The Pastor’s Helper

By Dan Reiland

I love leading young staff. I know that at times they perceive me as one from the Jurassic era, but they also serve with the confidence that I have their best interest at heart. They know I’m for their success. Young staff have good instincts about this kind of thing. They know who is for them and who simply employs them.

Young staff are fun to work with and keep me young. Well, young at heart. Without the twenty-something’s I’d never have been introduced to the finer pleasures of the refined humor found on the hit TV series The Office. I first saw an episode of The Office on a flight back from Kiev, Ukraine where I had the opportunity to teach leadership to church leaders. Another staff member, nearing 40, was telling me how funny it was. I watched the DVD on his computer for about five minutes and Michael was such an idiot he made me want to hurt someone. That can’t be good. That was the end of The Office for me. Almost two years later I was hanging with a bunch of twenty-something guys I coach in leadership and their enthusiasm was contagious! Now I’m hooked. Michael is still an idiot, but I laugh and have a blast.

Part of leading young staff is connecting in their world. I’d never played Guitar Hero. That same group of twenty-something’s loves to play. We were on a leadership retreat together and at about 1:00 am, with their coaxing, and the controls set on easy, I entered the world of pseudo rock-stardom. Now I was the idiot. But it was so much fun.

I’m not suggesting that you regress to a previous stage in your life or pretend to be something other than yourself to lead young staff. But it helps to step into their world sometimes, and not always make them walk in yours. Candidly, they don’t like re-runs of Seinfeld and don’t much like listening to classic rock. My 18 year old son recently said to me “Dad, just because it’s old doesn’t make it classic.” Ah, well said, John-Peter!

You can’t lead young staff by remembering what it was like when you were young. That doesn’t work. It wasn’t the same then. If you are over 40, you started in ministry before computers and tech were an integral part of ministry life. Your young staff don’t know ministry without it. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. From YouTube to Twitter, it’s a new day. Personally, I think it’s great. I hope you do too because our young staff are the future of local church leadership.

There is no perfect formula to lead young staff, but there are some basics that if you consistently practice, you will make good progress in developing the trust and relational connection you need to build a great team.

Before I jump in, let me give a shout out to several twenty-something’s on our staff who gave me great thoughts for this article. Anson McMahon, Becky O’Mara, Brett Moore, Miles Welch, and Jason Berry mdash; Thanks!! Well, one from this group has slid over the edge into the great abyss of thirty-something mdash; but I won’t say which one!

Don’t stereo-type

There are young people on some church staffs who have little to no work ethic, possess a sense of entitlement and whine a lot. But that group is in the minority. The vast majority of young staff are wide-eyed, alive, full of passion and vision and genuinely want to change the world. They are smart and they get it. They want to learn and grow. These young staffers love the Lord and want to see people’s lives changed. So be careful not to stereo-type. We’ve all met the young ones who think they know it all, produce little and complain much. (Hey, there are old staff like that too.) But honestly, they are few in number. It just feels like there’s a lot of them because they’re loud. So fire them and move on. Trust me; there are plenty of young sharpies out there who are hungry to make a difference.

Tell the truth

Be honest about ministry. Bring them inside on occasion. It’s not always appropriate, but give young staff opportunities to be part of conversations that are above and beyond their responsibilities. Its great training and they often present unique insights. Kevin and I took a young staff couple aside and talked to them about the potential name change of the church before anyone knew. We wanted their perspective. It was invaluable.

Be honest about their performance. If they mess up tell them. Don’t say it’ OK when its not, and don’t stock pile their mistakes. Stay current. Talk about how to be a better leader. That’s how we all learn!

Be honest about their future. If you have a place for them let them know. If you don’t see them on the team for the foreseeable future, be up front about that. They may have other opportunities they would jump on if they knew you didn’t have long term plans for them.

