An Unpopular Proposal

ministry, The Church

In my last post, I made the observation that great leaders love to learn. They read, attend conferences, and keep growing as a leader.

I was talking with a friend recently.  He’s a professional counselor and works hard to be able to give his best to his clients.  In fact, he has to prove that he’s investing in his professional skills with something he referred to as CEUs (Continuing Education Units).  He explained to me that this is a common requirement in the fields of counseling and medicine.

This makes perfect sense!  Think about it.  If your doctor graduated from medical school twenty years ago but hasn’t picked up a medical journal or continued to learn new and better methods since then, would you have a whole lot of confidence in him or her?  I know I wouldn’t!  I want to know that the guy treating me or my children is prepared with information and methods that are more effective than the ones used twenty years ago.

So if it’s so important for people who work with temporary things (our bodies) to keep educating themselves, then why shouldn’t those working with eternal things (our spirits) be required to keep learning?  Honestly, I don’t understand how someone can obtain a minister’s license and never even have to pick up a book from that day forward!

So that’s my proposal to credentialing bodies and denominations: make ministers have to prove that they are investing in their growth as a minister and leader. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or complicated.  Submitting a list of books they’ve read each year would be better than the current system.  Hold them accountable to grow or lose their license.

I know that proposal might make me unpopular.  That’s OK with me.  As a credential holder, I’d be held to the same standard.  I just feel that the people we minister to are worth it.  Don’t you?

Let me know what you think.  Should this type of accountability be in place?

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A Common Leadership Thread

Core Values, Leadership, ministry

“Have you ever read this book?” I asked with way too much enthusiasm.  He just looked at me with an expression that said, “Yeah, right.”  He was a youth pastor that already knew all the answers.  His youth ministry was slightly above average in size and he was very comfortable in his position.  Normally something like that wouldn’t phase me but, at the time, I’d always been around leaders who loved to read.  It was unthinkable to me that someone in church leadership would frown on books (other than the Bible).  He was fired a few months later.  His pastor’s threshold for arrogant leadership found its limit.

In sharp contrast, I had a conversation once that went like this: “Can you recommend any good books?”  I began to list some of my favorites on leadership and ministry.  “Where can I get those?”  I listed a couple of my favorite places to get books cheap.  I had the pleasure of watching this guy take his ministry to great places.

I know, you’re thinking, “Thanks for the cheesy replay of your mentoring conversation Lee.”  But it really is that simple.  The one common thread I’ve found among leaders that make a sustainable difference, who know how to lead and inspire, who can stick it out for the long haul is a continued commitment to keep learning.  They never stop reading, studying, or growing.  They don’t rest on what they learned back in the day or what worked for them 10 years ago.  In fact, they don’t rest on what they learned only 3 years ago.

This tends to be an even greater problem for someone who has been in the ministry for many years.  They believe that tenure equals wisdom, but just because you’ve been doing a mediocre job for the last 20 years doesn’t mean you know a whole lot.  In my opinion experience is highly overrated unless you’re learning from it and should never be a substitute for continuing your education as a leader.

So that’s the common thread I find among great leaders.  They keep learning.  Like an old friend of mine used to say, “Leaders are readers and readers lead.”

What are some other threads you find in good leadership?