Author: Matt Brown

After surveying ministry leadership teams, here are the TOP FIVE THINGS your team would like you to know but may not say:

What Your Team Wishes They Could Tell You…

#1 – Transparency Matters

Things are not always good. You are not always good. Hiding the bad and not being transparent about what is really going on can shatter trust and lead to insecurity in individuals, teams, and churches/organizations. Be as open as possible. If there is something you are choosing not to share, address that you aren’t ready to share details but acknowledge the elephant in the room. 

#2 – Loving Your Team Matters

Genuine encouragement and praise goes a long way. Although your team might receive plenty of “good job” accolades from others, your support – and even the fact that you notice – is important and vital. Be intentional in what you see in them and how each team member’s specific gifting is making an eternal impact in the lives of others. Modeling words of affirmation impacts individuals, motivates them to do their best, and helps them lead others better. 

#3 – Their Families and Lives Matter

Your team’s families might not be on the payroll, but they are also serving your ministry. Keep in mind the effects on spouses and kids who share a vital part of their life with your church/organization. In many cases, you see their loved one more than they do. Consider families often, know them well, sit around tables with them, love them, say thank you to them. And for those team members who may not be married or have children, remember that their lives outside of ministry need healthy boundaries that are not blurred by work demands. Ask them what they love to do and help make sure they have time and energy to enjoy those passions and interests.

#4 – Helping Them Know They Matter Matters

Ask questions to learn about your team, individually and as a group. Do your team members enjoy their roles on the team? Are any team members struggling spiritually or in other ways? Do they feel honored on your staff? Are you missing anything that they are noticing? What are they praying and dreaming about with God? Questions and curiosity are a way to show that you care about an individual for who they are and not just what they do.

#5 – Emotional and Spiritual Health Matters

Prioritize and normalize taking care of your own emotional and spiritual health. Allow wise counselors to speak into the places of your heart no one else gets to see or hear. Use your experience to vulnerably share how God is continuing to shape you, free you, and heal you. This will encourage others that living in bondage hinders us and is not what God intended for those He’s placed in leadership roles.

Your Team Is Only As Good As You Are Honest

Staff Experience can help you and your team walk through the process of being open and honest with each other so that you and your church/organization are operating in healthy ways that will impact eternity.

How healthy is your team? Go ahead. Rate it from 1-10.  

Now, think about the criteria you used.

Size? Success? Talent? Appearance? Popularity? Any or all of these may have popped into your mind, but to truly evaluate your team’s health, you’ll have to use a different set of measurements.

Ask Yourself These Five Questions:

#1 – Does our team have true character or do we just assume it’s there?

Too often, we rely on assuming character exists rather than examining whether our leaders actually have it. Character is not guaranteed, yet we often believe it naturally comes with Christian upbringing, charisma, or an ability to get results. Nothing could be further from the truth.

#2 – Is our team actually healthy or are we justifying and compensating for unhealthiness?

When we like others, see good in them, or simply want the talents they bring, we often make up for shortcomings in behavior and character. We may convince ourselves it’s not that big of a deal or try to make up the difference for another leader’s unhealthiness, such as being extra nice to make people feel better after an aggressive outburst. Stop settling when things could be so much better.

#3 – Do we see every Fruit of the Spirt or have we given an exemption to some qualities?

It’s so easy to give ourselves a pat on the back when we show extravagant kindness or when we practice self-control. But, we don’t get a pass on some Fruit of the Spirit when others are obvious. They come as a package deal, in us and in our teams.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Galatians 5:22-23

#4 – Does our team actually trust each other or do we just get the job done?

We can still lead people to Jesus without trusting each other, but the consequences of mistrust will slowly seep into the fabric of our culture. Silos develop. Sides are taken. Suspicion fills in missing gaps of information. Implosion awaits. Trust must be the foundation.

#5 – Do we treat each other like Jesus when the doors to the meeting rooms are closed?

