On my most recent trip, I wrapped up Management Rewired by Charles S. Jacobs. Jacobs takes a look at recent brain research to address some myths of leading people that leaders may have erroneously embraced in the past. As examples, he talks about emotions versus logic in decision-making. He addresses the failure of positive or negative reinforcement to improve performance. He addresses the lack of long-term effectivenes of the authoritarian-style of leadership, instead suggesting that leaders cast a compelling vision through the use of communication and stories to empower self-managed teams.

Here are some of the highlights that challenged my thinking:

• “Using stories to change behavior is more effective than logical declarations.”
• “Leadership isn’t about forcing people to do our bidding, but about telling a story so that they want to do what we need.”
• “The study reviewed pay-for-performance programs, which are a fixture of most corporations, and found no linkage between pay and performance.”
• “Leaders who inspire outperform any other kind.”
• “The more experiential the vision is, the more powerful it will be, so the achievement of the vision should be made as tangible as possible.”
• “People are going to embrace a story to make sense of their experience.”
• “It’s important for the leader to let the followers feel the competitive pressure, but not to the extent that it makes them insecure.”
• “Given the failure of reward and punishment and other extrinsic ways of motivating behavior, managers have no choice but to consistently put the responsibility for performance back on their people.”
• “In a mental world, it is ideas that shape behavior, and it is the transformational leader’s job to package the right kind of ideas into a story and to effectively communicate it to the organization.”
• “The kind of leadership that works is more humble and therefore more empathetic.”
• “Our decisions, no matter what we think to the contrary, are made as much by our emotions as our logic.”
• “It’s the role of the transformational leader to create the story that identifies the kind of change needed and to present it in a way that is meaningful and moving. It should align the needs of the individual with those of the organization, so that people see the necessary changes as a way to meet their desire to be part of something bigger than themselves and realize their fullest potential.”
• “The best leaders are emotionally expressive.”
• “The strongest are often the ones who come across as the most humble, for, given the potential for relationship effects, leaders must step down from their pedestals so that followers don’t become overly dependent.”
• “It’s so quick and so easy to tell people what to do or to tell them how badly they’re doing it. It takes longer to come up with questions to help them decide what to do or realize that their performance isn’t cutting it, but the questions produce a better result. Questions build commitment and overcome the resistance to being controlled.”
• “When we tap into the stories others are telling themselves, we gain a clearer understanding of who they are and why they do what they do.”
• “Stories are the most useful tool we have in the mental world. They have a unique power to sneak up on people and change the way they think and behave.”

If you are interested in reading more, you can purchase Management Rewired using my Amazon link.

Last week I started a series of posts on engaging volunteers in ministry. Let me conclude that series by offering this interview with Mark Waltz, the Pastor of Connections at Granger Community Church. Mark, among other things, champions ministry connections at Granger. What’s amazing about the ministry culture at Granger is that there are over 5,000 people attending the church and more than 45% of the church (including kids) is in a serving role. I was curious to learn more about how that has happened, so here’s the interview.

TONY: Tell me about your role at Granger Community Church.

MARK: My role is about people. I’m ultimately responsible for environments that facilitate relationships and growth. Those environments include guest services, groups, classes, volunteer teams, and care ministries. Some call it assimilation. I personally hate that word. No one wants to be assimilated. People are interested in meeting others; people want to make a contribution; people do care about personal growth; people really want to belong. My team and our volunteers are about just that – helping people belong.

TONY: Over 45% of the people who attend Granger, serve in a volunteer role. That’s very high compared to other churches. In your opinion, what’s driving that?

MARK: Ultimately, volunteering is perceived as “normal.” The expectation that ministry is accomplished by people – not merely pastors – is part of our culture. That started nearly 24 years ago when Mark Beeson planted the church. That started with vision: a vision that the people are the church, they own the ministry.

There is also a compelling vision that calls people to something. Something worth giving their lives to… worth their very lives. Again, people want to make a significant contribution; they want their lives to count. Creating clear and accessible onramps allows people to do what they want to do. Schedules that are varied, roles that are “chunked” and values that respect people make for an engaging team culture.

TONY: As Granger has experienced growth, has your strategy for moving people into serving roles changed?

