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Two Principles for Delegation: Part 2

One of the challenges every leader faces is delegating responsibility and authority.  In Children's Ministry at CCC we're at a stage where myself and our environment directors probably need to delegate more of what we do.  In approaching that challenge, there are 2 principles for delegation that I think are important to remember.  I talked about the first principle in the last post, and the other principle is...

#2 Let it Fail

Another principle is to let it fail.  Often times we never delegate certain responsibilities because we feel like nobody will take them on.  Obviously one way to hand those responsibilities off is to ask someone if they will take it on, but sometimes people are already aware that you need help with something (usually because you aren't doing it well).  In those cases, it's best to let it fail by not doing it.  Clearly there are some things you can't let fail, but many things you can, and people will surprise you by stepping up and taking on that responsibility.  I have found this to be true especially when I didn't feel like anyone was trained/equipped enough to take on the responsibility, but by letting it fail (not doing it), they learned on their own and made it happen.

In some ways I think delegation requires a little faith, believing in others and believing in God's plan that is based on everyone in the Church using their unique gifts and abilities to contribute to a shared vision and purpose.

Two Principles for Delegation: Part 1

One of the challenges every leader faces is delegating responsibility and authority.  In Children's Ministry at CCC we're at a stage where myself and our environment directors probably need to delegate more of what we do.  In approaching that challenge, there are 2 principles for delegation that I think are important to remember.

#1 List it Out

I think we have to list out everything we are responsible for if we ever hope to delegate any of it.  Much of our busyness comes from not having a good understanding of all the things we actually have to do.  We just get them done when we need to and underestimate how much of our time it takes.  Our team is listing out everything we are responsible for, and then dividing those responsibilities up into 3 categories: 

• Things only we can do
• Things other people could do
• Things nobody needs to do

Even if we can't hand off a ton of our responsibilities, every little bit helps us be more effective and gives other people opportunities to contribute in a bigger way.

In the next post I'll share what I think is another important principle to keep in mind when trying to delegate.

Set People Up to Succeed

The other day I was reading in the book of 1 Chronicles in the Bible, and came across this verse:

"Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it." 1 Chronicles 15:22

It made me think about how often in the Church we don't put people in a position to succeed because they serve where they aren't skilled.  Here are some scenarios that come up:

• People don't know where they are skilled - In this case it's best to let them serve wherever they would like to at first, or even where you need them, but it's important to evaluate how that role fits them and try to help them learn what their gifts and abilities really are.
   
• People want to do something they aren't skilled at - This is one of the most difficult because it means having a hard conversation to let them know they should probably serve in a different capacity that utilizes their true gifts.  Interestingly enough, like the verse in Chronicles, music is where we find this happen a lot.  
   
• People don't realize how skilled they are - Some people are more skilled than they realize, especially when it comes to leadership.  We have to recognize that and encourage them to reach their full potential by giving them opportunities.

The team, the mission, and the Church has to come before any individual and if everyone has that attitude, and we work hard to set people up to succeed, great things can happen.

CCC Web Presence

At CCC we have been working on upgrading our web presence for a while now.  The biggest upgrade was overhauling our website (see left).  The new website runs on WordPress and is adapted from a theme/design that was done by Rob Spangler for another one of our websites: thrivebaltimore.net

Tons of people were involved with making it happen, starting with Rob's design, Zak's modifications for the new site, Ryan's kickin' graphics, Adam gathering and managing content from the staff team while I tried my best to learn WordPress on the fly to make it do what we wanted.

In addition to the new website, we launched our new blog, new Facebook page, and new Twitter account.  Check it out and let me know what you think.  Don't forget to subscribe to blog updates, follow us on twitter and become a fan on our Facebook page.

Music Video Tribute to CCC Kids Volunteers

This past May we gathered all the CCC Kids volunteers for an event we called Heroes.  It was a time to celebrate everything they do for CCC by having fun and sharing stories.  Below is a video our worship arts team created that was part of the fun:

Catalyst One Day Coming to Baltimore

Catalyst One Day is coming to Baltimore, MD (Fulton, specifically) on Monday, November 16.  A bunch of people from CCC will be going, including staff and volunteers.  I'm thrilled about an event like this coming to MD (or anywhere in the northeast) and I'm excited that some of our volunteers will be attending.  

If you lead anything, you'll want to attend this event.  It is specifically geared towards church leaders but the principles would apply to any leadership context.  The theme is momentum.  

Grace Community Church is hosting the event.  Check out the website to sign up.  

