Growing Your Church Through Training and Motivation

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You can't build a head of steam for a weak idea.
—John Cheydleur

L ord, is having a staff a blessing? Or is it just a giant albatross around my neck? Should I fire them all?

In the early '70s, I sat alone one night in a diner in East Orange, New Jersey, and prayed those silent but seeking questions. The staff of our combined church/community center had grown from three to twelve in just over two years, and I was now responsible for a whole new area of ministry—motivating and managing a staff.

While it seemed that God needed all of these people for our ministry, they were a drain on me—a drain on my time, my emotions, my life. I didn't feel qualified to be responsible for so many lives. Besides, my personal ministry seemed to be suffering in direct proportion to the amount of time I was spending in "caretaking" the staff members.

Gary, for example, was a good coordinator, a compassionate assistant pastor, and a wise counselor beyond his years. However, among other momentum-stopping irritations, he usually picked the time right after the Sunday morning services to involve me in complex questions about the politics and procedures of the church. It was the very moment when I needed to be giving my attention to members of the congregation I hadn't seen during the week. It seemed to me, in light of Gary's obvious abilities, that he should help me to reach out to individual members of the church rather than "bug me" about philosophical and organizational matters at an inappropriate time.

God answered my prayer. I found myself being introduced to pastors of larger churches who faced similar problems and were interested in helping me. Management books jumped out at me as I stood in front of bookshelves. Though I viewed certain motivational ...

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