Bottom of the Ninth

The NACDB's 2009 Certified Church Consultant training event is over. Now the real work begins! I'm not referring to the test, or the case study, or the thesis project. Yes, all the participants have additional work to do in order to complete the requirements of the certification. But the real work, engaging churches where they are at in order to help them move forward, is just beginning.

All week long I've been posting excerpts from "7 Practices of Effective Ministry", a book by Andy Stanley and the leadership team at Northpoint ministries. To wrap up the week, and look ahead, here is a summary of those seven practices.

1. Clarify the Win fuels your momentum




2. Think Steps, not Programs protects your alignment




3. Narrow the Focus points you toward excellence




4. Teach Less for More guarantees that you stay relevant




5. Listen to Outsiders keeps you focused on growth




6. Replace Yourself assures you of longevity




7. Work on It positions you for discovery

Church leader, the game is still on! If you are challenged in some of the areas above, it's time to act on that. The pitch is coming your way: step up to the plate, keep your eye on the ball, and swing away!

Play Ball!

Crossing Home Plate

Celebrate the Win

Take time to evaluate your work – and to celebrate your wins

Questions to Ask/Actions to Take

Does your present meeting structure allow time for sharing learning experiences? What percentage of your meetings is spent simply downloading information?

Discuss ways you can effectively encourage learning throughout your organization.

Make a list of issues your team needs to discuss that don’t directly impact what happens in your weekly activities.

Would the members of your organization say that their contributions are valued and that time is taken to properly honor these contributions? In what areas and what ways could you improve in this area?

Identify a specific win you could celebrate with your team. What would that celebration look like? Now put it on the calendar!

Adapted from "7 Practices of an Effective Church" by Andy Stanley and the leadership team at Northpoint Ministries

Advancing to Third Base

Communicate Less for More Impact

Say only what you need to say to the people who need to hear it

Fours Steps to Communicate Less for More Impact
1. Decide what you are going to say
2. Decide to say one thing at a time
3. Decide how you are going to say it
4. Say it over and over again

Questions to Ask/Actions to Take

Identify a handful of must-know, can’t-be-without principles (irreducible minimums) for each target group of your organization.

State your irreducible minimums in a creative way that your team members can remember.

Practice crafting in a memorable way the “bottom line” you hoped to communicate in a recent presentation.

Evaluate a recent presentation and identify which elements did not complement the focus of the presentation. Remember, the goal is for everything to reinforce the bottom line. If you were approaching the same opportunity next week, what could you change to effectively communicate less for more impact?

Brainstorm some new tools or creative elements you can use to enhance your next presentation.

Adapted from "7 Practices of Effective Ministry" by Andy Stanley and the leadership team at Northpoint Ministries

Stealing Second Base

Narrow the Focus


Do fewer things in order to make a greater impact



Narrowing your focus means you must resist complexity and pursue simplicity.

Narrowing your focus means creating environments as distinctive brands.
· The more you focus, the greater the relevance to you client’s needs
· The more you focus, the better the connection with your client
· The more you focus, the higher the quality of service delivered
· The more you focus, the stronger the impact on your client

Questions to Ask

Identify any activities in your organization that are providing the same step. Which one has the greatest potential to become more effective if you eliminate the other?

Is there an effective practice or process that you should eliminate because it is preventing a more important activity from becoming more effective?

Are there activities, practices, or processes that have become barriers to excellence at your organization?

Create a “not-to-do” list outlining activities your organization shouldn’t do. In other words, decide now what you will never do.

Try to attach a word or short phrase to each of your different services to “brand” its distinctiveness in the minds of your staff.

Assign each person on your team to describe, in one sentence each, every other team member’s primary contribution to the organization. Share and discuss each list.

Adapted from "7 Practices of Effective Ministry" by Andy Stanley and the leadership team of North Point Ministries

Getting On Base

Think Steps

Before you start anything, make sure it takes you where you need to go

Steps: one of a series of actions, processes, or measures taken to achieve a goal

How to create an effective step
· Every step should be easy
· Every step has to be obvious
· Every step must be strategic

Questions you should be asking:

What is the ultimate destination your organization provides for clients?

How can you create a “road map” outlining the steps that lead clients to this destination?

Are there any steps that need to be eliminated because they don’t take clients where you want them to go?

What steps may be need to be created to help clients get to the desired destination more effectively?

Are there steps that take clients where you want them to go but have not been clearly communicated?


Part 2 of 5 from the NACDB CCC training event - adapted from "7 Practices of Effective Ministry", by Andy Stanley

In the On-Deck Circle

I'm at the Texas Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, where the offices for the National Association of Church Design Builders are located. Today we kick off the sixth annual training event for our group, with the goal of becoming a Certified Church Consultant. I was part of the inaugural class in 2004 and have had the privilege of being involved in leadership in every event since.



Our theme this year: Fielding a Winning Design-Build Team. The three jam-packed days of learning include a review of every process that goes into a church building process, from initial dream to completed building - and beyond! We will be also be introducing four principles for consultants to apply to their companies and to the church clients they work with. So, let's get started by heading to the on deck circle!

Clarify the Win

Define what is important at every level of the organization

When you don’t clarify the win:

• As long as the win is unclear, you force your team to guess what a win looks like
• If the win is unclear, you may force those in leadership roles to define winning in their own terms

The advantages of clarifying the win:

• When you clarify the win, you help your team stay on the same page
• When you clarify the win, you can manage your resources more effectively
• When you clarify the win, it creates the potential for positive momentum
  

Four steps to clarifying the win

1. Sum up the win in a simple phrase
2. Keep the win as specific as possible
3. Restate the win frequently and creatively
4. Meet to clarify the win at every level

This material has been adapted from the book "7 Practices of Effective Ministry" by Andy Stanley and his team at Northpoint Ministries. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it as a great leadership text for your team to read - and apply!