Your Next Church* - June 4th, 2008

When Barry Bonds finally broke the home run record this fall many sportswriters and fans called for the record to be marked with an asterisk to denote that many of his home runs resulted from the use of performance enhancing substances. Bonds disputed the asterisk tag and recently declared he would reject an induction into Baseball’s Hall of Fame if his record breaking home run ball received an asterisk.And as the New England Patriots progress toward a perfect season, the Spygate scandal shrouds their success and again commentators and fans are calling for their season to be marked with an asterisk to identify the underhanded tactics of head coach Bill Belichick even though NFL league commissioner already punished Belichick and the Patriots.The obvious purpose of the asterisk is to caution the observer to “read between the lines” for the back story and to raise doubts about the validity of the record.

When a leader is looking to transition to a new ministry the desire to leave is often so strong that almost any new opportunity looks appealing–especially on Monday morning. The allure of a new opportunity can blind a leader from looking “under the covers” to scrutinize the opportunity objectively to see if it’s a right fit for his strengths. For any leader who is looking to move, my caution is to look at every potential church from an asterisk point of view and examine both the visible and hidden cultures of the church.Remember if the other church was perfect, it wouldn’t be pastor-less and recognize that many problems in ministry are common to every church, because people are basically the same wherever you go.

Here are some suggestions to help you see your next church more clearly:

• Know yourself–identify your personal strengths and leadership style to better understand the types of churches that would be a good match. 
• Ask questions–a quality search team develops a list of questions they feel are important to ask during the interview. Likewise, you should develop a standard list of questions to ask each search team to help you better evaluate the various opportunities. Don’t be afraid to interview the search team to learn more about the church’s vision for the future, their philosophy of ministry and their view on the role and responsibilities of the position you have applied for.
• Secure information–create a list of documents that you want to see to learn more, such as their bylaws and constitution and board meeting notes to see how they are governed and where they have focused their attention in the past.
• Don’t underestimate the differences–in the midst of a rapid process, it is important to make sure both sides understand each other and clarify possible points of contention. Just like in marriage, you cannot assume the differences will dissolve once the union is complete.
• Take your time–each search team is trying to accomplish their task as quickly and effectively as possible. There is typically a self-induced urgency to identify the right leader. Without appearing difficult, make sure the pace of decision making matches your timetable. Once a decision is made to move and an announcement is made, it is nearly impossible to reverse the process, so take your time and make sure the move is a great fit for you and your family.

Looking at every possible church from an asterisk perspective will slow you down long enough to pray for wisdom and discernment and to evaluate the opportunities before you to make a good decision. 3:STRANDS provides personal coaching to help you leave at the right time in the right way and to select the ministry that best matches your personal strengths, skills, passions and personality.