Protect

Young staff are enthusiastic and eager to give many hours to their church work. That’s a good thing. You don’t want lazy or whiny staff. But make sure they take time for their personal life and family time. They will enjoy life more, and become healthier and well-rounded leaders. Ultimately they will get more done. Every church has its own culture but some things are transferrable such as a day off and a certain amount of nights at home. Coach them in how to really be at home, just like you would coach them in how to really work when they are at the church.

Protect young staff from the power-brokers in the church such as board members. We are blessed at 12Stone not to have heavy-handed board members, but that is not the case in many churches. If you give a staff member permission and authority to start or run a certain event or program and it doesn’t go well, don’t let the full weight of the board thunder down on them. You are responsible too. You carry the weight with them. Again, this is how they learn and how you encourage them to keep growing.

Empower (no really)

Empowerment is loosely talked about and discussed as if it really happens in most organizations. It doesn’t. I will admit that it’s complicated. There are some risks that cannot and should not be taken. But ultimately any organization that is committed to growing young leaders, remaining healthy, and staying culturally relevant must truly empower the younger staff.

Empowerment isn’t a birthright, or something to be taken lightly. At its core it’s about trust and the giving of meaningful responsibility. Empowerment isn’t a license for someone to do what they want. Empowerment is about releasing someone to do what is needed. Empowerment isn’t about following one’s own agenda; it’s about doing the right thing for the organization. But in that right thing, there must be true freedom, not micro-management. It’s tough, I know. None of us get it right all the time. But get in the game and give it your best shot. Give staff the room they need to lead.

Develop

Development is the vital process of investment for the good of the staff person more than the good of the organization. This might sound like poor fiscal management, or perhaps even strategically unsound, but to the contrary, it ultimately benefits the organization by blessing the staff member. The key is your heart. If your heart is for the staff most everything else will fall in place.

Equipping is all about training the staff to get their job done, but development (most often on the topic of leadership) is more of an investment into the person. The way I like to say it is, they become a “bigger, better and stronger” person because of your development efforts. There is a blend and blur of the two, equipping and developing, but just remember that equipping is based more on skills that benefit the organization and development is based more on the overall capacity of the individual. Development can be, but doesn’t have to be any more complicated than taking your staff through a good leadership book together. So don’t wait, jump in and get started.

Include

I mentioned earlier that on occasion it’s good to bring young staff “inside,” Include them in ministry conversations and projects above their regular responsibilities. Young staff members want to be included. They want to learn. Whenever possible, take someone with you when you travel. Make good use of airport and flight time or drive time with insightful conversation. Have fun and enjoy it, but make sure to guard some time for serious conversation about how they are doing, their strengths and weaknesses and their leadership in general.

Don’t do all the talking! Listen. Ask good questions mdash; questions of meaning and depth that lead to growth for the staff member. “What do you think?” is one of my favorites. Try to make your questions specific. For example, don’t just ask “What are you reading?” The answer to that doesn’t reveal much, unless they say “nothing.” Instead, ask: “What are you learning from what you are reading?” Or, “What are you reading that you disagree with and why?” These kinds of questions are much more valuable and productive. Here are a few other great questions to get you going. “What is the most recent mistake you have made and what did you learn from it?” “If you were teaching last Sunday’s sermon, how might you have taught it differently?” “What do you think is stronger (at your church) evangelism or discipleship?” “Why and how would you improve the weaker of the two?” There are nearly limitless good questions. Keep asking and keep listening. Above all, keep the conversation flowing.

Don’t be too quick to correct a young staff member. The topic may be more subjective than you think, and in fact, you might learn from their perspective!

This list will get you started. From “Don’t stereo-type” to “Include” there is much you can do. You can also make the list longer. Whatever your approach, give your all to bring the best out of young staff, first for their personal leadership growth and second for the good of the church. You’ll be pleased with the results.

“This article is used by permission from Dr. Dan Reiland’s free monthly e-newsletter, “The Pastor’s Coach,” available at www.INJOY.com.”