Leading Volunteers: A Church Resource or an Act of Discipleship?
“I wish I worked
at a church; that way, I wouldn’t have to deal with all the workplace
drama.” As soon as I heard it, my head
snapped to the right and I responded to the young man with, “You’re kidding me,
right?” When it comes to workplace wars,
churches are little different than secular corporations. Professionals compete for resources, argue for
airtime, walk out in frustration, and talk behind the bosses back. Obviously, my young, naïve friend had a
Pollyanna view of what happens from Monday to Saturday inside the walls of a large
church.
With just over
2,500 people in weekly attendance, a senior pastor with admitted control
issues, a staff of less than ten, and over $11 million in debt it’s no wonder
that organizational efficacy and volunteer participation would eventually begin
to crumble. As the senior pastor pushed
harder and his associate pastors demanded more, tensions rose to a fever
pitch. Leading the men’s ministry as a
lay leader/volunteer, the expectations levied upon me to do more with less, to
produce event after event, to minister to the hurting, and the expected 20-25
unpaid hours a week at church created a confluence of demands that can only be
described as the perfect storm.
Business leaders,
supervisors, and managers within corporations can use employee pay, job
security, and promotions to leverage and motivate behavior. While not the preferred approach, it exists
nonetheless. Conversely, in a church
environment, there is normally a small paid staff and a large contingent of
volunteers working together to produce mission objectives, respond to people’s
needs, reach out to the local community, and perform a variety of function to support
and generate weekly services. Without
promising pay and promotions, what do church leaders use to motivate? What options are available when volunteers aren’t
showing up as needed? It’s sad and it
pains me to say; but, sometime (not always), I believe they use guilt.
It may sound
bitter and accusatory but that’s not my intent.
Without the inherent motivations of money, pastors wrestle with the
pressure of soliciting volunteers. As a
result, knowingly or unknowingly, they speak to members about spiritual growth,
expectations as followers of Christ, metaphors as parts of a body, and
questions about eternal commitment. I
understand many of these tactics are genuine and carry significant truth; yet
many are manipulative and self-serving.
When leaders attach
someone’s eternal destiny to their participation in a weekly event, the action is
desperate at best and deplorable at worst. Rather than rely on unspiritual strategies to
build and motivate a team of volunteers, today’s senior and associate pastors
should incorporate the ten principles of new
thinking described by Stewart Levine.
By combining prayer with concern for people’s well-being and adding a faith
that relies on God, church organizations can create an atmosphere markedly different
from one focused solely on the bottom line. Rather, they can become a place where leaders
operate with mercy, love, faith, and a desire for the ultimate bottom line: bringing
glory to God.
In churches across
America, burn out (the exhausting emotional state of volunteers that result in
them leaving the church) is a common expression. Church leaders are hauntingly familiar with
the term. They preach against it. They encourage followers to avoid it. They even use words like rest,
accountability, and conviction. All the
while, they keep making demands and requesting help. In my situation, when everything finally
boiled over and the conflict ensued, I met with the pastoral staff and resigned my position. As an adult, I understand much of what I
accepted as a volunteer was my own undoing. I could have declined assignments, refused
participation, and backed out of large-scale events. It sounds easy but don’t be fooled. History has shown us that spiritual leaders
can be very persuasive. Charisma left
unchecked can leave a trail of broken volunteers in its wake.
We need a new way
of thinking and Mr. Levine provides it.
By incorporating the his ten principles, leaders can “right the ship.” Following are the old versus new recommended
ways of thinking when managing and leading within a church environment:
1.
Scarcity versus Believing
in abundance
a.
Levine: This
potential exists in every conflict. It’s
a matter of engaging in a productive dialogue so that what is needed to resolve
the situation can be discovered or invented (p. 48).
b.
Church: Phil
4:19 states, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his riches in
heaven.” Rather than manipulate, coerce,
and guilt volunteers to help, pastors should focus on helping them grow as
Christians. In the process, they will be motivated to jump-in and
volunteer. Had my previous church
leadership believed in abundance, they would not have burned-out their
volunteers.
2.
Wasting of resources versus Creating partnerships
a.
Levin: Inefficiency
often comes from not knowing what goes into a good agreement (p. 55). Front-end agreements are created at the beginning
of a project (p. 57).
b.
Church: Had the
pastor(s) and I discussed the expectations and requirements prior to my involvement,
we would have alleviated miscommunication. Boundaries would have been established and
there would have been less unmet expectations.