When stress is spilling out of us and we are tired, it’s easy to make excuses for each other. And when it’s only our team who bears the consequences of someone’s irritability, inappropriate jokes, or impatience, it’s easy to ignore the check in our spirit to speak up. We must treat each other like Jesus in public and private.

Don’t just assume your team is healthy. Take the opportunity to act on the nagging awareness you’ve had about a few holes that exist in your team’s health. Walking through Staff Experience together will lead to trust, unity, and resilience on your team and across your organization. 

Are you and your team fully into your church calendar and the good busyness of life-giving ministry? A lot has gone into what you are doing and why. After all, running with perseverance is a team sport. And Staff Experience can help you run to win!  The author of Hebrews tells us, “Throw off everything that hinders” (12:1). Many of us may read this verse thinking it relates only to individual sin issues. However, everything about this verse is plural in nature – including how it can refer to our hindered staff teams.

Three ways our teams are hindered:

#1 – Overcommitment

Our ministry teams are filled with brilliant, passionate people who deeply love Jesus and work to fulfill His plan. Many of these staff members (even you?) take on more responsibilities consistently.  Successfully managing responsibilities may impress others and possibly even ourselves, but taking on too much can be a mask that hides feelings of inadequacy. Ultimately, overcommitment can keep an entire team underperforming in vital areas. Staff Experience can help you and your teams set boundaries individually and as an organization.

#2 – Shame and Pride

All of us have had experiences we would rather forget, whether we regret a choice of our own or were affected by someone else’s poor choices. Many times, the result is a sense of shame – believing we are bad and cannot be loved or accepted if others truly know us. Shame can often be expressed through pride as a way of keeping others at a distance. It becomes a piece of who we are that makes it hard to run the race. Each of our teams has members who function but secretly struggle because shame holds us back. Staff Experience can help us learn how to embrace healing and move forward.

#3 – Sin

Sin has a grip on individuals and ministry teams. That’s no secret. And praise God that all who believe in Christ are freely justified by His grace!  But what hidden sins may be impacting you and your team? Where do we automatically go when we are anxious, lonely, hurt, or tired? Secret sins keep us in hiding and prevent us from living openly with both God and those with whom we are in community. Staff Experience helps you and your team face and find release from secret sins that can control us, making us less impactful for God’s Kingdom.

Chances are you and your team experience stress in ministry, possibly even thinking about leaving ministry leadership roles altogether. Recent research has shown that 42% of Pastors think about it largely due to seasons of loneliness, isolation, and conflict, all of which can lead to burnout.* But what can be done about it?

 

Here Are Three Ways You Can Help Your Team Avoid Burnout:

 

#1 – Help Your Ministry Team Grow Their Capacity For Holding Tension

We are designed to hold tension. It is how God created us. In fact, our bodies work because God designed our skeletal and muscular systems to generate and sustain the tension needed to allow us to sit, walk, jump, eat, and do life. It is the pushing and pulling that holds us together and gives us shape.

Similarly, it is important for ministry teams to grow their capacity for holding tension. Creating environments for your staff to explore stress management, learn healthy coping skills, and be able to unload vulnerably and safely is a first step you can take right now.

 

#2 – Love Your Team & Help Them Love Others

God created us to live in deep, meaningful relationships with Him and one another. Surely, Jesus and his disciples laughed and enjoyed time together as they balanced the work of ministry leadership. They knew each other personally and professionally.

How well does your staff know you and vice versa? And how well does your staff know those they lead? Feeling loved and known adds value to each of us. We must work to eliminate the barriers that keep us from the relationships God longs for us to have.

#3 – Use Conflict as a Catalyst to Healthy Conversations

Politics often cause division. No secret there. But it is important to remember that the conflict and tension of politics should drive us to healthy discussions and resolutions. This can be applied to any situation big or small, including conflicts in ministry.

Learning how to fully show up with love, grace, and humility as Jesus did is key. We must embrace crucial conversations and stay emotionally connected to navigate political divisiveness in ministry situations. This will breathe life into our ministry teams.