MARK: Our goal has always been the same: make it normal and easy to volunteer. But, yes, our specific strategies have shifted and evolved over the years. We’ve tried connecting people via the weekend program (bulletin). We’ve hosted “ministry fairs” and “volunteer expos.” We’ve used the web.

A year or so ago we borrowed an idea from Fellowship Church, got creative with our own label, and now host periodic “VolunTOUR” opportunities. Guests and members can tour the campus, getting a “behind the scenes” view of the many “first serve” volunteer roles at Granger. We’ve seen the best results with this strategy. It won’t be our last though. I’m sure it’ll change again.

TONY: How would you challenge both staff and volunteer leaders to improve how they build volunteer teams?

MARK: While there’s a clear task to be performed, keep your focus on people. When the focus tilts heavily to “task,” people catch it. You have quotas to fill, a job to do, recruitment to accomplish. No one wants to be assimilated. When you focus on people, you invite. You cast vision for what can be. You invite people to that vision.

I’ve also watched people – staff and volunteers – lose their own passion and enthusiasm for the very thing they’re inviting people to join. This happens because the task becomes the end-all. It also happens because people forget the “why.” We do what we do because people matter to God, because God’s invited us to his agenda of redemption in the world. Forget that, you forget people. Forget people, you’re left with a task you no longer understand.

Finally, invite people to ownership. Invite them to leverage their own gifts, personality and passion to accomplish together what the leader could never do alone.

TONY: What trends do you see in culture that might impact the number of people serving in our churches?

MARK: Don’t miss this: people are already busy before they encounter our menu of church choices. Their choices – their “menus” – are filled with appointments, work, kid’s practices, and a host of volunteer options in the community. Two trends emerge from this reality.

First of all, people have full schedules. The vision will have to be crystal clear and dead-on compelling to cause people to re-evaluate and reprioritize their schedules to volunteer in and around the ministry of the church.

Secondly, when volunteering is done selflessly, from a motive to honor Christ and honor people, it’s no greater service performed in the local church than it is in a community school or civic organization. I’m not suggesting that every community organization is tied into the eternal, kingdom work that the church embraces. However, a cup of cold water offered in Jesus’ name is a cup of cold water – whether it’s at Grace Chapel or the local Red Cross.

Both of these trends – pace and place – will impact the number of people serving in the local church. Perhaps our challenge is to redefine the face and scope of the local church in our community and world. Maybe, just maybe, the church really is people. And when those people serve in local schools, the Red Cross, the soup kitchen and the Job Corps, it really is the work of the “church.”

To hear more about Mark has to offer about connecting people in ministry and helping them belong, I encourage you to pick up his most recent book, Lasting Impressions.

• 5:57 PM tonymorganlive - as you might guess, donald is opening his talk with a story.
• 5:59 PM tonymorganlive - “a story is a character that wants something and overcomes conflict to get it.”
• 6:01 PM tonymorganlive - “what’s meaningful in a story is meaningful because it’s meaningful in life.”
• 6:01 PM tonymorganlive - “story has unbelievable power to engage the human brain.”
• 6:05 PM tonymorganlive - “we sit down with the text and ask, ‘what’s in it for me?’ what if it’s just about God?”
• 6:12 PM tonymorganlive - “a character in story is only what they actually do.”
• 6:19 PM tonymorganlive - “conflict is in fact very, very beautiful. a story cannot be meaningful unless it includes conflict.”
• 6:21 PM tonymorganlive - “you were designed to be the person who walks around naked and doesn’t know it. no offense, but i don’t want you to be the person God designed you to be.”
• 6:23 PM tonymorganlive - “conflict is the only way a character changes in a story. the only way a person becomes better is through pain.”
• 6:23 PM tonymorganlive - “pain changes us.”
• 6:24 PM tonymorganlive - “conflict lends value to that which we want to attain.”
• 6:28 PM tonymorganlive - “conflict has to take place in your life in order for life to have meaning.”
• 6:29 PM tonymorganlive - “your conversion experience is not the climax of the story. the conflict continues.”
• 6:33 PM tonymorganlive - “the number one way you and i consume stories is through each other.”

