As Any Good Leader Will Do - Part 3

In the first two installments of this article I told you about a person on one of my volunteer teams who was having trouble committing to the responsibilities of the service position. At the end of part 2 I left you with the thought that I would probably "fire" this person. Well, sometimes things change.

Interestingly enough I never had to confront the man. He actually came to me. I think he realized he was falling short, and felt convicted to apologize. This was perfect because I actually like the guy and was seriously dreading that conversation. Due to his honesty and self awareness of the situation I decided to keep him on the team and give him another chance. He stepped it up and hasn't been a problem for me or the team going forward.

As any good leader will do I am constantly on the lookout for changing situations concerning our volunteer teams. Seems like there is always something that is completely out of my control. Typically they manifest themselves in some negative way, i.e. a missing child, a domestic dispute, or a medical emergency. But every now and then an uncontrollable situation turns out for the best. In the curious case of the irresponsible volunteer, he just informed me that he's taking a new job out of state and will be moving. He has resigned from the team.

The twists and turns of life are never dull are they?

As any good leader will do - part 2

There comes a time in every leader's life when you have to decide whether to forgive and forget or forgive, forget, and fire a volunteer.  It's truly unfortunate when this happens. No one likes confrontation. The potential for ruined interpersonal relationships abounds. Sometimes however, it just has to be done for the benefit of the entire group.

The scenario I gave you in part 1 of this article is a real situation that I am currently involved in. I have had to let people go before so i'm dreading what comes next. Couldn't I just leave him on the team and encourage him and hope he gets better? Yes I could, but why? How many times do you let your children disobey before you spank them? The last line of part 1 asks, what would Jesus do? I know from personal experience that he disciplines those he loves. It's always for the better. Yes always. This is a grown man who should know better and be responsible and reliable. I can not let this go.

How to handle this kind of situation is the point of this article. So how will I handle it? In a loving and respectful way with the intention of building up and training this man. I will not call him out in front of others. I will not voice my disappointment about him with others behind his back. I will meet with him personally and explain my position. I will show him our volunteer agreement and gently point out the ways he has fallen short. I will give him time to voice his opinions on the matter. I will genuinely listen.

Lastly, I will ask him to step down from the team. I will encourage him to not talk negatively about me or the team to anyone else. The Bible warns us not to stir up dissention in the body of believers.

What about his position on the team? Do I have someone to replace him? Yes I do. He's been shadow training for over a month now. He will be able to jump right in and serve in a timely fashion. As any good leader will do I try to look ahead and strategize my movements.

In part 3 I will let you all know how my conversation with him went. My hope is that this personal experience I'm sharing will be a training tool of sorts for you.  More to come...

An article

Here's the link to an article I wrote for the Baptist Convention of Iowa on the need for church safety teams.  enjoy.
http://bciowa.org/danger-close/

As any good leader will do. Part 1

As any good leader will do.  Dealing with uncommitted volunteers. Part 1

If you are the leader of a team of volunteers then you will immediately relate to this story.

For the sake of our story let's call our main character John.  John comes to me and says, "I'd love to serve on your safety team ministry".  It could be any ministry you oversee.  My particular bent is church safety and security teams.  I respond as many of you would, "excellent.  Let's meet this week and talk some more about it."  So I meet with John over coffee (I hate coffee - I'm the minority I know) and I lay out the responsibilities and expectations of being a part of this important ministry.  John has all the right answers.  Other members of the team may even vouch for him.  By the time we are done talking I'm convinced that he will be a committed and loyal member of the team.

Things start out great.  John attends his first training meeting and shows interest.  He makes his way through our "job shadow" process and I put him on the schedule to serve on his own.  He performs well and I'm convinced that I've found a great new member of the team.  Perhaps a few weeks or months go bye with no issues to speak of.  But then I show up at church and I check in with my team to make sure everyone is squared away and ready to serve.  I'm told that no one has seen John.  I confidently say, "I bet he's just running late."  We wait and we wait and we...well by now I'm concerned and I decide to text him.  I say to myself "he just forgot to check the schedule".  No reply to my text.  Well as any good leader will do, I jumped in and covered his position for him.

Curious to know why John didn't show up for his scheduled position on Sunday I pursue him with an email and a personal phone call during the week.  I finally get ahold of him and he tells me he just wasn't feeling well Sunday morning and he's very sorry for not showing up.  Well as any good leader will do, I give him the benefit of the doubt.  Everyone wants to be given a second chance right?  "Don't sweat it John, but if that happens again, could you please work hard to find a replacement for yourself?"  He assures me he will. 

The next weekend that John is scheduled to serve I get a text on Saturday night saying he can't serve in the morning.  I suppress my frustration and reply with "ok, who's filling in for you?"  He responds with "I'm not sure I can find anyone on such short notice."  I'm thinking, well TRY!  I don't say this of course.  I mercifully respond by asking him to let me know who he finds to replace him.  Sunday is here.  John is not.  John's replacement is not.  "Hey guys, did John call any of you last night about filling in for him?"  "Nope"  "No"  "Negative" (there’s always one military guy in the group). 

Well as any good leader will do I jump in and cover his position... you are beginning to notice the pattern here or you haven't been paying attention.  So what do we do as leaders of volunteer ministry teams to mitigate this kind of behavior?  Mercy and understanding are always the right answer, right?  After all that's what Jesus would do.     …. To Be Continued

Always Learning

After building, training, and leading a quality safety team at a multi-site mega church, and now having moved to a "small" (600 people) church plant, I am learning a few things that I'd like to share with you.
The first is that people really don't like hearing how you did it before at xyz church.  My experience is a given at this point.  I don't need to validate my methods by pointing out my accomplishments.  I'm not saying this in a prideful way.  The fact that I'm the leader of the team means that the pastors and elders have confidence in my ability to perform in this ministry role.

