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The Economics of Trust in Church Leadership
Over the last couple weeks, we’ve been taking a close look at trust as it pertains to church leadership. Today we’ll look at a formula I think will be helpful to you as you seek to establish and maintain trust in your local church leadership. According to Steven M. R. Covey in his book “The Speed of Trust”, here’s a simple formula ‘that will enable you to take trust from an intangible and unquantifiable variable to an indispensable factor that is both tangible and quantifiable.’ In other words, here’s a simple equation that will allow you to get a handle on this whole issue of trust. Trust, according to Covey, affects two outcomes – speed and cost. When trust goes down, speed will also go down and costs will go up.And the reverse is true as well: When trust goes up, speed will also go up and costs will go down...
He gives a couple of examples in the book. Here’s one that will help you understand his point:
“Immediately following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, our trust in flying in the U.S. went down dramatically. We recognized that there were terrorists bent on harming us, and that our system of ensuring passenger safety was not as strong as it needed to be.
Prior to 9/11, I used to arrive at my home airport approximately half an hour before takeoff, and I was quickly able to go through security. But after 9/11, more robust procedures and systems were put in place to increase safety and trust in flying. While these procedures have had their desired effect, now it takes me longer and costs me more to travel. I generally arrive an hour and a half before a domestic flight and two to three hours before an international flight to make sure I have enough time to clear security. I also pay a new 9/11 security tax with every ticket I buy. So, as trust went down, speed also went down and cost went up.
Recently, I flew out of a major city in a high-risk area in the Middle East. For geopolitical reasons, the trust in that region was extremely low. I had to arrive at the airport four hours before my flight. I went through several screenings, and my bag was unpacked and searched multiple times by multiple people. And every other passenger was treated the same.
Clearly, extra security measures were necessary, and in this instance I was grateful for them, but the point remains the same: Because trust was low, speed went down and cost went up.”
He also gives examples of high-trust situations, including Warren Buffet’s recent acquisition of McLane Distribution (a $23 Billion company) from Walmart. Because of the trust between the two main interests, the deal was sealed in one two-hour meeting and a handshake. The deal was totally completed in one month. Buffet wrote: “We did no due diligence. We knew everything would be exactly as Walmart said it would be – and it was.” In this case, the trust of two people saved their companies several million dollars in legal fees, and cut literally months off the amount of time it normally takes to finish such a deal. Trust was high. Speed went up and costs went down.
Now, how does this apply to the church, you might ask? Well, I think the same principle can apply to church leadership as well.
I think most of us have probably been a part of a church at some point where the leadership wasn’t really trusted. Maybe it’s a financial mistrust. It could be a ‘leadership direction’ lack of trust. If the trust is low, the speed of implementing any change goes down and the cost (mentally, spiritually, financially) of implementing any type of leadership decision goes through the ceiling.
And we’ve all witnessed churches that are really moving forward… making decisions, adapting quickly, and re-molding the way they do ministry seemingly overnight. In most all of these situations, I believe the high trust level these leaders have with their churches allows them to lower the amount of time it takes to make these shifts; and it also allows them to do so much more cost-effectively.
So… your assignment this week… think about the trust level you have in your church setting. Do you have high trust or low trust right now? If you have a lower level of trust, is it making things much harder by taking a lot more time and cost to carry our your ministry plans? If you have a high level of trust, how does it speed up the time and lower the cost of your leadership?
I specifically didn’t give specific examples because I want to hear some from you. Please email me some specific examples of how your trust level either speeded or slowed the cost and time of your ministry goals. You can reach me at . If I get a fair number of responses, I’ll follow-up next week with some of your comments.
I’m ‘trusting’ you have a great week!
Todd
This post has been viewed 1364 times and was added on April 22, 2007 by Todd Rhoades. Filed under: Leadership Issues Leadership Development Share this post with a friend right now! View reactions to this post at other blogs... You can really help us out by subscribing to our free RSS feed with your favorite feed reader, or here at Bloglines. Also, you can add us to your favorites at Technorati.