• 3:04 PM tonymorganlive - “i have always treasured a good story.”
• 3:07 PM tonymorganlive - nancy is sharing quotes from a book. sorry. didn’t catch name of it or author.
• 3:09 PM tonymorganlive - “i wish Jesus had stayed in the grave for about a week, because it would have made it easier for us artists.” (talking about programming for Good Friday and Easter Sunday services)
• 3:12 PM tonymorganlive - “there’s never been an age that hasn’t produced fairy tales.”
• 3:14 PM tonymorganlive - “there’s a child lurking in everyone of us.”
• 3:17 PM tonymorganlive - now hearing holly laurent read a story.

• 2:45 PM tonymorganlive - (listening to john ortberg here…one of my favorite communicators.)
• 2:48 PM tonymorganlive - “am i willing to hear the story of this world?”
• 2:49 PM tonymorganlive - “it’s so easy to get focused on me and my story.”
• 2:52 PM tonymorganlive - (fyi… my friends from monvee.com were across the hall from my lunch session where john ortberg was also speaking. the smart people chose ortberg over me for lunch.)
• 2:53 PM tonymorganlive - “shalom means ‘the way God wants things to be.’”
• 2:57 PM tonymorganlive - “God, your Kingdom come. Your will be done.”
• 2:58 PM tonymorganlive - “die to your old story and become part of a bigger story.”

• 12:34 PM tonymorganlive - “words only point us someplace.”
• 12:34 PM tonymorganlive - “tell the creation story rather than fighting how long a ‘day’ is.”
• 12:39 PM tonymorganlive - “teach the narrative of Scripture rather than reducing it to propositions.”
• 12:39 PM tonymorganlive - “i love Chicago. i hate the Cubs.”
• 12:40 PM tonymorganlive - “the world should have more one-armed truck drivers.”
• 12:46 PM tonymorganlive - “the Bible is not your sword to pick up and hit people with.”
• 12:50 PM tonymorganlive - “we need not propositionalize everything.”
• 12:51 PM tonymorganlive - “we’re not tired because we’re doing too much. we’re tired because we’re doing the wrong things.”
• 12:58 PM tonymorganlive - “there’s no one more inclusive than Jesus.”
• 12:59 PM tonymorganlive - “we must call sin ‘sin.’ but we can’t say, “deal with this first, and then we’ll deal with you.’”

• 12:56 PM tonymorganlive - dave just took the platform…and he’s reading a funny story.
• 1:00 PM tonymorganlive - “we desire to connect.”
• 1:00 PM tonymorganlive - “we desire to connect with a person and a dialogue.”
• 1:02 PM tonymorganlive - “we define success at our churches by size and amount of our budgets.”
• 1:02 PM tonymorganlive - “what would happen if we focused 80% of our money on impacting our cities?”
• 1:04 PM tonymorganlive - “we don’t share out of pain. we share out of success.”
• 1:08 PM tonymorganlive - “when there’s personal revelation of your weakness, it releases the power of the Holy Spirit.”
• 1:11 PM tonymorganlive - “when you think about discipling someone, is it really true that you have everything they need?” (talking about discipleship strategy in churches)
• 1:13 PM tonymorganlive - “we’re not listening to people’s stories and watching where the voice of the Holy Spirit intersects them.”
• 1:16 PM tonymorganlive - “what should people be uncomfortable about?”
• 1:19 PM tonymorganlive - “love’s a choice.”
• 1:21 PM tonymorganlive - “be real with the pain. start confessing your sin.”

• 11:36 AM tonymorganlive - ed is telling a story to open the first message from Story 09.
• 11:39 AM tonymorganlive - “the Bible is all about rescue.”
• 11:40 AM tonymorganlive - “the radically rescued should rescue the radicals.”
• 11:43 AM tonymorganlive - “everybody wants to reach to people until you start reaching people.”
• 11:46 AM tonymorganlive - “i love to rhyme when i’m speaking.” (no kidding…)
• 11:51 AM tonymorganlive - “i would rather have people choose to volunteer over being in a small group.”
• 11:52 AM tonymorganlive - “who are you reaching?”
• 11:53 AM tonymorganlive - rather than “how many people are showing up?”
• 11:53 AM tonymorganlive - “chaos is good.”
• 11:56 AM tonymorganlive - “usually staff members want to hire people to do their job.”
• 11:56 AM tonymorganlive - “we would rather pay for it than get volunteers.”
• 12:01 PM tonymorganlive - “be active in sharing your faith.”
• 12:03 PM tonymorganlive - “let people share their rescue story.”
• 12:04 PM tonymorganlive - “leverage your passion for a purpose” to reach people.
• 12:05 PM tonymorganlive - “people pray some dumb prayers.”

