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I’m nearing the 10-year mark of being a church employee. That practically makes me a veteran. Ten years, four churches and millions of cups of Starbucks later [I’m convinced that’s the drug of choice for church workers] I’ve had a first hand-look at how the church works [by work I mean how it functions day-to-day in the church office] and after reading REWORK I’m convinced we’ve got some things that drive me crazy that need to change.
Before I continue, let me say this: I love what I do. Every single day [except meeting days] I’m excited to be a part of the life of the Church. It’s an immense privilege to be able to do what I do and I wouldn’t trade it for anything… well, most of the time.
With that… here’s 10 Things That Drive Me Crazy About Working for a Church
1. We are really good at burning people out.
For some reason we feel like working long hours against ridiculous timelines and neglecting our personal lives, health, or families is a good idea… as long as it’s for God.
Not so much.
The average church employee stays at a church for about 2 years before they peace out.
“It doesn’t pay to be a workaholic. Instead of getting more done and being on top of your game, you actually start a chain reaction that results in decreased productivity, poor morale, and lazy decisions. And don’t forget the inevitable crash that’ll hit you soon enough.”
We all need to learn one simple word: NO. Even though something may be for a great cause, it’s not worth losing your soul to make it happen.
2. We focus way too much on what we don’t have.
One of the most common complaints I hear from church staff members has something to do with what they don’t have.
In the Gospel account of the feeding of the 5,000 all they had to start with was 5 loves and 2 fish, but in the end, there was more than enough.
“Constraints are advantages in disguise. Limited resources force you to make do with what you’ve got. There’s no room for waste. And that forces you to be creative.”
Celebrate simplicity. Remember God can take nothing and make it into something.
3. We are afraid of change.
I guarantee we’ve all been a meeting where the phrase, “well we heard people say _____________ about _____________….”
Fill in the blanks… the music was too loud, they didn’t like that message, they don’t like this, they don’t like that…
These conversations usually center on a sensitive topic in the church: change.
And how do we respond? We quickly turn down the volume, change our minds, or reverse a decision.
“Sometimes you need to go ahead with a decision you believe in, even if it’s unpopular… remember negative reactions are almost always louder and more passionate than positive ones… so when people complain… let them know you’re listening. Show them you’re aware of what they’re saying. But explain that you’re going to let it go for awhile and see what happens.”
Give change time and be more concerned with what the voice of God is saying to you and let that influence you more than the voices of other people.
4. We use “let me pray about it” as an excuse to get out of making decisions.
I absolutely believe it’s important to pray about major decisions that impact the life of the Church – we shouldn’t move unless we feel God leading us. But all too often we use the “let me pray about that” card to delay simple decisions.
“Whenever you can, swap “Let’s [pray] about it” for “Let’s decide on it.” Commit to making decisions. You’re as likely to make a great call today as you are tomorrow. Don’t make things worse by overanalyzing and delaying before you even get going.”
Pray about what’s important but don’t sweat the small stuff… just make the call and ask for forgiveness later if need be.
5. We LOVE meetings.
For some reason we love meetings. Planning meetings, prayer meetings, planning meetings for prayer meetings. I feel like we have entirely too many and lose valuable time we could be devoting to things that matter.
“Meetings are toxic. If it only takes seven minutes to meet a meeting’s goal, then that’s all the time you should spend. Don’t stretch seven into thirty. Think about the time you’re actually losing and ask yourself if it’s really worth it.”
What’s one meeting you could condense or remove from your schedule? DO IT!
6. We try to do way too much.
Most churches are hyperactive and never sleep. We thrive on activity. The whole “less is more” thing hasn’t sunk in yet.
What if we focused on doing a few things REALLY well l instead of doing a million things half-aced? << that’s my PG version
“Cut your ambition in half. Lots of things get better as they get shorter. Getting to great starts by cutting out stuff that’s merely good.”
What are some good things you’re doing that could be sacrificed for great things that will make a greater impact?
7. We try to be something we’re not.
If I see one more 40somethings pastor dressed in Abercrombie so help me…
Ok, but for real… not just pastors but churches in general tend to have a problem of trying to be something they’re not.
“Don’t be afraid to show your flaws. Imperfections are real and people respond to real. There’s a beauty to imperfection. So talk like you really talk. Reveal things that others are unwilling to discuss. Be upfront about your shortcomings. It’s OK if it’s not perfect. You might not seem professional, but you will seem a lot more genuine.”
BE YOU!
