“A Leader’s Best Friend, Part I”
by Dan Reiland
When I was in the 4th grade I had the coolest silver Sting-Ray bike. I just went on-line and looked up vintage 60’s Sting-Ray’s. The first one I saw was $500.00! The high rise handlebars, banana seat, and chrome spokes — a blast from the past!
We had moved up the coast from San Diego to Cardiff-by-the-Sea. We lived a little over two miles from the beach. Birmingham was the main road to get there and it was a very long and steep hill. Riding my bike downhill to the beach was a breeze, pushing it most of the way home was rough. The trip was the same length in both directions, but going home was so much more difficult and took five times longer.
This is a great picture of momentum in church leadership. The same journey is so much different with momentum than without it. We all love the downhill ride, but it doesn’t come without a price tag and it doesn’t last forever.
Momentum is a leader’s best friend. Next to God’s favor, there is nothing a leader wants more than momentum. (And the two are connected.) Momentum is that often illusive quality that makes all the difference in the local church. Good momentum is that force greater than the sum of all your leadership and resources, that can’t be explained, but drives you forward in the mission and vision of the church at a miraculous rate.
12Stone Church where I serve as Executive Pastor in Lawrenceville, GA has been blessed with amazing momentum. We’ve grown from about 4,000 to well over 8,000 in weekly worship in a couple years. We can’t explain it really, which is a bit ironic if you think about it since I’m writing two articles on momentum! We do know that God is with us and His favor is strong. We don’t take that lightly. With that acknowledged, there are some things that can be said on the topic of momentum. (Part 2 will deal with regaining lost momentum.)
• Momentum never lasts forever.
The natural response to things finally going your way is to let off the gas and coast a little. When you experience momentum, it’s not time to coast. It’s time to pedal harder. Take full advantage of the favor God is granting. God delivers the favor but you fan the flame!
Nothing organic continues to grow forever. No revival has ever lasted forever, no church has ever kept growing without end, and no movement has continued to contradict the laws of nature. Nothing live keeps growing. Think about a tree, you’ve never seen one over 400 ft in height. I believe the tallest recorded is a redwood in Northern California measured at 379.1 feet.
God continues growth by planting new seeds. As leaders we must figure out ways to plant new seeds. This includes anything from starting a new service to planting a new church. The idea is something new. At 12tone Church we “plant” new video driven campuses. You can be creative and come up with your ideas but the point is to do it before your church hits its peak height.
• Momentum can fool you.
A good friend of mine, Tim Elmore, Founder and President of Growing Leaders (a great organization and resource to help you build leaders) www.GrowingLeaders.com made a comment one day that I’ve remembered ever since. We were both working with John Maxwell and admiring some new brochures that had just arrived from the printer. They were for conferences Tim and I spoke at. Tim said: “Oh, if we were only as good as our brochures!” We had a good laugh, and how true!
Here’s the point. When you’re struggling you’re not as bad as you appear, and when you’re winning, you’re not as good as you appear. Don’t get caught up in the momentum and start believing your own press!
When things are going good, when the big mo is with you, you can easily forget all the work it took to get you there. And because you perform better when you have momentum you can begin to behave with unrealistic expectations like your “tree” will grow forever. It just doesn’t work that way.
Momentum is amazing. You want all you can get for as long as you can have it, but if you don’t understand it will bite you in the end. Remember how you got there and keep at it. Thank God daily and work hard.
• Momentum is fueled by vision and sustained by competence.
Vision is the source and fuel of momentum. I should say when you take effective action upon your vision that fuels momentum. The basics of vision remain the same. Here are some questions for a quick review. Are you confident that your vision is from God? Have your key leaders bought in to the vision? Do your leaders trust you? Have you thought through a strategy to achieve the vision? (This doesn’t mean you have all the answers, but that you have a basic plan.) Is there a positive spirit amongst your congregation? Is there, in general, a strong sense of faith in your congregation? Do they believe God is in the vision? Do they know what their part is? And the list goes on. The answers to these questions truly matter. There is so much here, but believe it or not, all this just gets the rocket off the launch pad, it won’t keep it in orbit.
Competence keeps it going. Competence makes the dream believable. Yes, there is an overlap, but let me give you an example of how this works. People will pledge to a vision, but they actual pay toward competence. What I mean is people invest their hard earned money into something they believe will actually work.
So let me ask a blunt question. Does your team know what they’re doing? Can you and your team deliver on what you are promising? God has His part. That’s where faith comes in. But you as a leader and the team must do your part too. That’s what so exciting about a divine partnership. It’s you and God. It’s scary to be out there on the edge, but imagine how scary it would be to be out there alone. God is with you and he is doing His part.
• Momentum is killed by entitlement.
You might not imagine this as a reality in the local church but it is. Even Christian leaders can develop a spirit of entitlement.
Here’s how it works in the bigger picture. When there is famine, everyone is in the same boat. You are all trying to survive. You’re hoping, praying and keeping busy. There are no goodies to compete for and no distractions to derail you. You’re all in it together. You all sink or swim. This develops a great sense of camaraderie and the people hunker down and work hard to find solutions.