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My name is Todd Rhoades, the 'behind the scenes' guy here at MMI. I'm also on the team at Leadership Network (although that doesn't mean that they endorse everything I write here). In my past life, I was the developer of a of a website called ChurchStaffing.com. I hope you'll enjoy your time here and tell all your colleagues about MMI! 
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Post Your Comments:How does this view of trust interact with the other leadership guidance of keeping church ministries on focus? I’ve also read in these pages suggestions to not let church members have an idea and run with it even if its good because the church needs to be focussed on its mission/vision. Interested in comments about this tension.
Thanks
Great question, Drew. I’m not sure I have an answer for you as much as a perspective that might prove helpful. As Ed Young (the younger one - Fellowship Church) often says, “Make sure you are listening to the right ‘THEY’.” - That is to say, first make sure you understand exactly WHO a referenced THEY is and secondly realize that almost always this “representative cross-section” is actually only a very small minority. Your church or ministry can not afford to be steered by them - God has called pastors and ministry leaders and given them the vision to carry out the mission of the church - if a great idea of a layworker does not fit into that process or the seasonal timing of the organization, then it needs to be tabled. Notice, I didn’t say “shot down” - our goal is not to be aggressive control-freaks that do not allow participation by anyone without a staff title, but rather to train them and channel their creative energies to be in line with the flow of God’s direction for our particular ministry. This is where the balancing act comes in - maintaining the lay worker’s motivation and interest when their idea, program, or process is not adopted or implemented. A big part of doing this effectively goes back to putting a high value on our people - both staff and lay ministry, for it is when the proces or program becomes more important than the people and the focus on the results drives you right past real needs along the way, that your ministry is in trouble of becoming MECHANICAL. Pray that God would keep your ministry focused on what Jesus was focused on, the PEOPLE who are LOST and the PEOPLE who need DISCPLING - when you get away from this focus, you get away from true Christian ministry.
My experience tell me that the level of trust greatly effects the speed you CAN move. However the speed you DO move can be a major factor in retasining that trust with as many as possible. We are currently in the process of bringing together two churches to form a new one. I believe by Gods grace He has given me a high level of trust in both places. It would have meant that I could have moved fast and it could be all but done. However I want to guard the gift of their trust so we are not going as fast as we could but taking steps to move at a pace that enables as many people as posible to be involved and secure. I am aware that this is unique situattion but I think the mantaenace of the trust we have requires we move more carefully than perhaps we COULD
I have experience3d this very personally.
Our church has had seven pastors since 1931. The average tenure is about ten years.
I followed a brother who only stayed 27 months, an interruption to that pattern. He tried to make much needed changes in a church that is almost 100 years old, but did not have the history or trust level required, and so he did not survive.
This church is our home church, where we came as new believers, were added to the pastoral staff, and then were sent as missionaries from the church for ten years. We were invited back to serve as Senior Pastor.
We are halfway through what we believe will be a seven year cultural transformation. That began immediately upon our election.Our history with the church, and trust level with key leaders has made drastic change possible. It has not been easy and many have left, but they have been replaced by an equal number who ‘get’ the new direction. Maintaining that trust is a function of constantly gauging the pace of change and how it is affecting the leadership team and congregation. We have sped up and slowed down at various times, but always with a firm commitment to see this transformation through.
It took me seven years to become the pastor of the church. Though I was officially the pastor when called, I had to develop relationships. That is vital. And trust works both ways. This means training up trustworthy servant leaders, not robots or yes persons, but those with a heart and passion to serve the local church. It is rare for a church to become large or “mega” status overnight. Most grew because the pastor took the time to know the people, develop good and godly leaders, and then there is also the little successes that are so important. Small ministry projects where the pastor and the people work together help tremendously. The shared experiences help all concerned.
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