Oftentimes, I wasn’t aware of the mission objectives and needs until
late in the process. Once that occurred,
everyone was rushing to recruit volunteers.
3.
Problems, issues, emotions versus Being creative
a.
Levine: Life is
filled with surprises, conflict, disappointment, unmet expectations, and
change. How you deal with what happens marks the quality of your life (p. 60).
b.
Church: Creativity is stifled by the constraints of
time and stress. It’s hard to be
creative when your senior pastor wants the project drawn up and submitted by
close of business. When volunteers feel
stressed and pushed beyond their limit, they pull back emotionally, spiritually,
and creatively. Church leaders should
prepare for unexpected surprises and manpower shortages. God uses these situations to show you what
you’re made of.
4.
Fostering conflict versus Fostering sustainable collaboration
a.
Levine: In
resolutionary thinking, negotiating becomes about creating a composite, shared
vision of the desired outcome (p. 67).
b.
Church: By
including volunteers in the planning process, church leaders will minimize
future frustrations. The conflict
between the church staff and the volunteers could have been minimized had we
been aware of the plans and timeline early in the process.
5.
Righteous bravado, posturing versus Becoming open
a.
Levine: The
qualities that audiences consistently mention as admirable are honesty,
listening, authenticity, lack of ego, and understanding another perspective (p.
72). To achieve resolution it is essential to tap into emotional areas of
vulnerability; i.e., emotional intelligence (p. 73).
b.
Church: Power
struggles; hierarchical structures, and ego have destroyed many churches. In this conflict, many of those same traits
were present, yet they were hidden behind the word “ministry.” The lack of authenticity of the leaders and
their resulted in the volunteers avoiding vulnerability. Rather, it resulted in blame shifting and
excuse making. Had the pastors been
honest and humble when soliciting volunteers, the conflict could have been
avoided and teamwork promoted.
6.
Short-term adversary versus Forming long-term collaborations
a.
Levine: Caring
about long-term impact on stakeholders (p. 79).
b.
Church: The goal of church activities and programs
should be to produce disciples; not simply workers. Pastors should focus on the spiritual growth
of their members and delegate responsibilities to their leaders. Instead, pastors find themselves issuing
orders rather than encouragement.
7.
Logic versus Relying
on feelings and intuition
a.
Levine: Must
confront the difficult emotional aspects of the breakdown in their working
relationship (p. 88).
b.
Church: There is
little doubt that church leaders recognize when individuals approach
burnout. They know the names of the volunteers
who are always participating in church functions; and they are aware that most
of these members already have full-time jobs! The work being performed at church is above
and beyond the 40+ hours a week required at their job. Rather than ignore it, pastors should
intervene and provide a way for their volunteers to rest.
8.
Secrecy versus Disclosing
information and feelings
a.
Levin: Information
is power so people hoard it. Full
disclosure provides the grist for people to work with. Until everything is on the table, no one is
dealing with the entire situation (p. 95).
b.
Church: If
pastors expect their volunteers to participate, it is highly encouraged to
bring as many participants into the planning stage as possible. The greater the dissemination of information
on the front end of a project, the less confusion and frustration exist on the
back end.
9.
Winning versus Learning throughout the resolution
process
a.
Levine: It’s all
about teaching and learning; an exercise in group learning. The learning perspective is the most
important component of creating value and opportunity in the situation that
life presents (p. 98).
b.
Church: The goal
should never be an exciting service, a spectacular event, or a flawless
program. The goal is to introduce people
to the gospel of Jesus Christ, connect them with other strong people of faith,
and provide an atmosphere for them to grow.
Discipleship is learning; not merely entertaining.
10. Deferring
to professionals versus Becoming
responsible
a.
Levine: You gain
the gift of self-discovery (p. 104).
b.
Church: Pastors
are pulled in many directions and they cannot allot all their time focusing on every
need of the congregation. However, it is
their responsibility to monitor their leaders spiritual health and intervene
when necessary.
Lesson Learned:
I’ve learned to say no. Historically, I would succumb to volunteering
for every church program and project because the leader would preface it with,
“It’s only two hours a week. Can’t you spare two hours?” Today I realize those
two hours are added to the other two hours and the additional three hours this
weekend, etc. I’ve become much more
aggressive in managing my schedule. In
the future, by practicing Stewart Levine’s new ways of thinking, many of the
problems that plague churches can be resolved before they cause problems.
Legacy is learning.
Steve
Reference
Levine,
S. (2009). Getting to Resolution. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler
Publishers, Inc.
