Recently I was speaking to a leader who was having difficulty with a couple in his ministry who were…well, shall we say, a little set in their ways.  They had been Sunday School teachers for decades and were finding the shift to a Small Group strategy very difficult. They were used to owning it all.  The lesson, the activities…  In their minds, the way things were worked for so long, why wouldn’t they work now?

The pastor wanted to honor these volunteers.  They were committed to the mission but not entirely confident in the new methodology.

A friend once told me jokingly, “Ministry would be great if you didn’t have to work with people!”  All kidding aside, we have all been there at one point or another.  I’ve often maintained that if you don’t have a clear understanding for why you do what you do, then plenty of people will step up to the plate and insert their opinions about what should be done instead.

The truth is, making the change from Sunday School to Small Group / Large Group can be a difficult shift for many Sunday School teachers. Here are a few principles that may help you help your leaders make the smooth transition.

Assume Nothing

Your volunteers have no idea why you are making a change.  If you read and listen to the embedded podcast from my previous post, you’ll learn why it’s so important to strongly communicate the “why” behind your “what” to make an emotional connection to the part of the brain that controls decision making.  By activating the emotional side of the brain, chances are higher that your volunteers will decide to follow you in this new strategy for ministry.  Be aware that you have the “curse of knowledge”.  You know way more than they do about changes that need to be made in the context of our ministries.  Don’t assume that they understand all the details that you do.

Secondly, don’t assume that you know where they want to serve in this new reality.  If you are changing up the job description, that means there is a renegotiation of responsibilities.  How would you feel if you showed up to work Monday morning and your boss informs you that you are moving into a new role?  No questions asked.  No negotiation.  You would likely be upset, wouldn’t you?  Sit down with every volunteer and let them know their options.  You might be surprised that a few of your Sunday School teachers want to be your Storyteller — because they enjoy TEACHING.  Honor that by giving them the opportunity to move into that role if it’s appropriate.

Identify the Win

If a Sunday School leader decides to move into a Small Group Leader role.  Take the time to vision cast the win for the role.  Sue Miller said that when it comes right down to it, the primary thing that separates a Sunday School Leader from the Small Group Leader is their primary focus.  Because Sunday School Leaders typically lead classrooms of 20+ kids, they are forced to focus primarily on teaching information.  Small Group Leaders have smaller ratios, (8-10 kids for every 1 leader), which allows them to shift their primary focus from teaching information to building relationships.

Both types of leaders have the best intentions:  they want to serve their church, they want to see changed lives for kids, they want children to fall in love with Jesus.  The real difference is in the win.  What is the goal?  In a small group / large group model, we put our most powerful communicators up in front of everyone to creatively present the information (lesson) and empower our small group leaders to focus in on relationship and application.

Meet in the Middle

Some leaders have strong feelings about what is most important for them to do in the context of their time with kids.  When you meet one on one with your volunteers, ask them what they feel the most important things are.  If there are some non-negotiatbles, wouldn’t it be better to see if you can work that into their huddle time rather than fight them on a hill they are willing to die on?  For some traditional leaders, it’s a big deal to open up the Bible and read the passage with the kids.  Empower them to prioritize that activity as long as they are committed to trying one of the prepared application activities as well.  If you can meet them in the middle, they will be more willing to be on your side for bigger issues.

If you are leading ministry, you are in the development business.  People development.  Your primary focus should be on equipping the body to do the work of the ministry.  When you have a spirit of empowering the people that God has given you, it causes you to slow down, to make sure no one is left behind and that they are all serving in their passions and giftedness.  Every change gives you the opportunity to remind your leaders of what is most important — what is core — which will help them make the upgrades necessary to help a generation run passionately after the heart of God.

What about you?  How do you come alongside seemingly stubborn volunteers?

Have you ever wondered what separates the great vision casters from those whose messages fall flat?  Perhaps the most gifted communicators are born with a silver spoon in their mouth?  Umm, probably not actually.  What is more likey the case is that inspired leaders simply discover what is universally true about the human spirit — or more importantly how our brains make decisions.

As it turns out, understanding the brain gives you a significant  advantage in the game of persuasion.