When a church finds success, it can take a very different turn. It’s the opposite of famine. Things begin to come your way and people want a little piece of the pie. It may come in the form of attention, or more staff, or a new building with nice new offices. It doesn’t really matter what it is, but can cause leaders lose their focus on what got the momentum going and they begin to look over their shoulder to make sure they are in on the action. This always kills momentum. When leaders lose sight of what really matters and begin to believe they are entitled to something that began with the blessing and favor of God, this always, and I mean always, kills momentum.
Gratitude and hard work are the only appropriate responses to momentum.
Character – The Key to Sustaining Momentum
By John C. Maxwell
Tiger Woods exploded onto the national stage in 1997, when, as a 21-year old, he won golf’s most prestigious event, the Masters. Not only did Tiger win the tournament, he shattered records along the way, making the world’s best golfers look like amateurs. Within a year of becoming a professional golfer, Tiger had attained the sport’s number one ranking.
Consistent Winning Produces Momentum
Early in 2001, Tiger captured his second Masters title to complete an unprecedented feat: winning all four of golf’s major championships consecutively. Golf’s popularity soared as its youthful star dominated event after event. People who had never before been interested in golf tuned in to see Tiger. Inspired by him, kids dragged their parents to the local golf course so that they could learn the game. Recreational golfers around the world patterned their swing after Tiger’s while practicing on the driving range. Advertisers flocked to Tiger’s side to take advantage of his gathering momentum. He inked multi-million dollar deals to wear the Nike logo, hit Titlelist golf balls, and endorse everything from General Motors to American Express. Forbes described Tiger as “a marketer’s dream.” Virtually every product he pitched seemed to turn into gold. Thanks to his sizeable sponsorship deals, in September 2009, Fortune estimated that Tiger had become sports’ first billionaire athlete.
Character Defects Halt Momentum
Tiger-mania came crashing to a halt in December 2009 after Woods had a bizarre traffic accident in his driveway. The incident initiated a cascade of rumors about Tiger’s marital infidelity, which he later admitted. As news coverage intensified, more incriminating tidbits surfaced, and the scandal gained steam. As this article is being written, a shamed Tiger remains in seclusion. By all accounts his marriage is in shambles. Accenture and AT&T have already cut ties with him, while other advertisers such as Gillette and Tag Heuer have distanced themselves from Tiger by pulling his ads. As for golf, Woods has taken an indefinite leave of absence, and it remains to be seen if he will recover his on-the-course greatness.
Lessons Learned from Tiger’s Tumble
1) Momentum can be a leader’s best friend or a leader’s worst enemy.
In his early days as a professional, Tiger Woods’ hard work and talent earned him a flood of victories. As the wins mounted, Tiger’s momentum took off. His confidence intimidated opponents, his personality attracted business deals, and every move he made seemed to draw the praise of an enraptured media.
Revelations of Tiger’s sordid behavior have generated a mountain of negative momentum, which will be difficult for him to overcome. The tide of public opinion is now squarely against him. Whereas people used to cheer Tiger on to success, many will now root for him to fail. The influence he once had has been dealt a serious blow, and it will be an uphill struggle for him to regain it.
2) Momentum can reverse direction in an instant.
Momentum can be a fickle friend, changing sides at any moment. One day Tiger was being coronated as the athlete of the decade by the Associated Press. Then, seemingly overnight, his name was being dragged through the mud on every conceivable news outlet.
3) Winning generates momentum, but character sustains it.
Tiger’s story is a cautionary tale about character. All of the momentum you build through decades of hard work and dedication can be erased if you do not craft the character to support it. Character is forged daily through the decisions we make. It comes from within and cannot be purchased. Be diligent about working on your character so that you become a person worth following and someone worthy of harnessing the momentum of success.
Momentum
“Success requires first expending ten units of effort to product one unit of results. Your momentum will then produce ten units of results with each unit of effort.”
~ Charles J. Givens
“Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they’ve got a second. Give your dreams all you’ve got and you’ll be amazed at the energy that comes out of you.”
~ Henry James
“Getting momentum going is the most difficult part of the job, and often taking the first step is enough to prompt you to make the best of your day.”
~ Robert J. McKain
“When you’re successful, things have a momentum, and at a certain point you can’t really tell whether you have created the momentum or it’s creating you.”
~ Annie Lennox
ARTICLE
“A Leader’s Best Friend, Part II”
by Dan Reiland
Lisa Fletcher, one of our wonderful 12Stone volunteer leaders brought me an amazing photograph. It was a tombstone next to an old rundown little church building. The tombstone said “Immanuel Lutheran Church 1906 – 1963.” They literally had a funeral to mark the death of their church. I admire their courage to tell the truth, but I’m sad the church is gone. Not because churches don’t have a natural lifecycle, they do. But I imagine a once fired-up group of people who came to a point where they gave up. Momentum had so long been absent they no longer believed it was possible to regain it.
We all understand loss of momentum. It’s discouraging and hard to get it back. I had lost about six pounds prior to Thanksgiving. I was on a roll. The big mo was with me. I was ready to see pound number seven fall! I had visions of buying new pants! Then the Thanksgiving holidays hit. It wasn’t that I ate too much food that day, it was all the cookies and cake for days before and after! I’ve gained it all back, (writing in December), and must start over again. This time – during the Christmas holidays! Starting over is so much more daunting. You’ve run this road before, now you must do it again. This time, however, you must first get back to where you started before you really begin. It’s easy to see why people give up.