Which leads me to the second thing.  I need to stop making my decisions based on what was done before.  Just because a particular strategy worked at that church, doesn't mean it's the best choice for this new church.  I need to look at each new challenge with fresh eyes and a clear mind.  I need to bring in interested members of my team and give them ownership.  I need to respect their opinions.

A third thing is what I refer to as legalism.  Let me just give you some examples of what I mean by this, because that word can be used in so many different contexts.  "If you are part of this team, then you are required to attend every single training."  "This is the only acceptable way to perform this task."  These are just two simple examples.  Saying things in this way is more akin to being a foreman on a jobsite rather than being a leader of a volunteer team.  I have never been the "foreman" type of person with one exception.  In the past I have worked primarily with cops, firefighters, and men with military experience.  These folks can respect a good leader, but often appreciate a cut and dried "correct" approach to situations.  What's truly important when you boil all of this down, is for me to lead out in the specific ways that I want my team to perform.  Die to self.  I'm Second.  Period.

Note to self:  Get the safety team guys a little something for Christmas to say thanks for serving!

Pastors Are The Worst

Ok not really, but well meaning pastors are often the first to request that your safety team pull double or even triple duty in areas like ushers and parking team.  Don't allow anything to distract you from your duties.

They don't understand that to work two or three seperate positions only hurts our ability to maintain vigilance for our primary task, which is the safety team.  They don't live in our world.  At a minimum they don't view the world in the same way we do.  Is this bad?  Not at all.  It's just different wiring.  They have a ministry role to fill and so do we.  

Respectfully decline their requests.  Help them understand your position.  Inform them what it is that you do and look for while serving as a Safety Team member.  More often than not, the pastor simply doesn't know everything that you are responsible for.  This can be a real eye opener for them.  

Look for ways to include your pastor/s in your information exchanges and your training sessions.  This is key.  If you want them to be simpathetic to your "cause" then you have to help them understand your ministry objectives.  They need to see how professional and proactive you are.  Get them involved and show them.   

I encourage you to write bi-weekly or monthly safety reports for your leadership.  This will keep them informed and in the loop.  They will truly appreciate your efforts to keep them in touch with every aspect of their congregation.  This can go a long way towards having a quality, on going relationship with the decision makers at your church or faith based organization. 

Stay Vigilant!

Church Security - Overt or Covert?

Here are some picture examples of both kinds of security teams.  They should be fairly obvious.  What I'd like to point out are some of the positives and negatives with each approach.  All in an effort to help you decide which strategy fits your church the best.  Just FYI, some of these will seem redundant.  The positive of one can actually become the negative of the other.  You'll get the idea.  Enjoy.

OVERT - Positives 

1.  People can not question who is in the authority position.  It's obvious through the way they dress.

2.  Attenders know exactly who to talk to if there's a problem.

3.  Bandits might think twice before causing trouble.  They can see from a distance that their crimes will be met with appropriate aggression.  Team members as deterrents. 

4.  If police or firefighters have to respond to your church, they will quickly be able to see who the good guys are.  This is especially helpful in the case of an active killer situation.

OVERT - Negatives

1.  People don't want to feel like they are being "policed".  Especially in church.

2.  The idea of a security team at a church can be a real turn-off to people.  

3.  Bandits know exactly who to target first when they attack.  Take out the opposition. 

4.  When people see that a church has a security team they usually wonder what's happened in the past or is happening currently that they need to be concerned about.  Are my children safe in this place?  Wait! Do these guys carry guns!?  

COVERT - Positives

1.  Very few people know you have a security team.  So there's really nothing for them to be worried about.  All seems normal here.  They can relax and be themselves.  New folks should feel welcome in your church.

2.  Tactical Advantage.  Bandits have no idea your safety team spotted them before they even entered the building, and have been watching their every move.

3.  Your safety team blends in with everyone else.  They are dressed similarly, (except for maybe a name badge) they talk and act like every other person in the church.  No one is scared or intimidated by their presence.  They could and probably should be part of your welcome team.

4.  They can carry radios and weapons concealed and no one is the wiser.  After-all, what's the point of having security if you don't give them the tools they need to protect themselves and others?

COVERT - Negatives

1.  It can be very difficult and dangerous for your safety team in the midst of an active killer situation.  The cops are running in looking for the guys with guns.  If your team is responding to the threat with their weapons drawn, they could get shot accidentally by the police.

2.  There can be a moment of confusion at the outset of an incident while the safety team asserts it's authority, due to the fact that parishioners can't tell who they are.

3.  If attenders have a problem or need help with something, they will tend to approach the closest person with a name badge on. This could be confusing for both parties.  

4.  Training intensive.  (not sure this is really a negative) This approach requires a good deal of training to make sure that your safety team members understand their roles completely.  They need to have appropriate responses mapped out for them so there is less confusion for the attender or individual having a problem.

5.  Bandits may feel a bit more freedom to attack your church because they assume you don't have security in place.

My opinion, after researching both options extensively, is that a Covert safety team is more advantageous.  The tactical and strategic options available to the covert team far outweigh the overt team's "officer presence" model.  Also, I can not overstate the importance of making new people feel welcome in your church.  We should be all about sharing Jesus with others.  That's the goal - period.

We will have a much harder time of this if people feel like they are being watched.

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