A Short-Long Balancing Act for Church Leaders

Orginally published on Monday, February 26, 2007 at 1:00 PM
by Todd Rhoades

Pastors are chronically tempted to succumb to the tyranny of the urgent, given the nature of church life. Yet thinking long term is essential for vision development and organizational health. The solution isn’t either/or but both/and...

American business tends to be very near-sighted, focusing on short- term results, and yet there’s the need for long-term preparation as well. In their BusinessWeek column (February 19, 2007), Jack and Suzy Welch recently addressed this precarious balance, saying, “Anyone can manage for the short term, and anyone can manage for the long term. The mark of a leader is someone who has the rigor, vision, and courage to do both simultaneously.”

So what does this look like for a pastor or ministry leader? The best rule of thumb is to aim for the 80/20 rule. Look ruthlessly at your calendar and your staff, board, and ministry meeting agendas, and dedicate 20 percent of your time to long-term issues—those that are more than six months out. This doesn’t mean merely putting events or sermon series on the calendar that far in advance. It’s more a matter of taking time to discuss overall direction, strategy, and values.

Most churches invest more than 95 percent of their meeting times in dealing with managerial matters, putting out fires, planning events, and prepping for the next Sunday. Leaders can’t afford to put that many eggs in the short-term basket. When you look at your past month’s schedule, was 20 percent of the time proactively invested in long-term issues, or was almost all your time spent reactively on more immediate matters?

Long-term topics also have to do with staff development (paid or unpaid). In their column, the Welches say, “Take the example of managing people, a true short-long balancing act. Of course you want to motivate your team to deliver immediate results. You can do that with incentives and rewards, clear goals, and a passionate attitude. But you can never stop thinking about developing your people, too. That means sending them to internal training programs or outside courses, giving them different experiences and stretch assignments, and encouraging them to take risks.”

This becomes extra-challenging in the church, where many on your staff are volunteers who only have a small amount of time to give, amidst work, family, and other commitments. To “waste” time with training and ministry-skill development might not appear to be good stewardship, but leaders need to communicate the importance of training and the direct link between being well-prepared and being able to provide exemplary service.

Do you have initial training for ministry team members? How often do you provide ongoing training for ministry team members (Sunday school teachers, board members, worship leaders, youth workers, office staff, and so on)? Quarterly training times are a good norm for regular ministry workers. Establish value, make sure the training is excellent, and don’t apologize for it. Sharp people will appreciate it, and less-than-sharp people desperately need it.

Savvy pastors and ministry leaders must be perpetually making room in their busy schedules to do training, provide for dreaming, and do strategic planning, all of which determine whether you’ll enter Promised Lands or wander the wilderness, revisiting the landscapes of yesterday or veering aimlessly into the future.

Alan Nelson is the executive editor of Rev! Magazine (www.rev.org), the author of a dozen books, and has been a pastor for 20 years. You can reach him at . You can subscribe to the Rev! Weekly Leadership Update here.

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