by Carey Nieuwhof: You might be asking yourself as a church leader, why does everyone seem so angry with me right now?

You’re not alone.

As pastor appreciation month fades into the rearview mirror, despite getting a few chocolates and a handful of thank you cards (or nothing…that’s happened before too), many church leaders I talk to are feeling more unappreciated, misunderstood and more criticized than ever.

Criticism stings, and in a prolonged crisis like this one, just when you feel like you need more encouragement than usual, it feels like you’re getting all-time-high levels of static.

What’s going on?

Just so we don’t all go to a false pity-party, let me say sometimes it’s definitely you.  I’ve made some significant leadership blunders myself. Maybe you did something to anger your team, upset your church, led change unwisely or made some other decisions that really messed things up.

If that’s the case, the best thing to do is stop reading this post, talk to the people around you, get some help and make it right.

But if that’s not the case—and I’m guessing for most of you that’s not the case right now—what do you do when you’re giving your all, working hard day and night and you really love the people you serve, and you still get a load of rage dumped on your doorstep?

What do you do when you throw your heart into it and  you still get an ALL CAPS EMAIL,  an anonymous note and people threatening to leave the church? Sure, you’re not perfect, but come on….really?

What’s up with that?

I’ve gone through some undeserved seasons of opposition and criticism before as well.

Here are three factors that might help explain what’s happening, as well as three things that can help you push through through the months ahead. We all need all the help we can get right now in the midst of this crisis.

As pastor appreciation month fades into the rearview mirror, many church leaders are feeling more unappreciated, misunderstood and more criticized than ever.

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3 Factors That Create Undeserved Criticism

Undeserved criticism is the kind of criticism that either comes out of nowhere, or that happens when people treat a 2 out of 10 level problem as though it were a 12 out of 10 issue. You know what I mean.

All of which leaves you feeling perplexed, hurt, agitated, isolated, defeated and angry at the same time.

You feel like you have nowhere to go and over time, it diminishes your motivation to serve.

Why does that happen? Why do you get all kinds of static when there’s really nothing wrong?

Here are 3 reasons that happens all the time in the church and in many organizations.

1. 95% of all problems in the church have nothing to do with the church

In the early days of ministry, I began to see a pattern.

The complaints people levied against the church often didn’t have anything to do with the church.

95% of all problems in the church have nothing to do with the church.

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Yes, they were upset about the music or the direction, but if you drilled a little deeper, you soon discovered that there were other factors at work.

They were struggling at work, or their marriage was under a lot of stress, or they were battling an addiction or really down on themselves.

Add the global crisis into the mix, and people are struggling deeply with fear, medical, financial, political, emotional and relational stress unlike anything most have every coped with.

No wonder they’re agitated. Under that kind of stress, people get agitated and the anger has to come out somewhere. The church is an easy target.

In the same road rage is rarely about what happens on the highway, church rage is often not about what’s happening in the church. The guy who barely cut you off just bore the full weight of your unresolved issues in that moment.

Which leads us back to the key point: 95% of all problems in the church have nothing to do with the church.

That doesn’t make the anger go away, but it can help you empathize more and take it less personally.

In the same road rage is rarely about what happens on the highway, church rage is often not about what’s happening in the church.

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2. Distance and division have made people ruder and bolder 

The pandemic has separated us from each other in so many ways.

As more of our life moves online, and as personal contact becomes less frequent you and I get bolder and ruder.

We live in an angry age, and the current crises have only made that worse. Far worse. (I outlined 5 reasons anger is the new epidemic here.)

Here’s what happens when we get separated from each other, in normal conditions but especially in the midst of crisis: distance between people desensitizes people.

Distance between people desensitizes people.

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Generals have known this for millennia. That’s why soldiers wear uniforms and wear war paint. It not only identifies you, but it disguises your humanity. It’s easier to shoot you when I can’t see you.

Before you judge soldiers, think of how you sometimes behave in your car. As already indicated, chances are, you’re naturally more aggressive there too—occasionally cutting people off, tailgating, honking your horn, and not caring nearly as much as you normally do.

Why do you behave differently in a car than when you’re not in a car?

Because you’re in a 3000-pound armored vehicle. You don’t see the guy bothering you as a person. You see him as a problem. So you get way more aggressive.

Even in the supermarket, you’re ruder when you have a shopping cart in your hands than when you don’t.

