Always be proactive in your leadership. Be deliberate in assigning specific tasks to specific people. Don’t make decisions without allowing people affected to participate. Get in front of rumors before they take control of the church.
Lecture Outline Detailed Outline Remember ItIf tasks are not assigned to a specific individual, everyone will think someone else is doing the work when no one is. For example, someone in the church is facing a life-and-death operation. Each elder thinks another elder will do a visit to the hospital to pray before the operation. But no one is assigned the task, so no one goes. Everyone thinks someone else was going to go.
The apostles said clearly, “It is not right for us to give up preaching the Word of God to serve tables.” The apostles assigned the Seven a specific job, laid hands upon them and released them to do their job. They gave them the authority to collect and distribute money.
When you give people work to do, let them know your vision, your beliefs, your passion, and any change of direction or policy. Let people know how they fit into the overall program of the church. Communicate these matters regularly and clearly. Don’t assume people can read your mind.
- Why should you never spring important decisions on people who have a vested interest in your decision? Give a real-life example of this happening to you.
- What does the speaker mean by the phrase “stop the rumor mill before it stops you?”
- Can you give an example from your own experience of elders allowing the rumor mill to take over the church?
- In the book Meetings that Work: A Guide to Effective Elders’ Meetings by Alexander Strauch, read the quotation on page 39 to all your fellow elders. It is entitled, “That’s Not My Job.” Discuss how this has affected your effectiveness as a group of elders.
Meetings that Work: A Guide to Effective Elders’ Meetings, by Alexander Strauch