectiveness of new plans or ideas.What I like best about these guidelines is that they ask the right questions instead of using a specific school of thought through a per-packaged paradigm:

Church Leadership, clergy burnout, Leadership

Why your church staff burnout

Has the slower US economy stretched our work force too thin and caused higher rates of burn out?

According to a new survey, 1 in 5 employees are burned out from their job. The USA Today reported the findings just how people feel about their work:

Since last year, the most significant growth in work priorities is no longer accomplishing basic responsibilities or improving their performance, but just showing up. “Being present” was the most important priority cited by 22% of workers — a 47% increase since the survey began in 2003 and a jump of 3 percentage points since last year.

Do we want people to just “show up” to work or feel empowered?

October is clergy appreciation month in many denominations and this brings added awareness to the epidemic of burnout in churches. In ministry employment, the problem of “pastoral burnout” is well noted, but many churches do little to combat it. Smartphones and social media have increased pastoral burnout, as The New York Times highlighted this problem back in 2010:
Continue Reading…

anger, Leadership

The day I was cursed at in church

In ministry, one day is always different from the next. Sometimes, there are wonderful and rewarding experiences. Other times, there are difficult experiences.

I’ll never forget the day I was cursed at in church. Samuel L. Jackson style.

I was in my office working on the bulletin for the upcoming Sunday worship service. My office manager was not in so I was alone on the first floor of the church. I heard a commotion outside my office. I heard someone yelling at the top of their lungs. I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I stood up to get a better look through my window to the common area outside of our church offices. There I saw a women who started into a profanity laced speech:

“What the f**k is going on? Who’s in charge here? Someone has to help me with this sh*t”

Ignoring her cursing, I immediately greeted her, told her I was the pastor, and ask how I could be of assistance.

“How you going to fking going to solve my problem. You don’t fking understand!” She said. And directed her anger, misplaced as it was, at me. I was floored. I never met this woman and had no clue what was going on to produce such craziness.

Leadership

Replacement referees in the church

“Oh my gosh! Did you see that play? Green Bay should have won the game!”

Just about everyone was shocked watching the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks game finish on Monday night.

The reactions were swift and critical. Angry fans believe the replacement NFL referees got the final play wrong. For weeks now, sports writers and fans alike have lamented the replacement referees and their seemingly obtuse penalty calling… or lack there of. It seems these replacement refs don’t get the job done. Or do they?

There certainly has been a lot of hyper criticism revolving around these refs from day one. Since the strike of the regular NFL refs, the replacement referees have been placed under a microscope. Every call, play, or touchdown has been meticulously examined, digested, and judged in the court of public opinion. Referees blow calls all the time, but we usually forget about those plays. Not for replacement referees. We’ll remember those.

In reality, the standard of expectation has been set unfairly high. Many fans are waiting for these refs to make a mistake. And when they do, the fans and sport writers are like a pack of wolves ready to devour them with criticism. Truly, most fans do not lie in wait for a ref to make a mistake, but that’s what America’s football watchers have been doing.

Church Leadership, church staff, Leadership

What really sinks organizational staff

sinking_boat_1_xlarge I once worked on a church staff with a person who was very educated and talented, but the staff member was undermining the entire organization. This staff member would never say anything publicly that would criticize anyone. The staff member had a very subtle way of letting everyone know of personal hangups. These hangups were affecting the staff and thus the performance of the organization.

Within organizations, this situation plays out the same way. One person groaning, criticizing, and vocalizing their personal problems with others. Often, these behaviors come from a place of insecurity. These behaviors will sink a church staff or organization. Everyone knows who these people are, but staff often, unknowingly, feed this person’s behavior.

There is that negative comment at lunch, a complaint that comes after a meeting, or an overly critical email that is sent around people’s backs. This person lets everyone know that they are unhappy with organizational decisions or have personal gripes with others without confronting the issue at hand. This type of underhanded behavior sinks staff and there is a name for it:

Leadership, mainline church

Sometimes, churches need to ‘die’

church-death

A 100 year-old plus-mainline-congregation closes its doors. The church dies. What’s left? An empty shell of a building and a disbanded group of church members. Many have predicted the death of mainline churches for the last 20 years. People have “headed to the hills” or more accurately, to less connectional churches or no churches at all.

I keep a pulse on my denomination, the American Baptist Churches USA, as it appears in the news. One “dead” congregation caught my attention. It is a New England American Baptist congregational and it died. After 163 years, the Massachusetts church closed its doors. Usually, that would be the end of the story, but it was not. The MetroWest Daily News tells the story: Continue Reading…

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