The same dynamic is at work in social media and our life online and any time we’re not eyeball to eyeball in the room with another human.

When you’re online and you can’t see the whites of someone’s eyes, it’s just easier to shoot.

Bottom line? It’s never been easier to be known and hide simultaneously than it is online. And it’s never been easier to take pot shots at leaders than it is now.

So when you get those angry emails, letters, voicemails and snappy comments, just know it’s often 10x more animated than it would be in-person.

Bottom line? It’s never been easier to be known and hide simultaneously than it is online. And it’s never been easier to take pot shots at leaders than it is now.

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3. You’re a little agitated too

Ever notice that 0n some days little things bother you, while on other days nothing seems to bother you (even criticism)?

What’s the difference?

The difference is you—some days little things get to you and little things become big things. Other days, everything rolls off your back.

When you’re stressed everything tends to bother you, including things that shouldn’t.

Guess what? You’re leading in the midst of an insanely complicated crisis. You’re stressed.

So something that wouldn’t get under your skin in normal times probably is getting under your skin today.

Something you would handle maturely and calmly has now got you cracking on the inside.

That’s natural. It’s a really tough season.

The best strategy when I know I’m not in a good place is to take a break. You never respond well when you’re angry or irritated. Neither do I.

Pray, get some sleep, talk to a friend and come back at it with a fresh mind and heart.

The situation won’t have changed, but you’ll be better. And when you’re better, things tend to get better.

Leader, when you’re better, things tend to get better.

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3 Keys To Getting Healthier

So what do you do?

In terms of replying to the people who are mad at you, these 5 pro tips on how to handle criticism will help. Every time I use them, the situation gets better. Every time I ignore them, I make things worse, not better. In and of itself, Pro Tip #4—Reply Relationally—is a very effective tension diffuser and conflict de-escalator.

So start there.

But it’s deeper than that.

You probably still have months—or even a year—of this crazy upside down season ahead of you in leadership. I want you to make it through the long haul.

So here are three longer term strategies that can help you lead healthier and stay healthier.

1. Grieve your losses

This has been a season of incredible loss. In normal times, people in ministry suffer loss every day.

Think about it.

Every time someone leaves your ministry or steps back from your team, it’s a loss.  Whenever you give something only to find ingratitude, it’s a loss.  Every time someone tells you’re great but you should really see the other guy who’s awesome, it’s a loss.

Add in death, illness and strained or lost relationships and, well, you get the picture.

Then add all the complexity, shock and insanity that 2020 has been into the mix and it’s just so much loss.

A mentor of mine once told me that in his view so many pastors quit ministry or lose their effectiveness not because any one incident made them snap or quit – but rather because the loss that provoked their exit is tied to dozens or hundreds of ungrieved losses along the way.

They might not even understand why they’re stepping back, shutting down or resigning.  All they know is they just can’t take it anymore. (My mentor, Terry Wardle, explains that theory here.)

When I first heard of this theory, I had so much ungrieved loss it took my about a month of tears to move through it.

Since then, one of the practices I’ve adopted is to grieve my losses as they happen.

I take time daily and weekly to review what’s bothering me and simply pray about it. Sometimes I talk to others about it.

I try to let myself stop and feel what I’ve experienced.  And when I feel it, something surprising happens – the negative feeling pretty much disappears.

If I do it promptly when a loss occurs, I can even respond to a four out of ten email or remark with a two out of ten reply – not a twelve.  I can actually offer grace.

If you want to stay healthy, grieve your losses. You’ve had a lot of loss.

Many pastors quit ministry or lose their effectiveness not because any one incident made them snap or quit – but rather because the loss that provoked their exit is tied to dozens or hundreds of ungrieved losses along the way.

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2. Get Around Some Life-Giving People

So much of ministry and leadership involves giving. And because ministry is giving, it can be draining.

I frequently ask ministry leaders, “When was the last time you went out for dinner with a couple and laughed so hard you cried? You know, a lost-track-of-time-completely kind of dinner?”

The blank looks and the looks of shock and disappointment on leaders’ faces tells the story.

We don’t do this nearly enough.

Your leadership is like a bank account. You can only give so much without becoming overdrawn. Be overdrawn long enough and you go bankrupt.

Go find some friends who energize you. Then, hang out.

So much of ministry and leadership is giving. And because ministry is giving, it can be draining.