Yeah, I know

I know it's been a long time since I blogged anything, almost a month in fact. It's been more than a month since I blogged anything besides a video link. August has been a CRAZY month and I just haven't had the time.

For our church and our staff August is typically a down month, and we avoid scheduling things as much as possible. But, we actually had a lot going on this month (not in any specific order):

• Made big changes to our auditorium and some other rooms to make room for more people
• Worked on a new website that will be unveiled soon
• Planned Kindergarten Confidential (orientation for incoming kindergartners and parents) from scratch and launched it today (We had a great turnout and from my perspective everything went well)
• Wrote the children's ministry portion of a new book for parents we are creating that explains our strategy for families
• KidStuf tech workday to prepare for a new KidStuf season

On top of all that I had to write a 10 page paper that was due last Monday. I was actually on vacation the first week of August but even with that it felt like one of the busiest months ever.
On one hand I'm just whining, but on the other I'm setting the stage to say that we have an awesome team of people (staff & volunteers) who have done a lot of great work this past month to help CCC do a better job of helping people find their way back to God.

Fool Proof

This is the first in a regular series of posts where I'll share how I'm seeking to apply what was taught in the message on Sunday.  The title comes from the parable of the Wise & Foolish builders that Jesus talked about, saying the wise are ones who "hears these words of mine and puts them into practice".

Being that I preached on Sunday this is an odd way to kick off this regular series of posts.  But, one of the things I encouraged people to do was share stories of God's faithfulness in their past.  One of those stories for me is about money.

When I was about 20 years old I realized I was pursuing the American dream and not really living for God.  So, I tried to live more for God in every area of my life.  I watched a friend of mine tithe (give money to support the God's mission through the local church) and I realized I had never tithed.  It just wasn't modeled for me.  I tried to start, but I had little margin financially and could never make it work.  

So, I decided to hold God to his promise (that He would provide) and I sold my car to get a cheaper one, which created margin financially, and I began tithing.  God was faithful to that promise then and has been ever since in regards to provision.  In fact, I would say more often than not I've been blessed when giving, especially when it hasn't been easy.  I always point back to that first time when I'm faced with the decision of giving or hoarding it for myself.  Yet, I still seem to make the unwise choice too often.

Message Application & Spiritual Gifts - Part 2

In my previous post I talked about the CCC message from 2 Sundays ago and the two thoughts/ideas I had coming out of that.  I talked about the first idea in the previous post and in this one I want to talk about something cool I learned from Darrin Patrick at the Exponential Conference this year.  

Darrin referenced something he learned from David Fairchild, that I will summarize here but can be found in better detail in David Fairchild's post.  In talking about spiritual gifts, and abilities, David talked about the 3 "offices" that Jesus held:

Prophet, Priest & King

In looking at those, Darrin was sharing how we all probably lean heavily into one area, partially in another, and not at all in one.  Here is how you can think of those 3 offices:

Prophets- Communicate God to people.  They are teachers and vision casters.  Prophets tell us where we need to go.  Their struggle is they idolize knowledge, the power of authority & take pride in it (which can lead to legalism).

Priests- Communicate to God for people & bring people to God.  Priests make sure we feel God’s presence & loving concern while we go there.  They care about people above all else.  Their struggle is they seek approval from other people.

Kings- Bring the reign of God to the church & this world.  Kings know how to get where we need to go.  They care about plans, systems and organization.  Their struggle is with control and comfort and caring for people.

I clearly fall in the prophet & king camps, while lacking in priest gifting.  I think I am naturally more of aa king but must move to more of a prophet as our team and church grows.  I may always be more of a king than a prophet but my ability to teach and cast vision must grow as our children's ministry grows.

How about you?  Where do you lean?

Message Application & Spiritual Gifts - Part 1

At CCC we're in the midst of the CCC at the Movies series, where we take some popular movies and look at the truths about God they communicate, whether on purpose or not.  Two Sundays ago David shared a message based on the movie Kung Fu Panda - which is a totally awesome movie. 

In the message David talked about spiritual gifts, and how in the movie the panda (Po) had to figure out how he was gifted and how to best use that.  Two thoughts came out of that message for me.  One, I'm thinking about adding something to my blogging rhythm.  I'd like to post each week about how I'm going to apply what I've heard in the message at CCC on Sundays.  Reason being, messages should move us to action because simply knowing more about the Bible makes us more proud, not more like Jesus.  I hope to start that this week.

It also reminded me of something cool I learned from Darrin Patrick at the Exponential Conference this year.  But, that will be in tomorrow's post.