This TED video from Simon Sinek simplistically explains how true leaders inspire action.  Action is something we all want in our ministries and organizations.  Whether it’s for our message to prompt the listener to DO something in response to the information, or a vision cast that prompts a prospective volunteer to take steps toward serving, or personal advice that you want to do more than ring in the ears of your loved ones.  Yes, inspiring action is something leaders aspire for.

What’s the trick?

According to Sinek, many people and organizations know “what” they do and even “how” they do it, but the breakdown happens at the “why” level.  When we leave out the passion/purpose factor, the result a flat, unemotional message about what you offer or make with no reason why it even exists.

Inspired organizations and individuals understand that the real power in a message is to focus on the “why” to elicit the emotional connection to the purpose of the “what” they do.  What is your purpose, cause or belief?  Why does your organization exist and why should anyone care?

What would this look like in, let’s say, volunteer recruiting?

The Uninspired Ask

The natural tendency when recruiting new volunteers might be something like this:

“We have a fun and exciting Children’s Ministry. (what)  We make it easy to serve on Sundays and connect you to other adults and kids. (how) We have a huge need for more help.  Will you join us?”

Meh. Maybe?

Kinda lukewarm, right?  The generic massive uninspired ask resounds with sound of crickets.

The Inspired Ask

The inspired leader might say something like this:

“We believe God is preparing this upcoming generation to lead the church into a season unlike anything ever we have ever experienced.  We challenge the way ministry has always been done because what worked yesterday doesn’t work today and masses of kids are walking away from the church at the time when they should engage and lead. (why) Everything we do is designed to link kids into authentic community so that they have a team of Christ followers cheering them on for all God has called them to be and do.  (how) No matter how you are wired or what your passions are, God has a unique purpose for you and wants you to be a part of the bigger story He is telling through this ministry.  What is your passion? Let’s use it for God’s purpose in reaching this next generation. (what)”

I’m in!  (Aren’t you?!)

Is it that easy?  Maybe.

“The goal isn’t to do business with everybody who needs what you have.  The goal is to do business with people who BELIEVE what you believe.” Simon Sinek

Here’s why:

If you listen to Sinek, you’ll discover that this is all grounded in biology.  The limbic brain is responsible for all of our feelings like trust, loyalty and is responsible for all human behavior, all human decision making and it has no capacity for language.  When you communicate from the “inside out”, you are communicating directly to the emotional part of the brain responsible for decision making.

When you communicate with facts and figures, you are communicating to the neocortex which is responsible for rational, analytical thought and language.  So people can understand the facts, but the neocortex doesn’t drive behavior. The LIMBIC brain does.

If you want to lead a revolution, communicate what you believe.  Stop trying to find warm bodies to fill vacancies. Communicate in such a manner that finds people who believe what you believe because those people will want to join your cause.

“What you do simply serves as the proof of what you believe.” Simon Sinek

Try communicating from the inside out and see if it has a different affect on those around you.  Focus on the WHY instead of the what and you’ll be more effective at triggering that part of the brain that is driven by emotion and responsible for making decisions.

In case you would like to see the innovative and inspired message in action, here’s a little inspiration from a little well known company that has created such a revolution that consumers will camp outside for a product launch to happen. What makes Apple so innovative and successful?  What’s make them different?  It’s in their message.

Have you ever thought about how everything has a expiration date?  We update our homes, our cars, our appliances, our gadgets…even our wardrobe!  (Well, most of us update our wardrobe….others just hold onto it all until the style comes back around.)

The bottom line…..We change.  We adapt.

This year, our school district adopted a BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) policy.  Classrooms are being equipped with Wifi and students are encouraged to bring devices to help them research and use technology to enhance learning.  As parents, we were ecstatic to hear about the new guidelines….until we realized our 6th grader would be begging for a iPad.  We’ll adapt….but we’re trying to figure out the appropriate responsibility in this new high tech era.  (Advise??  I remember when Al Gore invented the internet….  Who knew we would be here?!)

The bottom line is that things are changing.  Thankfully, our school district hired an outside consultant to help kick start a community wide dialogue on education reform.  I attended a community education summit and was pleasantly surprised to see the room packed to capacity with educators and parents anxious to welcome a new day for our local schools.

