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Working with Your Church’s ‘Major Influencers’

Orginally published on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 8:05 AM
by Todd Rhoades

Here's an interesting article from LifeWay.com on working with your church's major influencers. Take a read, and let me know your thoughts. What other advice would you have? David Lee writes...

1. Do not ignore the reality of a major influencer.
The larger the church, the less likely one voice is to exert major influence. If positioned to do so, however, one voice can cast a large shadow even in a large church. In a smaller congregation with marginal turnover, the major influencer has the ears and hearts of the people.

2. Do not begin by viewing them as an adversary.
As a young pastor I was intimidated by some of the major influencers I met. I learned early in my ministry that a new pastor is walking on thin ice if he starts his ministry by openly challenging the one who is the primary leader in the eyes and hearts of the people. If the major influencer becomes your adversary, let that be his or her choice.

3. Discover them early in your pastorate.
This person is usually not hard to identify, but you do have to look and listen to find the major influencer. To begin the search, ask someone, “If I want to lead our church to accept a new idea, who needs to sign on to the idea to get it passed in a business meeting?”

4. Try everything possible to make them your friend.
Jesus is our model for leading people. He invested most of His ministry time equipping 12 leaders. Spend time with the major influencer and do everything within your power to love this person, even if it is not easy. Take out your towel and serve. Help him or her grow in Christ. Risk trusting. If you learn you can trust the major influencer, you may have a great ally.

5. Learn their story.
Everyone has a story and reasons for behavior and attitudes. Major influencers have stories of how they came to fulfill that role. The major influencer’s relationship with your predecessor will shape his or her initial behavior toward you. Do your homework. Get the facts. Get to know and appreciate the major influencer before expecting him or her to understand and appreciate you.

6. Learn what makes them tick.
They usually reflect a strong conviction or core value in your congregation. Learn what this person considers nonnegotiable. Discover who has the major influencer’s ear. He or she listens to someone, even if it’s not you. A time may come when you need to have that person go to bat for you in helping to influence the major influencer’s position or perspective.

7. Count the cost before going to war with them.
War is always bloody and creates significant collateral damage. Make sure your method, direction, or principle is worth it.

8. You have the title “pastor,” but you must earn the place of pastor in the hearts of people.
Gaining your church’s respect and connecting with people’s hearts will take time. Take the necessary time to strengthen your relationships and increase your influence before you ask people to invest in your vision.

9. God holds all pastors, including major influencers, in His right hand of power (Rev.1:20).
We fight too many battles needlessly. We sometimes fight battles that we cannot win. If you find yourself in a contest with a major influencer, your best course of action may be to release it and turn it over to the Lord. Seek God’s wisdom and follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

Many of those who have taught me the most and positively impacted my ministry were major influencers. After more than 30 years of ministry, I have learned to appreciate them as partners in ministry. Learn to appreciate the significant and valuable role major influencers play in the life of the local church.

SOURCE:  Lifeway.com

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  There are 11 Comments:

  • Posted by
    Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 9:22 AM

    10. If you’re fortunate, those who seem like adversaries at first will become your best partners. It’s happened to me!

  • Posted by
    Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 9:37 AM

    I really appreciate #8 – it’s important to be humble.  Demanding people’s respect never works. 

    I might add #11 (cause Peter’s #10 is soooo true)

    Whenever you anticipate making significant change, bring the influencers into the discussion at the very beginning, allow them to have genuine input and try very hard to win them over to the proposed change.  With influencers as ambassadors, change comes about with much less pain and in much quicker order.

    Wendi

  • Posted by
    Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 9:51 AM

    One time in my secular career (doing Speaker support, AV, and general event support for a VERY large medical conference) we had a BIG technical issue to solve, so I got all my best and brightest together in a meeting, and very very quickly asked everyone to define what the problem was and what needed to be done in 20 words or less. I took two people who totally disagreed on the solution and assigned them to solve it. (there were other issues to solve in that meeting, we did similar problem-solving for those...)

    After the meeting, the problem was basically solved, in the best way possible, to the satisfaction of both of those parties, within 20 minutes.

    One of the other “leaders” on this team came up to me after gushing about what great leadership that was. I just told him that reading a lot of books and going to a lot of Leadership Summits was finally paying off.

    When we disagree strongly with someone, often I think that’s the person to help us solve whatever challenge or problem.

  • Posted by Leonard
    Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 10:08 AM

    Good stuff here.  I have one that helps me a lot.  Do not ask them to solve problems for you.  Rather ask them to participate in being the solution.  For example, do not say I can’t get any help with… instead ask them to find three people.  This empowers them without a power struggle.  It elevates your ministry with them to the level of partnership and that is cool.

