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TechnoratiDelegating is more than just passing off work. You need to understand what the task is all about and what the person is good at, and then get them together. Delegating is all about freeing and equipping people to be creative in the ways they accomplish the goal.
We have some great volunteer teams at Saddleback. I benefit from some of them on a regular basis. My chief of staff, David Chrzan, coordinates a number of volunteer teams, including a research team made up of gifted individuals who scour printed and electronic sources for examples and stories I can use in my sermons.
Another team creates executive summaries of books as a ministry. This book summary ministry is one that the team members suggested and created themselves. The man who heads that team is a retired advertising executive. He knows where he’s gifted. And he sought out a way to use that gifting to lighten his pastor’s load.
In delegating, we as leaders give up some control. But we gain far more in benefits from the limitless creativity and energy created by surrounding ourselves with willing, gifted helpers.
A leader’s measure of success
In our ministry we’ve identified five purposes that God gives to the church:
· Membership
· Maturity
· Ministry
· Missions
· Magnification (worship)
We can measure our success as pastors, as leaders, if all five of these are in balance. Balance in these critical measures indicates a healthy church. Imbalance, on the other hand, indicates a sick church.
I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: no one leader can give his all to all five purposes. So, it is our responsibility as pastor/shepherd to discern our gift and then select gifted believers (laypeople or staff) to fill those other purposes.
You see, pastor as minister is really a misnomer. Actually, every believer is a minister. Every believer is responsible to use his or her spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality and experiences to benefit God’s Kingdom. It is the leader’s responsibility to identify that S.H.A.P.E. and help fit it into a compatible ministry. That’s when we’re at our most successful as under-shepherds. That’s when we’re most closely following the servant-leader example of our Master.
Until next time,
Rick
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Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and best-known churches. In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose-Driven Life and The Purpose-Driven Church, which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century. He is also founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for ministers. Copyright 2005 Pastors.com, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Adapted from Rick Warren's Ministry ToolBox, a free weekly e-newsletter for pastors and church leaders, available at Pastors.com.