One of the most impressive illustrations from the summit was a pictorial representation of the evolution of education.

Education 1.0

Notice how the educational setting mimics the agriculture and artisan culture.  Education happened in cooperative small group work and embraced an apprentice mode, similar to what was happening in the work places.

Education 2.0

The Industrial Revolution brought about a “Manager model” of education that focused on rote memorization, one-size fits all teaching designed to sort and track students and ultimately turn them into efficient factory workers.

Education 3.0 (t.b.d.)

If our schools will ultimately model our work environments, we will need collaborative environments that promote critical thinking,  initiative and divergent thinking all while embracing the ever evolving world of technology.

Are our classrooms adapting fast enough?

What model do you think Sunday School was patterned after?  You guessed it….Education 2.0.  It’s time to upgrade.

For more fascinating thoughts on the needed reform in education, check out this Sir Ken Robinson RSA video.  It is well worth the time to watch it.

In the meantime, what do YOU think?  What would you change in your Sunday environment to better relate to what kids are experiencing outside of the traditional classroom?  Who do you think will be the slowest to adapt — public education or our churches?

Have you ever tried to intentionally stop thinking about something?  The more you try to “not” focus on it, the more it occupies your every thought.  Have you ever been in the middle of a meeting or delivering an important message and suddenly that inner voice begins to sabotage your focus and shift it straight to doomsday?  Chances are if you give in to that inner voice, doomsday is exactly where you will wind up.

We’ve all been there at some point.  Our mind wanders to a place we don’t want it to go….and suddenly we are there.  That very place we didn’t want to land.

We plan out our day and suddenly our time is sucked into a vacuum of busyness that leads to nowhere.  All opportunity for true productivity is zapped by a bunch of urgent instead of what we know to be important.

This week, a few friends and I were sharing things we were learning from different books we are reading.  My very wise friend, Julie, shared something so insightful, yet so simple, it has captured my focus — in a very good way.

While reading “Hungry for God” by Margaret Feinberg, she read about a principle in Mountain Biking that says this:

“Don’t ever look where you don’t want to go.”

Simple, right?

Think about it.  When you’re riding alongside a precipice…the last thing you want to do is look downhill because guess what, you’ll be headed that way.  Looking where you don’t want to go occupies your  focus.  We’ve all been there — and not just while mountain biking.

If you are in a position of leadership, you have so many things that can occupy your focus.  You can pollute your mind with negative self talk…and begin to believe it.  You can start to wonder if anyone wants to work with kids…and talk to people in such a way that they affirm your preconceptions.  You can doubt your vision for the future and dwell in the past.

You can even take on a new job that side tracks you from creating the art that you were designed for.  Or, start well intentioned “good” programs that ultimately take you straight off the charted path of an effective strategy and into the peril of the mountainside.

As a leader, you need to have a plan of action with an end in mind.  You need a vision of an ultimate destination to where you are leading others.  It is only in that crystal clear strategy that you will begin to filter out things that are not a part of getting there.

It’s a principle we could all benefit from:  Don’t ever look where you don’t want to go.  It occupies your focus.  Stay focused on where you want to go, stay positive about your journey, and fight to stay in your sweet spot.

My family is navigating the roller coaster many know as “Middle School” for the first time in  our parenting career.  We now have multiple teachers and a myriad of due dates, test dates and every other date one would want to add  to the calendar.  Our heads are swimming.

Most teachers have a class website that students (and parents) can access to stay in the loop on the the details of Middle School life.  It’s a welcome life preserver for those of us who feel we are drowning in paperwork coming home.  One teacher told me that she did not grant parents access to her class website due to the fact that parents would complete assignments for her kids.

As much as I would hate to admit that there are certain parents who would cross the line and complete assignments for their child, I have a hard time believing that every parent is seeking ways to cheat the system.  Regardless of her reasoning, this decision has made it extremely difficult for parents to participate in the process.

“Minority Rules”

I’m not really trying to pick on the teacher.  What I immediately began to think about upon reading her email was how her policy has been influenced by a few bad apples.

