I work with a great team of leaders and often pick up excellent leadership principles. Here are a couple that are worth sharing:
Do things with SAS = Sustainability, Accountability, Scalability. As we’ve considered several ministry expansions this simple principle has proven wise. Can the project be sustained? Is the leadership accountable for proven results? Is the project scalable – can it grow as the church grows?
In the desire to expand ministry influence we can agressively start ministries that may offer short term gains but long term drains. Before moving forward with any project we try to address these practical concerns.
The Iron Rule of Ministry – Don’t ever do for somebody what they can do for themselves. Galatians 6 – bear one another’s budens, each one should carry his own load.
This one has hit home with me in recent days as I’ve explored the social and spiritual needs of our community. One young man I interviewed talked about his involvement with a food backpack project that feeds school children over the weekends. Students receive meals at school during the week, and on Friday pick up a backpack full of food to get them through the weekend. It’s a worthy project and meets a real and practical need. However, my mind goes back to the root of the problem.
Can we meet the immediate practical needs and address the root of the need at the same time? A poor job market, broken families, fatherless homes? I’ll write more about this in a separate post.
