It’s been almost a year since I sent the final manuscript off to the publisher for my book Untapped Church in which I talk about our church’s journey of toward staffing many of our ministries with volunteer, yes unpaid, leaders. We’ve created a culture in which unpaid leaders can rise to any and every position in the church including pastors and ministry leaders and even supervising some of our pastoral staff.
After doing some podcasts about the book and speaking at some training events with pastors and ministry leaders, there are a couple of things that I wish I had said more clearly or more forcefully in the book. So I thought I’d shoot a little video about three things I wish I had said if I were writing to book over again. I hope you enjoy…
Full Transcript:
Well it’s been almost a year since I sent the final manuscript off to the publisher for my book Untapped Church in which I talk about our church’s journey of toward staffing many of our ministries with volunteer, yes unpaid, leaders. We’ve created a culture in which unpaid leaders can rise to any and every position in the church including pastors and ministry leaders and even supervising some of our pastoral staff.
After doing some podcasts about the book and speaking at some training events with pastors and ministry leaders, there are a couple of things that I wish I had said more clearly or more forcefully in the book. So I thought I’d shoot a little video about three things I wish I had said if I were writing to book over again.
- The first thing is, I wish I had focused more on people’s callings outside the church. I have a really high view of the power and potential of the church. And my book very much centers on leadership roles within the church. I believe pastors would be healthier and more effective, I believe churches would be more radiant and biblical if more volunteers were unleashed into meaningful roles. However, I also realize that for many people, their calling is their job. My dad is a great example of this. He was a high school teacher and a coach. For decades, my dad was the greatest spiritual influence in the lives of a huge percentage of his students and athletes. They went to him for counsel and advice and care. He often provided motivation through the words of scripture and prayer, he visited them when they were sick or injured in the hospital. I realize that every Christian’s mission in the world is bigger than what happens inside the walls of the church. And part of a pastor’s job is not just to make sure the church is functioning well, but that our people are living on mission 7 days a week. So, I wish I had built this idea out a little bit more in the book.
- Second, I wish I had emphasized that changing a culture is a slow and painful process. When you write a book like this, one of the dangers is that it can seem like it was a quick and easy process. Just try these three easy steps and you too can… you get the picture. People who are reading can have a tendency to dismiss certain principles because they assume that it worked easily for you, but it’s too hard for me. At Grace, our journey to implementing a volunteer leadership culture has taken thirteen years and counting. We’re still learning and trying to figure it out. Some of the steps that I devoted one page to in the book took three years to implement in real life. My encouragement to pastors and leaders is to start with what is right in front of you. There may be one person in your church who you could see stepping up into a volunteer staff position. Start with him or her. Or you may have a role that, if the right person filled it, would make a huge impact on your church. Instead of waiting until you have the money to hire it, begin to pray that God would bring a volunteer who would be perfect to do it. There was a lot of blood sweat and tears involved, and I wish I had emphasized that more.
- Finally, I wish I had cast more vision for a volunteer culture in the post-covid church. I finished the book during the first year of COVID. I wish I had anticipated the crisis that the church would face as we walked through this pandemic. Now, with rumors of many churches shutting down, and many pastors leaving the ministry, I believe more than ever that this idea of staffing your church with volunteers could breathe new life into those who feel like giving up. I think this could be one way that God uses to sustain, and purify and even grow His church in a new chapter of history. I would urge other pastors, before you throw in the towel, would you prayerfully consider engaging some untapped volunteer leaders in your church, and invite them into a new level of involvement. God might just surprise you with the impact they will have on your church’s mission and on your own health and well-being.
Much love to you all.