Have you ever been tempted to make the exception the norm?  Perhaps you are tempted  to stop creating communication pieces for parents because of the dozen that you found on the ground?  We’ve all had moments where we want to raise the white flag of surrender.  We’ve all wondered, “is this really worth the effort?”

A Better Measure

Rather than create a personal policy that you will never waste time on helping parents stay “in the know”, why not take on the philosophy that we need to make it as easy as possible for parents to become connected to what we are doing?  Some will, some won’t — it’s ok.  Your ultimate goal is to help lead parents to the next step.

According to Barna, 85% of parents believe they have the primary responsibility for teaching their kids about religious beliefs.  Additionally, 96% of parents believe that they have the primary responsibility for teaching their kids about character.

So instead of tossing out the “take-home” sheet, think through the multiple avenues you have to communicate your message.  Leverage a Facebook page for your kid’s ministry, sign up for a Twitter feed, email the documents home, post information on your website.  Put your message on the walls of your hallways.  My church recently put a sandwich board sign outside the kids area with the bottom line and a head’s up on the lesson.  It was a great eye catcher at drop off and pick up.

One size does not fit all when it comes to communication.  So if the goal is to help parents take the next step as the spiritual leader of the home, how have you made it easy for parents to stay in the loop?

Uploaded to Flickr by bgottsab

Recruiting problems are no joke in children’s ministry.  Chances are if you have been leading for any length of time, you’ve had your fair share of sleepless Saturday nights or contemplated a “bring a friend” campaign for your volunteers.

The vicious cycle of “plugging holes” can leave any passionate leader feeling drained and, well, hopeless.  Without a solution, you run the risk of burning out the few faithful you have. Perhaps you have even fallen victim to structuring your ministry to expect the bare minimum of your volunteers in hopes of gaining greater appeal…only to be shocked when still no one will join you in the mission.

You’re not alone.  Many have traveled that path before you.  And here’s the reality:

Until you start honoring your volunteers with as much passion as you have for teaching children, things will never change.  You will be forever stuck in the desert of “cold calls”.

Honoring your volunteers means much more than saying please and thank you.  (Although your mama would be really happy to know you using your manners….)  Honoring your volunteers includes making decisions that are in the best interest of all concerned.  Not sure where to begin?   Try thinking on these few principles to help make sure your volunteers are in their “happy place”:

Stop Plugging Holes — Start Giving Passion Purpose

No one wants to plug a hole in your roster for the long term.  Take the time to get to know who you are talking to.  What are their gifts and talents and how can you align passion with purpose?  Create a role they were designed for instead of forcing them to fit your must urgent need.  Invite them into a bigger story.

Honor Ratios

Life change happens in the context of relationship.  That life change factor goes both ways — for the volunteer and the child.  If you are throwing volunteers under the bus by giving them 17 kids to herd on a Sunday, chances are pretty high you have a revolving door leading volunteers out of your environment before they even take a step in the room.  Practice good ratios and above all, protect your volunteers from chaos.  Here are some guidelines to consider:

Elevate Community

Children and volunteers need structure to help elevate community.  Volunteers need structure to have less stress and better focus on the children they are leading.  Children need structure and a relational connection right from the start to feel emotionally safe.  Have kids connect immediately with their small group leader instead of having a free play “free for all”.  I’ve literally witnessed children hide and go into the fetal position in the corner of a room when it’s chaotic.  And volunteers avoid chaos like the plague.  Want them there on time?  Don’t create an environment where they know they won’t have anything significant to do until 15 minutes past the hour.  Trust me…..Connect first…..play later.

Prioritize Consistency

Children need consistent volunteers.  When I stepped off of my staff role to work for Orange, I volunteered at our church every other week.  What I soon felt was that every other week felt more like an interruption to my weekly rhythm than a part of the rhythm of life.  If you are staffing a relational role — small group leader, worship leader, host, storyteller — please insist on a weekly commitment for the school year.

If you are a smaller church with only one service, try creating a team A and team B that serve month on / month off.  It’s the same overall time commitment as every other week but in more consistent chunks of time.  You’ll find that volunteers are more invested when they serve regularly and develop relationships with the other volunteers and the kids in your ministry.

You can do it!

Stop dreading the phone and begging your friends and family to help you “just this one time”.  If you find yourself saying you have a recruiting problem, it’s time to ask, “Why?”  Start with these “big rocks” and see if any of these are a struggle for your ministry.  It won’t solve all of your problems — but addressing these issues will help move the relationships in your ministry in a better direction.

Uploaded to Flickr by Sarah Korf

It’s the most wonderful time of the year:  Back to school!  Let’s face it, summertime is fantastic for popsicles and lazy days by the pool but at some point, the anarchy of loose schedules and the disjointed rhythm of those summer months can begin to wear and tear on a person.

Rhythm is so important.  I’m not talking about the kind of rhythm you need for the Samba.  (Sorry, my family has been watching the movie Rio a little too much lately…)  I’m talking about the rhythms we work into our lives.  What is your rhythm telling you?

Do you know that learning has a rhythm too?  It’s true.

Recently, I met with a very smart Children’s Pastor named Eddie Plemmons.   Pastor Plemmons shared with me about how he has been educating parents on the “10, 24, 7+ Review” strategy to reinforce new information shared with children on Sunday.

What?  You’ve never heard of the “10, 24, 7+ Review” strategy? Neither had I!

Pastor Plemmons learned of the strategy through Brent Vasicek, an elementary teacher and contributor to the scholastic blog.  Check out this quote from Vasicek:

“When a student is learning something new, I follow the 10/24/7+ Rule.  After I teach a concept, I review it ten minutes later, 24 hours later, 7 days later, and periodically after that. It can take years to process a memory, according to John Medina. To hardwire the neurons in the brain, you must review the information on a regular basis. The phrase use it or lose it could not be more true.”  (Full Article here)

Pastor Plemmons took this idea and ran with it.  He now educates parents on how they can best partner with what is being taught at church.

• The car ride home.  (10 minutes)
• Conversation starters for Monday night around the dinner table.  (24 hours)
• A brief review the following Sunday before heading into a new lesson.   (7 days).

When parents understood the strategy, they embraced the rhythm.  Pretty cool if you ask me.

Oh, and did you catch that little nugget that Vasicek mentioned about memory?  Research is showing that it can take the brain up to 10 years to fully system consolidate information into long-term memory.  Check out this video, Where Memories Go , and pick up a copy of “Brain Rules” to learn more.   In the meantime, I’d like to know  — as a parent or as a ministry leader, what rhythms have helped you the most?

Chad Houck, Children's Pastor Anchor Point at Shannon Oaks Church

Would you wear a bunny suit all week to help the kids in your ministry reach a goal?  No really, would you wear it ALL week — even to a national conference?  What about the airport?  Video tape your experience?

That’s exactly what Chad Houck did!

I have the honor of working with amazing leaders, like Chad, who go all out for their ministries.  Inspired by the classic Ralphie pink bunny suit Scene from “A Christmas Story”, Chad promised the kids at his church that he would wear a pink bunny suit for an entire week if they had 100 kids show up for Easter Sunday.

The kids surpassed the goal.  And Chad began a week’s adventure in a pink bunny suit — which included a road trip to Atlanta for the Orange Conference.  You can see the entire adventure HERE.

So if you need someone who will honor their word, Chad’s your man.  Ever wonder what it looks like to wear a pink bunny suit to the airport?  Here’s some footage:

Part 4 of the Bunnyman Series from Share5 by WorldWins on Vimeo.

If you have been reading through the latest series of youth leadership posts, I hope you are

inspired

motivated

determined

to create the right environment for youth to flourish in their leadership skills.  After you’ve come to grips with any trust issues, determined the basics for students, carved out intentional coaching time, and have even figured out some essentials to incorporate into your development plan, don’t drop the ball!  There’s one essential ingredient that must be on your radar:  Honor.

Show honor.

Freely give honor.

Model honor.

Honor with words.

You may show honor  by writing a personal note to your junior leaders several times throughout the year. What do you see in them?  Where is there greatest potential for world impact?  What ways are they growing in serving others?