This week we’re focusing on volunteering. The first couple of posts have been on serving inside the church. Today, we’re going to take a look at a church that is also strongly encouraging folks to serve outside the church. With that in mind, here’s an interview with Dino Rizzo, the senior pastor of Healing Place Church.

TONY: What’s the serving culture like at Healing Place Church?

DINO: Our culture of serving here at Healing Place Church really just began with felt-needs. We’d see a widow in need, and do what we could to help her. Today, widows, single moms and the elderly are still a big part of how we serve, but now it has taken on a “Second-Mile” mentality more than ever. One of our teaching pastors wrote about this mindset (The Second Mile by Mike Haman) and it has truly become a picture of the culture of serving here – always looking to go to extra lengths to address needs. It took what we were doing, and shifted us into the next gear.

TONY: Why is it so important to you to move people into serving roles at the church?

DINO: I believe it is the difference between life and death in the Church. When a church turns inward, it is only a matter of time until they become a non-factor in their community. We have a mandate to move people to serving the cause of Jesus.  Serving that cause can happen in a thousand different ways, but we must not allow Church to turn inward.

TONY: What is a “servolution?”

DINO: A servolution is a significant change in the course of history sparked by simple acts of kindness. It is a revolution; not one that is fueled by anger, violence and revolt, but one of compassion, love and service.  This revolution has a clear mission to answer the cries of the poor, the hurting and the forgotten, and is made up of revolutionaries willing to lay down their lives to reach out to people in their city, their nation, and throughout the world.  This is a revolution aimed at initiating change, but not by overthrowing a government; this change comes by bringing healing to a hurting world, and by loving people to Christ.  This is a revolution of serving others…a servolution.  The troops are followers of Christ, the companies of soldiers are churches, and the weapons are towels for service.

TONY: Now that the book, Servolution, has been out for a few months, what’s the best story you’ve heard from another church?

DINO: Well, it’s tough to say one is “better” than the rest, but here’s one that really gives a good picture of what is happening over and over at churches across the world. It is from a volunteer named Curt at a church in Austin, Texas.

Curt said they decided to plan “a Servolution-style event, not only for the benefit of reaching the local community, but also to show our staff and members by example what could be done if we really focused on community outreach.”

So they did a free car wash, and gave away free hotdogs and cold drinks. “Less than halfway through, we had already done 75 cars and blown through all 150 hotdogs and all cold drinks.  Runners were sent to the store to buy replacement food.  By the end of the four hours we ended up washing 160 cars… Volunteers came out like I would not have imagined.  We had 49 adult volunteers, all wearing the bright red Servolution shirts….”

He continued, “The people we were serving just couldn’t believe that there wasn’t a catch.  It was SOOO much fun telling them that there was no catch, and that we wouldn’t take their money if they tried.  Many called their friends and family to come get their car washed, which was perfect!  ….More often than not, the guest would end up asking questions about the church, which we were more than happy to answer.”

He said at least one family that had learned about the church through the event was at the church the next Sunday.  And he said, “Probably the biggest surprise of all was the response from the volunteers.  Most people said that it was the MOST fun they’ve ever had at a church activity of any kind.”

Getting people to experience the joy of serving, helping people see that church is a place they can feel welcomed to, meeting people where they have a need, and giving them the chance to encounter Jesus – that’s what servolution is all about. And what’s cool is that Curt’s story is one of many that are happening all over. We’ve got a steady stream of Servolution stories coming in. You can check them out to see for yourself.

TONY: What specific advice would you give senior pastors to encourage folks to step into serving roles?

DINO: You have to lead by example. We’ve all heard the saying, “As goes the leader, so goes the church.” It is so true. We have to be out front. Pastors must lead the way in sweating, crying, praying, cheering, encouraging, and telling the story of the heart to serve. And, you really can’t delegate it away, either.  A servant’s towel must fit the hand of the pastor as well as the college and high school students.

TONY: What’s next for Servolution?

DINO: We’re already in the planning stages for a special nationwide Servolution in Spring 2010. It’ll be similar to the “7 Days of Servolution” earlier this year. Stay tuned to Servolution.org for details.

In this second installment in my series on volunteers in the church, I decided to do a little undercover investigation. I found an individual giving considerable amounts of time to a church in a volunteer leadership role. To get this top secret interview, I promised not to divulge his/her identity or the name of the church.

TONY: Why do you volunteer at your church?

UNNAMED VOLUNTEER: My volunteering begins with my basic belief in Christ.  If what I believe is true, it changes everything.  My purpose is to seek to understand the gifts I’ve been given and how to best apply that to my day-to-day living to help people take steps toward Christ.  By volunteering, I have the opportunity to do this. Whether it be in media productions, leading a small group, or leading a team of people to push a new initiative, my drive to volunteer is a sense of fulfilling the purpose God has for me.  Without the foundation of faith, volunteering would probably be more selfish in nature.

TONY: How did you land in your current volunteer role?

UNNAMED VOLUNTEER: My latest volunteer role really stemmed from pursuing my strengths over time and working to be a reliable volunteer.  As a volunteer director, I was specifically asked and recommended for the role because of my work experience, my years of previous volunteering, and working hard to respect and be in alignment with our leaders at our church.

TONY: You have a full-time job. You’re a spouse and parent. How many hours a week do you serve and how do you make time for that?

UNNAMED VOLUNTEER: Depending on the week, volunteering can encompass 5-20 hours per week, typically averaging 12-15 currently.  Whenever possible, I look to find ways to include my family in what I volunteer for and create overlaps.  There was a point in time I asked a question to myself, “What are the least productive five hours in my week?  Could I exchange those for something of greater purpose and value?” My [spouse] and I talk about our commitments first. We work together to find balance and manage the give and take of volunteering.

TONY: What are some things staff leaders can do to set volunteers up for success?

UNNAMED VOLUNTEER:

• Value their time. Don’t create opportunities to serve that are mismanaged with people standing around with nothing to do, or simply giving people busy work.  Have a clear plan with real initiatives and tasks to get done.
• Communicate the vision. Over time, volunteers can become numb to what they do and miss the impact of what they’re doing. Remind them, “Because of what you’re doing, more people are going to be able to _______.”
• Give them guardrails they can operate within. Are there budget limitations?  Places we can’t go?  Things we shouldn’t say?  When people are volunteering their time, allowing them to screw something up because they weren’t given some guardrails can deflate them and render them powerless.
• Really be a study of your volunteers. Work hard to make sure they are serving in an area of passion and giftedness.  Many of us are blind to some of the things we naturally do well. If you can help us find those things and redirect us to other areas where we can serve, it will create huge divendends. The opposite is true too. Pushing people into positions because you’re more worried about getting the task done instead of whether or not it’s a good fit can suck the life out of your volunteers.

TONY: And, more specifically, what can staff leaders do to better empower volunteer leaders?

UNNAMED VOLUNTEER:

• Leaders can lead when they know they have your support and room to experiment. They need room to fail versus being micro-managed and having to be overly cautious. Our nature is to want to have control over everything, especially in ministry. What are ways you can give freedom to great leaders who may do things differently but could surprise you with greater results than you imagined?
• Pick a few big, hairy, audacious goals and appoint a volunteer leader to climb the mountain. Allow a volunteer to have that opportunity rather than hiring a staff person.  Creating a culture to first choose volunteers instead of adding staff empowers people to have a direct hand in the ministry being accomplished. The greater your ability to effectively give away ministry to volunteers, the greater the engagement of the people in your church.
• Tell them the non-negotiables, the guardrails, up front. Cast the vision of where you want to go, and then get out of the way.
• Be available as needed to give input, assess and brainstorm with your volunteer leader. There are times when I simply need to review a bulleted list of questions and thoughts with a staff member so I can confidently keep leading and pushing the vision.

Are there any unpaid servants in the crowd? If so, what’s your reaction to this interview? Where do Unnamed Volunteer’s thoughts resonate with you? Do you take exception to anything that was shared?