I asked him to meet with me and I told him that it had to end. I told him that I wanted to be his pastor, but that he had a trail of pastors’ bodies in his wake. I told him I had talked to those former pastors (another story), and that to a person they had named his name. I then told him that if I had to take this further, in whatever way needed to end it, I would.
The church of Jesus mattered too much not to.
He broke down crying, and he was quiet from then on (maybe not reformed or repentant, but he behaved) until I left.
2. Pick a captain of the team. And then, let them captain.
One of the biggest lessons I learned is that church structure matters. Really. How decisions are made, who is put in charge, and then letting them lead the charge, matters.
In my first church, you had to go to a congregational business meeting to buy paper clips.
You think I’m kidding?
I’m not.
It’s like recess. You want to play a game? You pick sides, right? But how do you do that?
You pick captains.
That captain gets to pick. They get to lead. If they don’t do a good job, fine. Next recess, new captain. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have captains.
I’ve told many a church planter that one of the biggest “secrets” about Meck is its church structure. Church planters will dream about a thousand things – weekend services, bands, buildings, marketing efforts – but they seldom dream about structure.
They should.
Because it’s at the heart of making sure that leaders get to lead.
3. Give gold stars.
Do you remember posters on the school wall that had everyone’s names listed and then categories for little gold sticker stars? Maybe for being on time, getting in line quickly, answering a question correctly, or just having a neat desk.
What do people get stars for in church?
