I wish Steve would unpack a bit more what he means by lazy.  I know it is a broad brush generalization (which I’ve often criticized people for doing here on MMI), but I do think some descriptors like smug, arrogant, or condescending, self-righteous fit the image Christians have created of themselves, and then blame the bad press on the secular media.  And I completely agree that such a posture makes us look like victims and causes us to lose credibility.  We earn the bad image and then whine when the secular media portrays us as we really are.

Now . . . I admit that sometimes the secular media misrepresents Christians, but I don’t think it helps anything for us to get all whipped up about that.  What should we expect, the things of God are foolish to the world.  Grace doesn’t make sense.  Neither does much of a biblical worldview to people who view the world through different lenses.  Let’s not be mad at them about that, lets just love people into the kingdom so their lenses change.

Wendi

In my years of working with churches on media & communications, I’ve met a lot of hard-working folks. But I’ve also been involved as a consultant with more than a few churches where they had a staff member who either didn’t work smart or was flat-out lazy.

The former situations usually revolved around either a person who was living proof of the Peter-Principle (promoted above their level of competency) or a well-meaning but disorganized staff member who put in a lot of hours but was habitually late on projects and didn’t know how to delegate well. Lots of hours does not make a person a hard-worker: productive hours are the true measuring stick.

Then there are those staff I’ve encountered who were flat-out lazy. They did as little as possible and complained about all of the “work” they had to do. I worked with on such person while I was on staff at a church in Louisiana. The inside joke on staff was that the lazy guy had to have naked pictures of the pastor since every other staff member was routinely subjected to a productivity review by the senior pastor - except for this one lazy staff member.

I think that Wendi’s comment about the need to expand on “lazy” does need more definition in the context of Steve’s article. For example, there are staff members who were competent and motivated when the church was smaller but are now doing less and less when their area of responsibility grew with the church growth. It’s not that their necessarily do-nothing lazy people, but that we’ve not hired new leadership that’s more capable than these well-intentioned but now under qualified individuals. Instead of either A) demoting or B) providing a nice severance package and removing them, we let them continue to lead in an area where the Peter-Principle is in full effect. It’s hard to make these changes, but churches often would rather “keep the peace” and be mediocre in their efforts than make the personnel changes as the church grows.

I, too, would like to see if this is what Steve meant when he described “lazy” staff members.

It grieves me to agree. 

Anthony is right-on when he speaks of the principle of promotion beyond capabilities.  I especially saw it during Katrina.  Our church’s shelter was created with such good intentions, but no one with the gift of administration seemed to be calling the shots.  No count of how many beds were available, no central (much less secure) roll of who might have severe medical conditions (including phychiatric) - and no one able to make decisions on the fly.  Having drafted policies and procedures for companies for years, I stood amazed at the lack of a plan. 

But then a group of us gathered together and took care of it, just like the Body should.  It was a wonderful experience to be useful and needed. Communication has been and will always be the key.

I have certainly worked with my share of people who could be described as “lazy,” regardless of how well defined the word is.  The fact of the matter is that there are people in ministry, as in every other vocation, who simply don’t (or can’t, for whatever reason) pull their fair share of the load.  There are those who are merely coat-tail riders.  This describes some of the people who were in my workgroups in seminary.  If I were seeking a new place of service, I would avoid them like the beubonic plague if I found they were employed there! 

Sadly, to some extent, I think Steve is right.  Laziness, whether real or perceived, is a factor in a diminished sense of credibility—no matter what the context.  I’m not sure there are more lazy people in the church though.  Maybe it’s just that churches are under more careful observation (by the public) for productivity and effectiveness than many other organizations.

One thing is for sure: we don’t have time to be lazy.  We need to be seeking every possible way to share God’s love and mercy with our communities.