8. We spend too much time looking at other churches.
We spend way too much time looking at what other churches are doing, be it a church across the country or the church across town. It’s great to watch and learn from others’ successes, but if you look at other churches as you competition your focus is waaaay off.
“Focus on competitors too much and you will wind up diluting your own vision. Your chances of coming up with something fresh go way down when you keep feeding your brain other people’s ideas. You become reactionary instead of visionary.”
Your church has a unique and specific role it’s meant to play in the life of your community. If your church ceased to exist, what would people miss? Whatever that is should be where you focus your time and energy.
9. We worry about people leaving.
We’re quick to cater to the needs [or demands] of people who have been around for a while instead of focusing the needs of people who are new.
We should spend more time figuring out how to create a wider front door instead of focusing on how we can “close the back door”… even if that means losing people who give us a lot of money [there, I said it].
“Scaring away new [people] is worse than losing old [ones]. Make sure you make it easy for [new] people to get on board. That’s where your continued growth potential lies. People and situations change. You can’t be everything to everyone. [Churches] need to be true to a type of [person] than a specific [person] with changing needs.”
10. We don’t feel trusted.
For whatever reason churches tend thrive in a weird culture of mistrust. It’s not or conducive to a positive working environment. Some churches have crazy rules, policies and procedures that create layers of red tape that, while probably well-intentioned, communicate a lack of trust.
“When you treat people like children, you get children’s work. Yet that’s exactly how a lot of companies treat their employees. When everything constantly needs approval, you create a culture of nonthinkers. You create a boss-versus-worker relationship that screams, ‘I don’t trust you.’”
This is one I don’t have a quick answer to but know it’s something I’ve experienced and something I hear about consistently from others who are in the trenches. BUT, I will say working in a church that has a trusting environment, I’ve never felt so empowered to do my job and that has fueled my productivity exponentially.
Final Thoughts…
Church work is tricky but I will say the blessings have far outweighed the frustrations.
The challenge of being on staff at a church lies in the fact that we don’t have the option to leave our work at the end of the day. Our work is deeply connected to what we believe and to our faith community. It’s easy to get passionate about what we do because we do is attached to something that’s incredibly personal to us. We’ve got to learn the discipline of drawing boundaries.
While the Church has endured throughout the ages, each generation has had its unique challenges and opportunities. I believe the challenge and opportunity facing next generation leaders lies in how we manage and steward the resources we’ve been blessed with.
We’ve never been more resourced than we are today… which is why things like REWORK are important for us to latch on to. We don’t need to change what we do [connecting people to Christ], we need to change how we work.
My prayer is that we can REWORK and do the work God has called us to do, not simply by applying business ideas, but by seeking God, being led by His Spirit and serving the Church with excellence and humility.
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart…” – Colossians 3:23
This post was inspired by reading REWORK by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson of 37signals. It’s an important book that I think should be required reading for any next generation church leader.
I’m giving away three signed copies this week… Here’s how to win…
- Tweet This: I just entered to win a signed copy of REWORK! Comment here and RT to enter: http://bit.ly/9DX3eD
- Comment Below: With your Twitter handle [so I can verify you did step 1] and share something that frustrates you about the way the Church works.
- Check back at 5 PM CST Thursday: I’ll randomly choose someone to win!
Congrats to @DaveSandell, you’re the winner!
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@davesandell Often quantity of programming seems more important than quality of programming. The menu of ministries, classes and programs on most church web sites is overwhelming.
The Church is (generally) about 15 years behind the rest of the world in art, business, taste, culture, etc. That in itself doesn't bother me so much as the reasons:
1. The Church is steered by a fear of criticism.
2. The Church draws too big of a distinction between what it's doing and what the rest of the world is doing. Like it or not, the leaders in art and business are what the church labels as "secular". And as long as out-of-date Churches are only willing to go to out-of-date Christian organizations and artists and consultants for their inspiration, their grip on reality and the culture around them will keep slipping – along with the world's respect for the Church and ultimately Christ.
This is a generalization.
AMEN.
I really loved this piece! Am positively surprised to see this kind of thinking within the not-always-thought-of-as-modern world of the church. My Twitter handle is @atornblad
@notandysmith
As a youth pastor, I spent more of my time in meetings and prepping for meetings than I did being a pastor to youth.
there's definitely something wrong with that.
@isaacdowning
Once again, great thoughts, Tim!
