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This Executive Pastors of many churches struggle to find the right personnel.

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We appreciate your time this morning to check in with us on the church consulting, church staffing podcast. Our mission is to aid pastors and church leaders with the workweek, so that they can focus on the weekend. Talanton Church Services was founded by Kyle Willis in Tulsa, Oklahoma. At Talanton we work along with church pastors and ministers on the non-ministry related tasks in their church, such as staffing. Today we will be talking about why the leader matters. The Who may be the most important things missing from your local church and today we want to talk about what we can do about replacing or repairing the who. 

 

There is a well circulated church sign that says C - H -  -  - C - H with the slogan “What is missing?” above it. The obvious answer is the letters U and R in order to complete the word church. I’m not sure if this is a strategy for inviting or a guilt trip for those members who have been missing over the last few weeks. And while the reality is that a church with no regular attenders, members, or visitors is in reality a conference, we may be thinking the wrong who is missing. The missing who is often the leader, the head honcho, the one God has chosen to run the ministry. It is time we really really evaluated the missing who and how we can get them back. 

 

When you felt a calling into ministry, what were some of your ideas on how to reach the lost? What was your idea that was bigger than yourself or your ministry? What impact did you plan on having on even the ends of the earth? Have others noticed that your initial passion is lost or reduced? Now is the wake up call you need. 

 

YOU ARE the missing element! You have checked out, you have stopped taking risks, you have decided that the deep waters are no longer for your ministry, and you have satiated to the status quo. As a church consultant, I notice that church leaders who have hit a wall, maybe with hiring the right youth minister or taking care of their facilities and finances, are combating a bigger issue in their ministry. Pride. While there are a number of church leaders who are humble and interested in continuing education, we see that hubris is often in play. Today’s challenge is to break you from a mold you probably do not realize you are in. 

 

Let me say again, this message may not be for you and I am not trying to say that all church leaders struggle with pride. Let me challenge you again though and say if you are tempted to think that this does not apply to you, it probably applies more than you want to admit. So when I think about the missing who in church leadership, there are two real questions that exist. “Why did we lose the who?” and “How are we going to get the missing who back engaged with their ministry?” Let’s tackle the first question, before seeking the answer. 

 

As a church consultant, we often prescribe processes that seek to understand the root cause. In the missing who, the root cause may be a theological, emotional, mental, or physical shift caused by apathy or a play it safe attitude. One of the areas that causes my passion to be reduced is when I am not physically taking care of my body. This concept may sound simple, but as I have followed the preaching and inner workings of Craig Groeschel and Life Church for many years, taking care of body impacts are passion. As Craig has transformed into a world-class body builder, his teaching has become more powerful and dynamic. He would attribute his exercise routine and eating habits as one of the fuels that helps him maintain such a demanding schedule. In my personal life, when I have been closest to checking out, my diet and lack of exercise were not improving. Another cause of lack of engagement may be hurt that you have experienced from church members or other congregational leaders. While this can be a much longer road to restoration and may even require a physical change of location, my encouragement is to seek more professional help. What is the root cause as to why you are no longer as engaged as you once were? If it is pride, bitterness, or apathy, let us have others pray that God will tear down those roadblocks. 

 

After we have diagnose the why let us consider how to take back the passion to reengage. As a church consultant, I mentioned earlier that professional help may be the first step in regaining and restoring your passion. You may need a church consultant, a physical trainer, counselor, or mentor to realign your passion. Another step I would encourage you to evaluate is what sparks joy or what actions make you your best self? Maybe your ministry has grown and you no longer focus on evangelism. Today may be the day to block out time for those original actions that excited you about ministry. Finally, I would recommend disclosing your struggles to a trusted friend outside of your church. Something about confession is truly freeing and the accountability that comes along with it. Today is the start to reengaging with the church that desperately needs the missing you in the middle of it. 

 

At Talanton Church Consulting our desire is to encourage you and your ministry as we seek to steward all the things that God has entrusted us with. If you are have questions and could benefit from Church Consulting Tulsa, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 405.343.8700 and we would love to come visit you. Once again this has been Kyle Willis with the Talanton Church Consulting Tulsa podcast and we want you to know that there is an amazing plan for your ministry and your future.