  • Posted by
    Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 10:17 AM

    Leonard, you said of the influencers, that when you ask them to help you find three people . . .

    . . . [This empowers them without a power struggle.]

    Interesting comment.  Can you unpack that a little?  Do you mean that they have a bit of internal struggle?  Have to empower others rather than doing it themselves?  I get that struggle if you ask them to find three others to lead something rather than leading themselves.  Does it work if you’re asking them to find three people to fulfill a ministry task that isn’t perceived as a leadership role?

    Wendi

  • Posted by Leonard
    Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 10:37 AM

    Wendi,
    This is my strategy with all people and I find it hugely effective with influencers.  This helps me think differently about how I lead so as not to be the expert on everything but to find the expert.  I am the key leader of my church but I am not the best leader in my church.  I have VP’s of companies, principals of school, investigative specialists for the government, CEO’s, and the likes who fill our seats.  They are better leaders than me but not in my arena of spiritual impact. I see my job as to bring their gifts of leadership into effect with the church.  I guess I see my job as becoming a great leader by finding better leaders than me to accomplish more important things than stroking my ego. 

    Enlist - This is get them doing what you need done.  I said to one of my guys, I need to find some families to take care of my pastors throughout the year.  It is now done, and done better than I could have done it.  My pastors have teams of four families who gift them, pray for them, love them and remember their birthdays, anniversaries and each month my pastors and their spouses go to dinner because someone in my church owns their encouragement.  I enlisted. 

    Empower – People who have influence often have strengths that bring influence.  I want to empower that strength to accomplish God’s work.  One way to do this for me is to empower people.  I reverse think how I empower.  Most people think what can I give to someone to do, what do I trust them to do as well as I need it done?  I think, what would I never want someone else making a decision about?  This helps me stay focused one what I need to focus on instead of micromanaging people. 

    Encourage – I try to help people see the short term win (impact) and then envision the long term win. 

    Evaluate – I never empower without an evaluation built in.  It looks like this.  “Let’s try this out for 2 months and come back to evaluate what you have been doing.  By building in a short tem evaluation I am equipping people for success rather than correcting failure or adjusting people’s direction. 

    Energize – I have to keep people fueled.  Many people’s, even influencers, eyes are bigger than their stomach when it comes to sustaining movement.  I energize them by adding affirmation and encouragement, training and teaching, resources and creativity, and by connecting their work to kingdom and community impact.

  • Posted by jawbone
    Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 11:10 AM

    Let me bring a different perspective to this discussion.

    Shouldn’t these influencers be on our Board of Elders or deacons or whatver your church chooses to be the leading committee?  I’m assuming that these influncers are godly, mature people.  If not, this smacks of a lot of political maneuvering.

    I would suggest that we elevate the criteria and requirements for our leaders and appoint only the best to positions of “influence.”

    Leadership should be vested in the most qualified, most discerning and godly element of your congregation.

  • Posted by
    Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 11:46 AM

    Our former pastor sure could’ve learned from #8. Because he didn’t...well, that’s why I believe he’s our “former” pastor. That, and he likely didn’t learn too much from the book of Proverbs. Pride is such a dangerous thing.

  • Posted by
    Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 2:22 PM

    All of this is good fodder.  I, too, have learned most of these the hard way.  Good stuff!

  • Posted by
    Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 10:09 PM

    Jawbone,

    There are many people in every church who have significant influence without any kind of formal position.  These are not people appointed, but who may very well have leadership gifts.  Others may have had formal leadership positions for a while, but as new leaders are raised up, they pass along the formal leadership baton.  Indeed it remains very important to continue counting on these influencers as ministry partners and leaders, and not put them out to pasture parking cars or stuffing bulletins (not to diminish these roles). 

    Wendi

  • Posted by
    Monday, January 15, 2007 at 9:58 AM

    In most Baptist churches in which I have attended or ministered, the “leaders” were already in place. Many of those leaders are voted on by the church, and cannot be summarily dismissed. There are others in charge of committees who have been there longer than I will be there. Our new Pastor has made great strides in a short time by involving and not alienating those people. The hints above are helpful to get a church to the place where they do elect discerning spiritual leaders. Something about wise as serpents and harmless as doves comes to mind. As a Children’s Pastor, one of the greatest decisions I made was to befriend the some of the older ladies who had disagreements with my predecessor. They have been my staunchest supporters and among the most outgoing when it comes times to minister to our kids. it didn’t cost me anything and I never violated my principles.

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