Speak into their lives.  Find ways to celebrate and recognize your young leaders.

Honor them with fun.

Put some social events on the calendar and you will be honoring the way kids and teens are wired — to have FUN.  You know the old saying:  ”All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!”  The same is true for those who give their time and talent for our ministries.

Honor with surprises.

Do something special for your jr. leaders.  Bring donuts one Sunday or some other treat that will say, “I was thinking of you!”

Honor with your time.

Make it your philosophy to become involved in the lives of the students who serve alongside you.  Attend their important functions if your schedule allows.  Bring your family with you.  I’m not saying you have to give up on having a personal life of your own — but attend what you can.  It communicates how much you care.

Utopia or Bust

After speaking on this issue at the Orange Conference, one ministry leader said that what I described sounded “Utopian”.  I get that.

But shouldn’t we have an “end in mind” if we are asking moms and dads to hand over their most precious cargo to work for us?

I think we forget that the volunteer experiences we are responsible for are a “first impression” for kids and students.  First impressions can make or break a perception of what it is like to serve the Body of Christ.  First impressions are difficult to overcome….(both positive and negative).  So yes….go for “utopian”….at least it will be a target to aim for.

I loved this post from Donald Miller.  And while I wish there was a “leadership in a box” product that could make life easier and predictable when it comes to developing people, this quote in Miller’s post brings this mobilizing piece home for me:

“Miracles happen and people get visions for sure. But mostly God gives us a hoe and some seeds and introduces us to the miracle of work and a lot of common sense.”

And really, whether you are developing kids, teens or adults….you are working in the land of leadership agriculture.  Create the right environment for the harvest.  Put in the work.  Draw upon common sense.  It’s called leadership.

What ways do you show honor to your jr. leaders?  (Or your adult leaders?)  What do you struggle with most with mobilizing youth to lead?  (Or what can others learn from your successes?)

Originally uploaded to Flickr by NazarethCollege

(You can read the first articles in this series  here,  here,  here and here.)

I love mash ups.  Two great things that are uniquely combined to make something even more fabulous than the two originals alone.  The music community does this brilliantly.

Do you mash up your ministry?

Are you in pursuit of ideas and practices that are “winning”? (No, we are not talking about Mr. Sheen here….gesh!) Do you look for things successful practices that you can mash up for your ministry?

Our Karate Studio is a great example of a successful practice you should mash up in your ministry.  In addition to being a great place for kids to learn martial arts, they are well known by college recruiters for student leadership development.

Best Practices

One of their best practices comes in the form of a verbal requirement beginning at all intermediate ranked belts.  Students can select any martial arts related topic and they start out at a 1-minute presentation.  The length of the presentation increases by 1 minute until they become a black belt candidate.  When they are a black belt candidate, students must prepare a 10-minute verbal as a part of their belt requirements.

Mash it up

What would this look like in your ministry?  Can you imagine using this principle in the context of a  jr. leadership class?  Ask students to select any topic of the Bible for a presentation in front of their jr. leader peers.  What would that do to help students articulate their faith? What if you followed a similar progression in length so that students were presenting a 10 minute verbal before graduating from High School…?

Intuitively, I knew the importance of overcoming the fear of speaking in front of a group when I led our jr. Praise Team students.  I would seek out opportunities for students to get on the mic for a welcome, dismissal, prayer, to lead a song….  I would try to set the right environment for them to develop their communication and leadership skills while “on the job”.

But I think the “mash up” would take things to a whole ‘nuther level…!

Think Non-Linear

I’ve had several leaders ask for development programs that will give them a pre-set plan on how to develop students.  The problem with their request is that we have been trained by our Industrial Age schooling to think that if we start at point “A” and follow the prescribed steps, we will result with a predictable outcome.

Learning is much more organic. It is not a mechanical process.

I was reminded of this by a recent TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson. Robinson encourages educators to take on a model that more so reflects an Agricultural mindset — in which we create the conditions for students to flourish.  As such, while there are many tools available to help guide our conversations, perhaps the best thing we can do is try to personalize the experience.

What, in your opinion, are the right conditions we need to encourage students to flourish as leaders?