Next Level Leadership (Part 1 of 4)

I have been spending a lot of time evaluating where we have been as a church and praying about where we are headed for 2008. I believe that we have done a great job in getting Elk Creek Church off the ground, but now it's time to take it to the next level. There are several things that I believe that we need to do in order to get to the next level. The first thing that we need to do is to do our best to structure ourselves like a church that is twice or even three times our size. That's right, we need to put the cart before the horse. If we continue to operate as a church of 65, we will never get to the next level. So, the main question that we need to ask ourselves as ministry leaders is this...

Is the ministry that I am leading functioning at the next level or at the level that we are at right now?

If the answer is that we're not functioning at the next level, then we need to ask these type of questions...

• What do I need to change personally as a leader in order to operate at the next level?

Change always starts with the leader. In his book The 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership, John Maxwell talks about the Law of the Lid. He says that the lower an individual's ability to lead, the lower the lid on his/her potential. The higher the leadership, the greater the effectiveness. Change always takes place in the leader first. Are you getting in your own way? What do you need to do to raise the lid on your leadership? Maybe you need to read more to grow in the area of leadership. Maybe you need to stop thinking of all of the reasons why you can't and start focusing on creating the environment for change. Always look at yourself first.

• What do we need to change administratively in order to operate at the next level?

Are the expectations that you have for your team clearly defined? Are they written out? Are you organized with respect to schedules & planning, or are you flying by the seat of your pants? Are you communicating clearly, or are you keeping your team in the dark? Are you giving the people on your team responsibility, and helping them have ownership in the ministry? Are you building the morale of your team through meetings...thank you notes...etc?

• What do we need to change with regard to staffing in order to operate at the next level?

Are you prepared for growth right now? What would happen if God blessed us with 5, 10, 20 new families next week. Would your current staffing structure handle the growth? Start praying for, recruiting, and training now to prepare for future growth.

I believe that God is going to do amazing things in and through us in 2008! Let's prepare!