It’s also easy to see why churches give up. Rather than face the issue, it’s so much easier to gather for one more church event, pray a little, and hope something good happens next Sunday. But you and I know it doesn’t work that way. Just like it me and losing weight. I can just keep eating cookies and hope something good happens, or I can dig in and do what is required to regain momentum.
As church leaders we can’t force God’s hand to gain His favor, but we can do our part to be ready candidates for His favor. I believe God wants to pour out His blessing on His church. It’s not that God is withholding his favor, but He can’t pour His blessing into a vessel with holes in it. Please forgive the earthy metaphor. It breaks down if you pick at it, but it does paint a good picture that we can work with. There are things you can do to be prepared to capture all that God has intended for you.
• Take responsibility for the lack of momentum.
If you are the pastor, on staff or a board member, own the reality of your church’s situation. Tell the truth. If you are in a decline, you are in a decline. Everyone knows it, so just say it. The people will appreciate your honesty and courage. If you are just barely holding your own, admit it, don’t cloud or cloak the issue by saying something like “We are in God’s divine holding pattern.” Don’t blame everything on the economy. The economy has hurt many churches, and may well have hurt your church, but you need to focus on the factors you can control.
Taking responsibility and owning the truth about the elephant in the sanctuary frees you up to take action. It sounds counter-intuitive, like a criminal admitting he’s guilty about doing something wrong. But you’re not a criminal and you aren’t guilty of anything except, like all of us, needing to lead at your very best. Step up and lead!
• Find the mo in you first.
Walt Emerson said: “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” That is so true. It’s what’s inside you, what you believe, the size of your faith, and the hope in you that matters. Not the mistakes in the past or the mountains in front of you. Only the dreams within you matter. If you lose hope, you can’t pass it on to the congregation. If you don’t believe, the people can’t believe.
Take some time to find your fire, your passion, the place you were when you were so excited you couldn’t stand it. If it’s tough for you right now and you’re discouraged, find a strong leader who’s a friend and talk to them. Get some wisdom and perspective. Ask them to pray for you. Don’t give up! It’s God’s church and He hasn’t given up on it or you!
• Place action over analysis.
You can put your energy into discovering and listing reasons for the lack of momentum or take action to create momentum. Some study and analysis is needed and helpful, but not much. I’ve seen church leaders produce charts and graphs that look like a schematic for the most sophisticated computer on the market. I’ve looked at church documents with pages and pages of explanation of the problem, the reasons, and why it’s not working. The crazy thing was that there was nothing about what to do to turn things around! Do your homework and understand the basic problem(s), but put 80% of your effort and energy into creating new momentum.
• Acknowledge your need for God and others.
This sounds easy but far too often church leaders don’t behave as if they are truly desperate and dependent upon God. I sometimes catch myself at this. When I’m incredibly busy, which is nearly always, I’m tempted to cheat my prayer time and waiting upon God. That’s so dumb, I mean really stupid. If I’m really desperate for God – His presence and His power, I must live that way. This is a personal note, but for me, God simply won’t be rushed. My time with Him is simply not an option.
You need people too. You’re good, but not that good. Don’t think you carry the world on your shoulders, you don’t (and you can’t anyway). Likewise you don’t carry the whole burden of the church on your shoulders either. If you do, the burden isn’t very big. Be open with your key leaders about your need and desire for genuine partnership.
• Establish a clear vision.
Listen for God’s voice on His direction for your church. Talk and pray with your key leaders. Write the vision down. Soak on it. Make sure it’s simple and clear. A 4th grader should be able to understand it at a single reading. The vision should present a picture of the preferred future of your church. You should be able to feel motion and progress in the words. Don’t make it all about a building. A building may be involved, but the building is just a tool, not the vision. Changed-lives by the saving power of Jesus is the ultimate vision, but there are nearly limitless expressions of how any given local church arrives at that destiny. Yours is the joy to find your path to your destiny.
• Make the tough choices.
I wish I could tell you that gaining or re-gaining momentum was easy. But you know it’s not. If it was easy, we’d all have it all the time. What I can tell you, in fact feel compelled to say, is that momentum never comes without two things: sacrifice and making tough choices. I will focus on difficult decisions.
Risk is always involved, that’s why the decision is difficult. The size of the risk varies, but it’s always present. If there is no risk involved, if failure is not clearly a possibility you will never realize momentum. Momentum is partially fueled by conquering the odds. The tough call may involve finances, location, staffing or any number of things, but its there. Remember, if you make a change and no one gets upset, you just changed something that doesn’t matter.
• Communicate!
Keep talking! Cast the vision over and over again. Vision leaks. It’s true. You must say it until you are literally tired of saying it. Please don’t confine your vision-casting to the platform on the weekends. Some of your most powerful communication about the vision will be in small groups and in one to one meetings.
There is no magic potion for momentum. There are no guarantees. But there is always hope and