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3. Embrace a sustainable pace…before it’s too late

This crisis has gone on way longer than anyone either wanted it to or than most (including me) thought it would.

Most leaders are dead tired.  And a lot of leaders are still holding out for some time off for their sanity and for the way to make it through.  Time off is wonderful.

But time off can’t save you if the problem is how you spend your time on.

Time off can’t save you if the problem is how you spend your time on.

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And the problem with most leaders is not how we spend our time off. It’s how we spend our time on.

Moving forward, definitely take some time off but focus even more intensely on creating a sustainable rhythm for every day.

The mantra I’ve lived by for the last decade plus is, live in a way today that will help you thrive tomorrow.  Do that, and you’ll lead through this crisis so much more effectively.

Live in a way today that will help you thrive tomorrow.

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Living in a way today that will help me thrive tomorrow will help me figure out everything from how much sleep I need, how many meetings to take, how many decisions I can reasonably make, and how to replenish myself daily so I can lead at home and at work.

This might take constant adjustment on your part, but it’s worth it.

More time off isn’t the solution for an unsustainable pace. A sustainable pace is the solution for an unsustainable pace.

More time off isn’t the solution for an unsustainable pace. A sustainable pace is the solution for an unsustainable pace.

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Partner Spotlight: Searching for Ways to Cut Costs So You Don’t Have to Cut Staff?

Health insurance is always expensive, but during these stressful times, budgets may be even tighter than normal.

But now is not the time to leave your people without healthcare.

What if you could provide coverage for your staff while saving thousands for your church AND your people?

If you think this sound too good to be true, my partners at Remodel Health make this dream a reality every day for churches and faith-based organizations across the country.

To date, Remodel Health has helped Carey Nieuwhof readers and podcast listeners save over $2.1 million in the last year and a half! Imagine what your ministry could do with those savings.

We know healthcare is confusing, and right now is a very challenging time for churches, but now is the time for change.

If you’re interested in learning more, visit Remodel Health where you can download their free Church Buyer’s Guide and eBook.

Click here to access their free resources.

What Do You See?

Any other reasons you see for the level of criticism leaders are facing right now?

And what do you do to stay engaged, healthy and encouraged?

We need to make it through this prolonged crisis together.

Scroll down and leave a comment!

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by Shawn Lovejoy: I have lots of scars.

I have torn both ACL’s, the major ligament in each knee; I have a scar on top of my head from the time I had to get ten stitches because a PAIR of horseshoes fell on my head (long story, but it explains a lot, doesn’t it?);  and tons of other miscellaneous other scars from the perils of footballs, motorcycles, and other dangerous hobbies in my past.

Honestly, however, those aren’t the toughest scars from which I have needed to heal. The scars that have been the toughest to heal in my life have been my LEADERSHIP SCARS.  

Leadership Scars Can Form From Things Like:

Mistakes We Have Made

Things We Wish We Would Have Handled Differently

Decisions We Didn’t Make Soon Enough

Tough Calls Gone Bad

People Who Left

Staff Betrayals

Staff Coux’s

Critics, Criticism, & and Haters

These are just a few of my Leadership scars from which I have healed and of which I am still healing from!

What are your Leadership Scars?

The bigger question is: What are you doing to heal from those scars? 

Too many leaders we coach are stuck at the place of the open wound that never healed.

If you don’t rehabilitate from a physical wound properly, something called SCAR TISSUE forms that makes the scar rough, bumpy, and even calloused over time. Don’t allow that to be your story when it comes to LEADERSHIP SCARS. Reach out and get some help. Talk to a counselor. Seek out a coach. Find someone who believes that your future can be better than your past. Seek out someone that will believe in you. Get better. Seek healing from your Leadership Scars. Start massaging that scar tissue until it’s gone.

Your past doesn’t affect your future unless you allow it to!

Get healed up from your Leadership scars and take the field with new fury and freedom again!Schedule a call with us. Let’s talk about how we can help you do that!

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Source: Stop Being Limited By Leadership Scars

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by Carey Nieuwhof: There’s a secret fear most leaders have: losing people.

It can seem so hard to reach people that keeping them that losing a customer, a client, a staff member, a person in your church, or even a subscriber to your email list can be heart-wrenching for many leaders.

I get that.

I have wrung my hands and lost sleep over people walking away more than a few times in my time in leadership.

There are times you should be really concerned with a great person leaves your team, or a fantastic leader exits your mission. That should definitely make you think twice.

And as someone (or several people exit), the discussion at the leadership table will end up with someone saying:

Look, we can’t afford to lose people. 

Trust me, there’s always someone at the leadership table who thinks we can’t afford to lose anyone.

That’s simply not true.

There are a few kinds of people you can’t afford to keep.

In fact, sometimes the people you are most afraid of losing are the people you can’t afford to keep.

Here’s the strange paradox of leadership: some of the people you think you can’t afford to lose are the very people you can’t afford to keep.

So how do you know the difference?

Well, here are 7 kinds of people you can’t afford to keep if you want to move your mission forward.

Some of the people you think you can’t afford to lose are the very people you can’t afford to keep.Click To Tweet

1. Perpetual critics

This takes a lot of maturity, but a wise leader always gleans whatever he or she can from critics.

There’s always something to learn, and even if you have to discard most of it, there’s usually a kernel of truth that can help you grow and flourish in the future. (Here are some tips on how to handle criticism like a pro.)

Some people are just perpetual critics though.  They rarely have anything to say.

So what should you watch for when you think you have a perpetual critic? Watch for what they contribute. 

I mean everything from positive ideas, to heart, to effort, to yes…dollars. Look for skin in the game.

Critical thinkers who make positive contributions to the mission are often your friends, not your enemies.

But beware of perpetual critics. Perpetual critics are easy to spot—they contribute nothing and criticize everything.

That kind of critic…you can’t afford to keep. They’re sucking your soul and everyone’s soul dry.

Perpetual critics are easy to spot—they contribute nothing and criticize everything.Click To Tweet

2. People who are opposed to everything

This group is a slight variation on the perpetual critic.

They may not have a steady stream of contrary ideas. In fact, they might say nothing. Until it comes time to change, that is.

Then, quietly or loudly, they’ll let you know they’re opposed.  Now rattled, they block change, or at least try to.

Being opposed to some things is normal. Being opposed to everything is dysfunction and destructive.

You can’t build a lasting future on what you’re against. You can only build a lasting future on what you’re for.

Being opposed to some things is normal. Being opposed to everything is dysfunction and destructive. You can’t build a lasting future on what you’re against. You can only build a lasting future on what you’re for.Click To Tweet

3. Toxic People

We’re all a little unhealthy. I am. You are. And so is everyone we work with.

But there’s a key difference between a little unhealthy and toxic.

Unhealthy people want to get well. Toxic people have no desire to get well, usually have a super low self-awareness and sometimes actually want to inflict harm.

It’s not that you can’t afford to lose toxic people. The truth is, you can’t afford to keep them.

Here are some insights into creating a healthy culture and letting toxic people go.

It’s not that you can’t afford to lose toxic people. The truth is, you can’t afford to keep them. Click To Tweet

4. Chronically Underperforming People

We all have bad days. We’re all late sometimes.

But face it, you have people in your organization who only have bad days. Who are always late. Who invent a new excuse every 12 minutes.

You know who I’m talking about.

You can’t afford to keep them.

But wait, you argue, shouldn’t we help them?

Let me guess. The person that popped into your mind when reading this is someone you’ve been trying to help for the last year…or two…or five, and they haven’t changed a bit. So what exactly are you accomplishing?

Exactly.

Even if they have a solvable problem, they either don’t want to solve it or you’re not the one who’s going to help them. Move on, friend.

Go invest that time with your best people or someone in the middle who wants to grow…and watch them soar.

5. People with Hidden Agendas

In every organization, there’s only really one agenda: the mission.

Competing agendas is a problem…but if the competing agendas are out in the open, you can at least discuss them and reconcile them. Eventually, if someone won’t align with the unifying mission, they may have to go.

Hidden agendas are a whole different thing.

When someone won’t be honest about what they’re trying to accomplish, or won’t discuss it, it corrodes the team and mission like few other things do.

Hidden agendas make trust impossible.

Hidden agendas make trust impossible. Click To Tweet

6. People who only have a vision of what the future shouldn’t be

As a leader, you have a vision of what the future should be.

Some people only have a vision of what the future shouldn’t be.

That’s a problem.

You can’t build a positive mission on a negative view of the future. If someone can only tell you what the future shouldn’t be, you’ll never get to a better future.

You can’t build a positive mission on a negative view of the future. If someone can only tell you what the future shouldn’t be, you’ll never get to a better future. Click To Tweet

7. People who are married to their personal preferences

We all like things a certain way. Me too.

But there are people who prefer their personal preferences over your organization’s progress.

The music’s too loud. Too soft…too new…too old. Too…whatever.

Great team members will often sacrifice their personal preferences for the sake of missional progress. Other’s won’t.

If you have someone who continually lets their personal preferences stand in the way of organizational progress, you can’t afford to keep them.

Great team members will often sacrifice their personal preferences for the sake of missional progress. Click To Tweet

Free Church Growth Assessment (Limited Time)

So exactly how healthy is your church? What’s standing in the way of you and a better future?

For a very limited time, I have a free church growth assessment, a personal growth assessment and free training videos you can access, here.

Believe it or not, letting toxic people go can be a catalyst for growth in your church.

While I can’t make a church grow (only God can do that), I would love to help you spot some things that can help you position your church for growth.

That’s what the free training and downloads are all about.

Head on over to Church Growth Masterclass and check that out today, before the free training disappears. Just a few more days!

What Do You See?

Getting your organization healthy can be a significant step to getting it growing.

So next time you face critics who are threatening to walk out the door, don’t ask yourself if you can afford to lose them.

Ask if you can afford to keep them.

It might completely change your approach…and your decisions.

The next time you face people who are threatening to walk out the door, don’t ask yourself if you can afford to lose them. Ask if you can afford to keep them.Click To Tweet

Any other kind of person you can’t afford to keep? Scroll down and leave a comment!

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Source: 7 Kinds of People You Can’t Afford to Keep In Leadership

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by Carey Nieuwhof: It’s easy to believe that there will come a day when your church or organization will never struggle and you’ll never struggle as a leader.

As tempting as that is to believe, it’s just not true.

Every church struggles. And every leader struggles. And—yes—even growing churches struggle.

I outlined the struggles smaller churches experience in my post 5 Tensions Every Small To Mid-Sized Church Leader Feels. Having started ministry in very small churches, I can relate to each of those struggles personally.

But your struggles as a leader or as a church don’t go away when your church starts to grow. They simply change.

I’ve always said I’d rather have the challenges associated with growth than I would the challenges associated with decline (and that’s absolutely true), but it still means you have challenges.

As our church has grown from a handful of people to over 1,500 people who now attend and over 3000 people who call our church home, we’ve navigated all of these challenges. So has almost every church that’s grown. And I’ve felt the same challenges as this blog, my leadership podcast and other things I do have grown.

Here are 9 thing pretty much every leader struggles with as their church or organization starts to grow…

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Source: 9 Surprising Challenges You’ll Face When Your Church Grows

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by Carey Nieuwhof: Ever think that growth will solve all your problems?

It’s tempting to believe that. I know, because I still fall into that line of thinking unless I stop myself.

I’d be the first to admit that I’d rather be part of something that’s growing than something that’s stuck or dying, but growth doesn’t mean your issues disappear.

In fact, leaders of growing organizations just sign up for a new set of problems. While I’ll take those problems any day, they’re still problems.

Having started ministry in very small churches, I can relate to each of these struggles personally.

As our church has grown from a handful of people to 1400 people who now attend and 3000 people who call our church home, we’ve navigated all of these challenges. So has almost every growing church.

What’s true in church is true in any organization or business. We’re even working through rapid growth issues associated with this blog, my writing, and my podcast. You hope and pray people show up, but when they do, you get a whole new set of challenges. As things grow, everything gets more complicated.  It’s the leader’s job to create simplicity in the midst of it all.

Bottom line? Your struggles as a leader or as a church don’t go away when your church or organization starts to grow. They simply change.

Here are 7 things every leader of a growing church or organization struggles with.

Your struggles as a leader don’t go away when your church grows. They simply change. Click To Tweet

1. The senior leader being less available

I began ministry in a church of 6 people (and that was a normal Sunday…a bad Sunday was 2 people). When your church is really small, you’re pretty much available to do anything anyone needs. How can you argue you’re not available when you lead a tiny church?

But as your church grows, you need to begin a transition away from being available all the time. If you don’t, you will implode or your church will stop growing.

You can be generally available to 20 people.

You will wear yourself out trying to be consistently available for 200 people.

You’ll die trying to be available to 2000 people. Frankly, you’ll never even serve that many people because it’s humanly impossible, even if you worked 7 days a week, 20 hours a day. People will just walk away, their calls unanswered and their needs unmet.

As my friend Reggie Joiner says, the problem with needs-based ministry is there’s no end to human need.

Your church will struggle with the pastor being less available as it grows.  But it will struggle even more if you don’t restructure to grow bigger.

To reach more people, you need to be available to fewer people.

I wrote more about scaling your ministry through different stages in my new course, Breaking 200 Without Breaking You.

In order to reach more people you need to be available to fewer people.Click To Tweet

2. The leader not doing everything

A companion of being less available as a church grows is the reality that a pastor can’t do everything.

Many pastors of small churches start out as jacks of all trades: preacher, pastor, chaplain, wedding officiant, funeral officiant, bible study leader, team leader, curriculum designer and even friend who drops by.

When your church is small, it’s natural for the pastor to do almost all the work, because it seems there is no one else available to do it, and no money to outsource it or to hire anyone else.

When I started in ministry, in addition to preaching, teaching and vision casting (my primary gifitings) I also designed and printed the bulletins, created any computer graphics, performed weddings and funerals, visited in hospital, led the church bible study and was actively involved in our kids ministry. I was only mediocre at most things on that list, and terrible at a few.

As our church has grown, my role has become narrower and narrower.

At 200 Pastoral care became a groups and congregational responsibility. So did bible study (which became small groups instead).

At 400, I let go of graphics and design entirely (thankfully).  I also go out of direct involvement in student and children’s ministry as we hired people (I still share the the vision, but no longer own the responsibility).

At 800, I stepped back from leading and attending most meetings and almost everything else to focus on preaching, teaching, vision casting and senior leadership.

The struggle here is dual: you will struggle with letting go, and people will struggle with you letting go.

If you want to grow, you have to let go.

And, of course, as Andy Stanley says, by doing less you’ll accomplish more. Far more.

This sounds like a small thing, but it’s a big thing.

If you want to grow, you have to let go.Click To Tweet

3. Not knowing everyone’s name

People who are part of a small church panic about not knowing everyone’s name as a church grows.

Time to challenge that assumption. Why panic?

Truthfully most people don’t know everyone, even in a church of 50.

Human reality dictates we can only truly know about 5 people deeply and about 20 people well.

Which again leads to small groups and serving teams. You can (and should) organize hundreds and even thousands of people to be known in smaller circles of groups and teams.

The point or church is not for everyone to know everyone. The point is for everyone to be known.

The point of church is not for everyone to know everyone. It’s for everyone to be known.Click To Tweet

I think I have a personal capacity to know between 1,500 to 2,000 people by name and then my mind fries. Our church (and my life) has grown beyond that. At one point I tried to know all of our volunteers by name, but even now, I get stumped (the volunteer name tags really help me).

If you’re leading a growing church, embrace that. Create a church where everyone who wants to be known…is.

You will reach far more people if you do.

Create a church where everyone who wants to be known…is.Click To Tweet

4. Shifting from leading people to leading leaders

If you’re going to lead a growing church effectively, you have to begin leading leaders instead of leading people.

That’s a hard shift for many people, including church staff.

There’s a temptation to want to be known and recognized by everyone you’re leading. The truly great leaders are prepared not to do that.

They realize that their greatest success will be found in leading staff and volunteers who can, in turn, lead others.

Which also means sometimes they get the credit rather than you. Which again, is fine if you’re committed to becoming an effective leader.

If you’re not fine with others receiving the credit, you’ll eventually stunt the church’s growth to the level of your insecurity.

If you struggle with insecurity, by the way, this is an amazing conversation with Josh Gagnon, who leads a top 5 fastest growing church in America and has had to battle his own insecurities in doing so.

But you must shift from leading people to leading leaders if you hope to reach more people.

5. Adding systems

This is a hard one for any entrepreneurial leader (like myself). I love freedom and even spontaneity.

But for your church to ever sustainably pass 500 in attendance, let alone 1000, you have to have systems.

Many entrepreneurial leaders are afraid of systems and structure because they think it means the creation of a bureaucracy.

Bureaucracy stifles mission. Great systems fuel it.

Bureaucracy stifles mission. Great systems fuel it.Click To Tweet

Like an office tower designed to house thousands of people, great systems and structure support the goals of the organization with lean but solid processes around finances, management, discipleship and even the weekend services a church offers.

Without structure, freedom collapses into chaos and disorganization.

The novice leader values freedom from structure. The mature leader values freedom in structure.

Without great systems that foster care for people, you won’t care for people.

Without great systems that foster care for people, you won’t care for people.Click To Tweet

6. Saying no

‘Yes’ gets you to initial growth; ‘No’ gets you to sustained growth.

Many pastoral leaders are people pleasers. As I argue here, that can be deadly.

Most great organizations become effective not just because they decided what they are, but fundamentally because they decided what they are not.

‘Yes’ gets you to initial growth; ‘No’ gets you to sustained growth.Click To Tweet

As you grow, more and more people will show up with ideas about how to make things better.

It’s much easier to say no when you have a clearly defined mission, vision, strategy and culture.

The leader who says yes to everything ultimately says yes to nothing.

The leader who says yes to everything ultimately says yes to nothing.Click To Tweet

7. Dealing with critics

So once you start growing, all the critics will disappear, correct?

Sorry to break the news…but just the opposite. They’ll line up.

You’ll have internal critics who want things to be the way they used to be. After all, the people heading for the Promised Land always want to go back to Egypt.

The people heading for the Promised Land always want to go back to Egypt.Click To Tweet

But the critics are not just internal, growth attracts a growing number of external critics.

Our generation seems to specialize in encouraging leaders and organizations to grow and then criticizing them when they do.

And before you accuse others, there’s a 99% chance you’ve thought or said something negative about a large church pastor you resent.

Growth attracts critics. It just always does.

So how do you process the criticism when you’re the one being criticized?

The best way to process what your critics have to say is to understand why they say it.

First, take whatever good there might in what they said and reflect on it. You’re not perfect. You can learn and develop from it.

But then process why the critics are often so mean-spirited.

What usually fuels a critics’ animosity toward success and growth? Three things:

Jealousy

A need to justify their own lack of progress

Sin

Once you understand that a critic’s arguments are often less about you than they are about them, you’re free to show compassion and even concern for them.

We encourage leaders and organizations to grow and then criticize them when they do.Click To Tweet

A Step-by-Step on Guide on How To Navigate Growth

Despite a leader’s best intentions, often leaders who start things don’t know how to scale things as they grow.

I had to learn the hard way, and have led our church past the 200 barrier well past the 1000 attendance barrier with multiple locations. These are barriers that, despite best intentions, 98% of leaders never pass. In addition, I’m learning how to scale writing and podcasting from hobby level into a team endeavour that’s reaching hundreds of thousands of leaders a month. Scaling isn’t easy, but it’s doable.

Surprisingly, the reasons most leaders don’t scale their ministries aren’t spiritual—they’re structural. It’s the same reason over 99% of businesses stay small—the issues are structural.

Breaking 200 Without Breaking You is a course I’ve created that provides strategies on how to tackle eight practical barriers that keep churches from reaching more than 200 people. And it’s designed so I can walk your entire leadership team or elder board through the issues.

So whether your church is 50, 150 or 250 in attendance, the principles will help you gain the insight you need to break the barrier more than 85% of churches can’t break. Even churches with attendances of 300-500 and multisite churches are finding the material helpful as they try to reach more people.

Click here to get instant access for you and your team.

What Struggles Have You Experienced?

And I’d love to hear from you. What other struggles have you seen or experienced in growing your church or organization?  Scroll down and leave a comment.

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Source: 7 Growth Challenges Every Leader Faces (And How to Overcome Them)

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by Carey Nieuwhof: So you signed up for leadership, but you didn’t really sign up for all the criticism that came with it, did you?

And yet here you are.

Criticism is an almost daily staple for most leaders. You get everything from side comments, to direct challenges, to people who walk out the door, to anonymous notes sent to you by people with no courage.

You dread it. I dread it. Who doesn’t?

In fact, it can completely derail your day, your week, and your work.

So what do you do when it comes your way?

…

The post How To Respond to Critics Like an Emotionally Intelligent Leader Would appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: How To Respond to Critics Like an Emotionally Intelligent Leader Would

The post How To Respond to Critics Like an Emotionally Intelligent Leader Would appeared first on Passion for Planting.