My number one gripe with church work is the bureaucracy. People are so afraid of making the wrong decision, that they bury the decision making process in heavy layers of boards, committees and congregational votes – and the end result is no momentum and no progress! (a little too honest, maybe…)
Also, I hate meetings. I completely agree with Jason Fried's mindset – you aren't just losing one hour, you're losing 10 hours, because you pulled 10 people away from what they were doing to attend a meeting that almost always could have been handled via email.
Faith worketh by Love.
And I see neither in churches I visit.
What's the purpose in outreach and membership programs if you fail to demonstrate the love of God, as Christ loved us, to attendees, new or old.
What's the point of your plans and programs if you fail to be ambassadors of the Good News, reconciling men to God through Jesus? I don't want your smiling fake attitudes. I don't want your "try not to offend" sensibilities. Politeness is a counterfeit of satan. A sinful substitute for lovingkindness.
I'm not interested in your plastic entertainment. i can stay home and watch American Idol and get more value from that deception. Meat. Meat. Meat. Churches don't even serve milk. Blue John, I believe is what they used to call it.
Great post. I loved 37 signal's "getting real" ebook as well. @chadconnally
Definitely loved "Getting Real."
I am really enjoying your adaption of the book into the church. When I used to work for FCC (soon after you left to work with RCC) it was overall a great experience but so many of the things you pointed out reminded me of why I didn't like working for a church. Not saying working in the corporate world is much different but like @isaacdowning said it was so hard to try anything new or just make a decision.
Working mostly with the worship and multimedia there seemed to be even more red tape. You can put a lot of time and effort into those things for one person so say ______ about _______ and nothing changes. I would really love to see this mind set really make its way into the church.
For everyones sake (not just the people that work there).
I think a lot of the things that make working in a church difficult come from the fact that churches are called to be different than businesses. Businesses are all about the bottom line, but churches are about loving God and loving people. Church staff have to not only think decisions through logically but pray and listen to God. In churches, relationships matter more – we actually make time in our meetings to listen to how everyone is really doing. A lot of churches try to make decisions by consensus. And for churches each person is a real person, not just a customer or a statistic. All these factors make working in a church harder, slower, and more complicated than working in the business world, IMO.
definitely a tension we have to carefully navigate!
great article. i just started working at a church in january, but my parents have worked in churches for many years and i've been around them long enough to see these trends. great article. (twitter: @chrisrouse)
welcome to the church world… don't let this scare you out of what you are doing… just let it inform you on what to expect and how you can respond!
This is a great post. I can see elements of all 10 of these in my ministry. #3 is particularly interesting because the external pressures on ministry which are driving change are exponentially accelerating. The Church's response tends to be either to plow over people with change or dig heals in and resist change. The severely complicating factor is that, unlike the business world, we have the ultimate unchanging message. A significantly messy aspect of doing ministry is that the Church seems to have about an equal number of change catalysts and change curmudgeons.
Great post. (I'm new here… and hooked.)
Hey Kari! welcome to the madness. glad to have you here!
@holycowcreative Love when books move you to act. Great post Tim.
if any book will do it, it's this one!
Great post.
I think think the burn out one probably hits home for more people than anyone realized. I have worked at the same church (whether it be intern, part time, or full time) for the past 8 years and I have watched as fellow interns and other workers have burned out. I'm not saying that it's the church's fault or the workers' fault. It just tends to happen. Sometimes it's because someone doesn't know how to say no. Other times it's one person doing the workload of 3 and they don't know how to get help.
I think one of the best solutions to avoid getting burned out is to train your replacement. We call it our "Timothy" here. Training a replacement does not put you out of a job, but allows you to expand what you do (and/or move up in the "company") without the pressure of always having to do the smaller tasks that add up to big burn out. Along with training a Timothy is surrounding yourself with volunteers (often times including "Timothy") that are passionate about the vision of the church and particularly how your role furthers that vision. I lead production teams at my church made up of volunteers. Before we got to the point of having as many volunteers as we have now, I was running myself ragged. Now, even when I have an incredible long work week, I feel refreshed because I know that it is not all up to me to keep the ministry running. I have volunteers and a Timothy that are working along side of me.
that's a fantastic idea… training your replacement. i think we should always be in the practice of reproducing ourselves!
Thank you.
your welcome!
@BiancaJuarez
Thank you for this amazing insight! I love it
I also hate that often times it is tough to go to church when you work at a church. When you're there, you are working on the weekend rather than growing in your walk and developing relationships with the community. It's something I struggle with.
I'm with you on #1. Just because it's "ministry" doesn't mean your workers should have to do more than their fair share. No wonder so many people are leaving service in the church.
Great post! <Added to my Reader> And thanks for the contest!
