The Curses of Managing People

Hello Emmanuel,

Managing people is difficult business.  I don’t know how God does it.

Emmanuel, for the most part, is powered by the Holy Spirit to forge forward, even it means to change how things are done…. Even if it means to change who does them.  I’m not sure I’m used to this even after 4 years of it.  It’s certainly refreshing not to preach 40 sermons a year on how to not be in a rut (only 10 or so), but I’m learning that there are different kinds of challenges in such a progressive-thinking church (relatively speaking).

So as the church changes and new and more people get involved, let’s consider what I have seen as the challenges (and how my preaching may be tweaked in the future).

1.  Know when to pull back on the reigns.

I didn’t think I’d ever need reigns.  However, I am learning that there is a certain point when stopping a ministry or keeping a ministry from starting can actually be healthy for a church.  For example, there is a tendency for progressive-churches to duplicate ministry, causing it to become poor stewards of its resources.  Or another example is when leadership isn’t equipped to start such a great idea, setting itself up for failure… or worse… pain and hurt.  Or a third example is when there is an idea that is not going to help the circle chart go around as effectively as another idea might.

I still don’t like to pull on the reigns.  I actually detest the idea and have done it so rarely that I can’t count more than a few instances over the years.  But the great thing about Emmanuel is that resources (time, money, people, energy) will get used.  I’m feeling the responsibility to make sure they get used as wisely as possible (keep the circle chart going, people).

2.  Communication gets more complicated

It’s a continuing frustration for me as my wife can attest to.  I’m concluding that there is no such thing as a perfect communication system.  People plan differently, implement differently and communicate at different levels with different intentions.  I’m thanking Lori, our administrative assistant, more often in my prayers as she has really caught on to the use of the google calendar.  I dread to think what I would NOT have time to do if I spent my week making sure communication in the church was going smoothly 100% of the time.  I would be a very frustrated pastor.

Please, please, please communicate with each other effectively and timely.  When I see disruption or frustration in ministry, it is usually because of a lack of communication.  And while I am not immune to forgetting how to communicate, I can promise you that I lose sleep when I do.

3.  Christian people don’t always like each other

There you have it.  I typed it.  I even put it in bold.  Wouldn’t we all love to see 100% harmony in the church?  I would.  My job would be easy.  The reality is that some people simply will not like each other.  There can be lots of reasons for this.  I can often explain it, but sometimes I can’t.  However, if communication issues wouldn’t take up most of my time, dealing with how so-and-so doesn’t get along with so-and-so would take up much of it.

God loves us all.  We are commanded to love one another.  Sometimes I am to love someone I don’t like too well.  So what?  God has every right to not like me very well, but He loves me anyhow.  If we can recognize that we are all flawed, then we can move forward together by embracing the good that comes out of being a faith community.  And when the chance to hold each other accountable comes along, we can do so in the midst of trust and forgiveness.

So how do we deal with the challenges?

We use our resources the best we can; communicate the best we can; and love each other the best we can and let God take care of the rest.  I refuse to micromanage.  Emmanuel can’t afford a pastor to delve into every nook and cranny of the above issues without there being a cost.  The cost would be a church that is too busy being a perfectionist and not busy enough being a house of grace.  This creates a church that becomes too focused internally and not focused enough externally.

I am blessed to be at Emmanuel.  I am blessed to be freed up to tackle my Call to lead a church to be a disciple-making church.  Let’s continue to do so even as our challenges change over time.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe