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WANTED: Church ‘Insultants’
Orginally published on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 9:28 AM
by Todd Rhoades
As a leader in your church, do you have people who will tell you what you need to hear? You know, straight shooters who tell it like it really is, challenge you, and tip you off when things are straying off course? We're not talking about the typical church complainer or antagonist. We're talking about individuals worthy of respect, have a good pulse on your church's life, and hold you accountable to the church's mission and vision...
Michael McKinney has a fascinating post at his LeadershipNow.com Web site where he cites author Keith McFarland (author of The Breakthrough Company). McFarland calls these types of people ‘insultants.’ They’re willing “to ask the tough questions that cause a company (or a church) to think critically about its fundamental assumptions. The value of insultants is that they will go to great lengths to get their [church] to reevaluate a position or adapt to a changing environment.”
Do you have any church insultants? According to McFarland’s research, 90 percent of business CEOs believed they did. However, only 60 percent of their direct reports believed the same companies had a culture that insultants could have input.
What’s the value of a true insultant? According to McFarland, “Often authority figures are wrong, and if an organization doesn’t have a strong insultant culture, errors are likely to be propagated throughout the [church].”
So, here’s today’s question to ponder: Do you have any church insultants who speak into your leadership and vision? If not, who would be willing to become a valuable insultant for your ministry?
Have a great week!
Todd
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There are 12 Comments:
Hi... I'm Todd Rhoades. I'm a Christ-follower, husband, father and I love to connect leaders with other leaders. Hopefully you'll find something here at MMI you like and will return often. If you want, you can find out more about me or follow my every step on Twitter.
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Monday, February 18, 2008 at 11:47 AM
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Post Your Comments:Great thought...but horrible name.
‘Insult’-ant?
Isn’t that one who insults?
I understand where it comes from: con-sultant to in-side, but that’s just a bad name.
But I do love that concept. I think it’s vital for any church and organization to have those introspective consultants.
My primary spiritual gift is bitching. Resumé available upon request.
My personality (maybe my spiritual gift, like Tyler’s) causes me to end up in this role periodically. I’ve been called a “corporate cocklebur” (the late Fred Smith coined this term).
It will not work if leadership doesn’t want contrary ideas and feedback. In that environment, when someone asks questions it is often seen as not aligning with vision. It is important to establish that part of the way vision is achieved is through challenging the status quo without shooting the messenger.
I’m with Nathan, bad name.
Wendi
Most churches have two types of people.
1. Those who think the pastor walks on water (or at worst only sinks to his knees). 2. Those wo wish to drown you in that water. The most important type of individual I look for is the kind who will pick me up and help me to dry off when I am drowning, and are willing to throw a bucket of water on me when I forget that it is not all about me. I want someone who will honestly encourage me to rethink and re-examine when I believe I am right. Not in a critical way, but in a Christ like way. And I pray that I am Christ like enough to listen.
What happens to “insultants” in your churches? (I’m not talking about non-committed chronic complainers; I’m talking about committed members who don’t just “snap to” the party line, but ask those hard questions.)
Are they marginalized, named “the problem”, shamed, shunned? Asked to leave?
We have plenty of these. It works to the extent that the Leadership team is capable of being malleable and ductile, and sincerely desires the feedback of the lay leaders.
I LOVE those people. Not only do I find out what isn’t working from them, but, in my case, I also find out what really IS working…
hey, there is a job for me out there after all. If everyone is so keen on insulatants, I would be more popular on these posts!
InterVarsity has some excellent training on this - they call it the role of a Watchman. In Nehemiah a watchman stood at the wall and warned of signs of danger approaching.
I’m with Wendi, it’s a valuable role if the leadership of your church is open to hearing a differing point of view and is willing to change. It’s iron sharpening iron and leads to a stronger outcome if everyone is working toward the same goal.
On the other hand, if the leadership is really after a rubber stamp, contrary points of view are taken as criticism, and the messenger is often viewed as the enemy.
Direct confrontation rarely works at all. We learn best and change fastest when we have insights from our own inner inspiration. To suggest that insults are effective is to choose a funny name of an effective strategy.
The research from 50 years of reseach on counseling and consulting says that looking at Assets rather than Problems can be most effective. The process of asking good questions and affirming the good stuff while ignoring the bad will most often get good changes.
I think EVERY church should have “insultants” on their inner leadership team. As a matter of fact I think (and again, this is just my opinion) that when you have someone on the inside who is truly invested in what is BEST for the church and they are not afraid to speak the truth (in love of course) that they should be celebrated and valued as a crucial part of the inner leadership team.
I am SO not talking about the whiners and complainers that can come and hang out on the weekends and offer their “opinions and ideas”, but real live true blue people who have ahold of the pulse and purpose of that church.
Sorry...I’ll get off my soap box now. Great question and great thoughts!
Speaking the truth in love is commanded to al Believers, not just an “insultant”. As a consultant and a former staff member who was an internal consultant anyone who even comes close to trying to insult or attack others will set up all kinds of dysfunctional behavior.
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