Always frustrated by how loooong the decision making chain can be, especially when you need to act quickly.
@ivarskupcis
The paralysis of analysis. The Church, unfortunately, are pros at that.
@jamaburch
5 years being on church staff — people think we have to do everything the church down the street (and around the corner, across the country) does.
seems so silly doesn't it?
Great Article! I really enjoy reading your articles, and thank you for sharing and a chance to win Rework
@valerieed I think forgetting that not everyone thinks about the church all week, except for those in the ministry, is hard to remember…And needs to be recalled when the volunteers don't seem to "get it" (whatever IT is)
so true.
@gpyouthguy
i'll jump in! (@jugglingnutcase)
i'm glad someone else is drawing connections like this, i've long thought about how their business advice (often) fits so well into life and faith…
my favorite would be your comment on the value of NO. Just because God can do anything and everything doesnt mean we dont have limits!
in college i ran into my inability to say no, so in working with a college ministry i allowed myself to be completely overwhelmed…
as long as i'm on the topic, have you ever read any Henry Cloud, i think his stuff lines up quite nicely with a lot of ideas.
last bit: i think my main frustration (fits in with 6) would be that often we're so busy doing church things that we dont have lives and arent regular people anymore.
thanks for jumping in!
glad you've learned the value of NO… we all need to improve in that area.
Tim, great post.
One point I'd disagree with is part of point 8… that other churches are our competition.
Our 'competition' is Golf, Basketball, Football, not other churches
I resonate strongly with the fact that we look at other churches… the grass always seems greener. mo money, mo edgier sermon series, mo media exposure. You get the drift.
The thing that drives me crazy about working for a church is the lack of budgets [although you argued against it in point 2 and in your closing comments]. But there are lots I WANT to do, but aren't able to do which is very frustrating… especially when so many of it is elementary church communications stuff.
Another thing that drives me crazy is the time sometimes to get things done. Committees to convince, people who don't understand the power and potential of good communications in assisting them to do their job.
That said. I love my church. Love the volunteers that serve with me and for me.
I wouldn't have it ANY other way.
Sigh. Winge over. Out.
Hey Steve,
I totally agree with you. The church's real competition is the things people give their time and attention to outside of the church… I was trying to point out that oftentimes we look at the church across town as our competition… and that our focus is way off if we do that.
@kylewillis
Good post Tim. As one who works for the church, definitely could relate to some of those and guilty of more!
@pastorMichaelP
that sometimes it's too busy doing church instead of being the church
I think the saying (paraphrased) that "churches often organize God right out of the picture" is, unfortunately, true.
It's interesting that the concept of "organization" implies that the participants have a "handle" on their "road map". Whereas our goal, as Christians, is to have God "take the wheel"… the resulting tension is predictable, isn't it.
@signdealers
@dhepburn
One thing that frustrates me about the way Church works is how easy it is to get distracted doing what we do for the wrong reasons.
The way Church works in America is a bit weird. In the UK pretty much none of these things happen – it's pretty much a guy in a robe talking about God and being really disorganised.
LOL!
i wish i could wear a robe to work!
The church definitely needs to be reworked. replanned. reorganized. One of my many frustrations from working with the church for many years was it's lack of preparation. Visionary pastors have this idea their going to build this great ministry but make their vision so black and white it becomes hard for those outside their perspective to fit in their vision. By that I mean, they only want to do things the way that they want to do them. And a lot of times the pastor will tell/demand what's being done for sunday's message in the prior Tuesday's staff meeting. No way to avoid burnout like that. You get stressed over worked to constantly meet a deadline you should realistically have 4-6 weeks to prepare for.
That's my rant over lunch today on church work!
Twitter:: @yarby
It frustrates me when we church employees don't recognize that our volunteers are working full-time jobs, likely working extra hours there, and then volunteering several hours more at church each week. So we have to gladly give many more than 40 hours a week just to stay even with our hard-working volunteers.
Esther21467
I'm @TonjaC. Many of my first responses have already been mentioned either by you or by commenters. Thanks for letting us discuss this – it's good to know you're not alone. One frustration is when churches try to cater to too many opinions and preferences and end up reaching no one well. Another is what I tweeted in response to you yesterday – it's frustrating to not be able to honestly publicly say what really frustrates you because you're afraid of being called an unspiritual whiner.
By the way – both this post and yesterday's both say to check back Thursday for the winner. Does that mean you're giving away two today, and I've missed out on the deadline for this one? Or did you mean to say Friday on this one? Just curious
@rfbryant
I've been on staff for about 11 years, and what frustrates me the most is the feeling that no matter how much time I spend in the Word and in seeking God's purpose for me and my ministry, it just doesn't matter. Just don't think – do what we've always done and that's fine. (As if what GOD wants done doesn't matter.)
My second most frustrating thing is when the staff and other leadership worry more about whether people might be "hurt" or "bothered" by us what God says than we are about just doing it. I mean, shouldn't we listen to what God says and do it? I think He's already got the skinny on who might be upset by it and He might just want them upset!
absolutely agree with you on our fear of hurting or bothering people. I think sometimes that causes us to be dishonest by not being completely truthful in different situations. challenges, challenges!
vikki1807
It bothers me so much to watch people protecting their piece of the pie. The politics and environment of distrust is so distasteful. I'd leave if I could afford to.
@kylelreed
That it meets in a building
I hate that just because you work at a church, people feel you're not allowed to have conflict with your coworkers.
Great insights and write-up Tim! I haven't been "on staff" at a church in a while, but most of the work I do is with churches and has me interfacing with staff of multiple churches. It's amazing to see how consistent the "inner world" of church offices are even if the outward worship styles (and denominations, etc) are different.
These points you've made are great for a variety of churches. Thanks again!
great post.
i read your point number 1 and it felt like you were writing about my work
although i do not work for the Church, my organization's schedule is about the same… at least for those staff members who care for the company.
the other points i agree on as well, 'cuz being on the Church board is sort of being "part-time employed"…
Unemployment would solve this guy problems and probably bring a attitude of gratitude back to his perspective.
Once people learn that the right way is God's way, everything and everybody will line in order.
it really comes down to the individual institution. there are many churches that take advantage of people and there are possibly churches that nurture and protect their people. i have only heard of the latter, and experienced the former. some churches (leadership really) are so insecure that they are constantly re-identifying themselves & switching stuff up. it's tough enough partnering with a new work, but it's tougher still partnering with a church that's been around 35 years and is still trying to be like the latest & greatest. this is prevalent and this wears the staff out. Not mentioned in the post is how tough it is working for a church when appearance is key: Have you ever had to turn down a volunteer with M.S. who wanted to greet at the front door because it may "offend" or it wasn't the "image/ first thing we want the people to see" upon arrival? that wasn't mentioned in the post, but that's the kind of stuff many staff members are dealing with. or the worship leader having to place the heavier less attractive singers to side stage so they aren't in the TV shots… what about the paid in peanuts community outreach pastor that is "encouraged" to redo the wardrobe (designer jeans & embroidered shirts)… while his children can't afford to go to band camp. image is stressing staff out too. IMAGE. that should be on the list;)
man. I'm a church employee for a very well known church and I have had it – I'm moving on. Contrary to point 9, our church's focus is almost all based on new people and making them feel the welcome you'd want to feel in the most hospitable of homes.
But it's a very image and experience driven church with a very driven agenda to reach new people, which happens successfully and thank God for that. But at the core, I find being on staff the hardest thing because I no longer feel like my work is a sacrifice to God, but rather that church OWNS me, and I don't have a say about it. Like, I want to take off a Sunday (for which we get very few off in the year), to help my wife settle into our new place we're moving to on a Saturday, but I can't because we need all our team to be at church.
That just flips my lid and makes me so mad, because church isn't supposed to be a totalitarian rule that consumes everything to the point where I can't take time for my family when I need to. Correct me if I'm wrong, but my first ministry should be to my wife, not to a job that happens to be church work.
Talk about burn out – I'm not even burning anymore, I feel like dry ash blowing in the desert. Church doesn't feel like church, but like a job, and some people navigate it well for years but I can't do it anymore.
Here's my word vomit on this. I love God, but I hate being on staff at church. I'm moving off staff in June and am thrilled. The work environment is unprofessional. Grace becomes a cop-out to not get things done on time, not respond back to people, etc. It's embarrassing. One person on staff can work exceptionally hard while one simply coasts. Accountability is invisible. You get concerned about bringing up a problem in your ministry (even though that's a fact of life). In our church, only outreach gets noticed. Homeless people are trophies. The kids from the block we adopted are valued more than "regular" kids. I hate how church staff act like martyrs and yet at the same time have an inflated view of themselves. The odd thing is this – I work at a great church. God is doing amazing things! But me? I'm done. I love God but as of right now never plan on working at a church.
Excellent piece, all 10 are so true and relevant. Keep up the great work!