Part 3 in series “What I’ve Learned as a Leader” by Steve Long, Catch The Fire Toronto Ambassador
Leading Well
I’m using the opportunity of stepping away from my role as Senior Leader of Catch the Fire Church in Toronto to reflect on some of what we have learned that has helped Sandra and I lead well. I am assuming that we have led well for the most part. Hopefully, our church family feels that way too!
I've been in a full-time ministry role for 40 years. I started as an intern, working side jobs, lived on little income, served other people's vision, started a church, assisted in the largest Baptist church in Scarborough, helped in a recovery church project in Mississauga, and then served and led a revival church. Lots of opportunities to learn and then lead. Age is supposed to help grow you in experience and wisdom, But the opposite can be true; that one can get into a rut and stay locked into a format or style. Meanwhile, the goal you were reaching for has moved. (I recommend reading the book: Who Moved the Cheese to learn about adapting to change.)
One of my strengths as a leader is that I am both pragmatic and intentional. A pragmatic person is all about the best way to do something the simplest way, the easiest way, etc. Those of you who like my preaching style do so because there is always a life lesson that one can implement before leaving the building. Intentionality means I stick with the plan, know the plan, live the plan, and execute the plan. I don't easily get sidetracked, other than in my sermons. Focus is easy for me.
This blog will focus on three essential keys, I have stuck to over the years that have helped me learn how to lead well. They are not original to me; I found I needed to remind myself of them over and over again.
Start with the heart
Of the five offices of church leadership (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher), the pastor is the one most people relate to. 40% of people, followers of Jesus or not, are heart people. They think about others naturally, care, and are able to be empathetic, feeling others' pain and joy. That's not me. Apostolic-minded people think about plan, purpose, and kingdom; then, we start to think about how people fit into the plan. We place people based on their giftings, their skills, and their time to help us accomplish kingdom goals. We build, and people are a part of the building blocks.
It may sound harsh, but I don't naturally think about people or hearts first. My wife Sandra does that part well. We are a good mix as she quickly raises the "this will impact people" point. She reminds me the kingdom wouldn't be built if it were not for people.
Sandra once suggested we delay starting church by 15 minutes so a lady she had just talked to who was struggling to travel to our services could arrive in time for the beginning of the meeting. A pastor's best friend is the last person they were with. That's Sandra caring for others because her heart is pastoral.
Some of you will remember my mum, Mary, who attended our church for many years. She'd had a stroke, so she wasn't as independent as she would have liked. Often, as she waited for Sandra and me to leave a Sunday meeting, she'd be in her wheelchair waiting by the door, where I'd be greeting and quickly solving people's problems. Because she was physically close to me, I'd often introduce her to our church family. She enjoyed that and could pick up conversations with people when she next saw them. One day, as I was driving her back to her senior residence, she said something interesting."Do you know you always introduce me to people by telling me what they do and not necessarily by their name?" No, I had not realized that. But that is how an apostle thinks; plan and purpose. Someone's name isn't naturally what I retain when I talk to people; I'm quickly storing information that may be a part of a plan down the road.
What I have learned is I need to, I have to, always start with the heart. No one likes feeling used, part of a clog or machine. I've had to use my intentionality to plan to listen to people, to hear their stories, and to feel their pain.
I primarily have done this as a leader in two ways: First, by being at the door when people arrive for a meeting. Second, by being at the door when people leave a meeting. I intentionally plan to be with people and "appear" to care. I'm joking, friends; I do care! The door to a church is where I can be accessible to our family. I can quickly make eye contact with almost everyone who comes in and out. I purposely seek to connect with everyone by looking them in the eye and teasing them about their hair, shoes, hat, etc. I want everyone to know that I saw them and valued them coming to and being a part of our church that day.
In the Scriptures, we read King David lost the hearts of his people because he wasn't accessible. His son Absalom picked this up. Absalom stood at the gates of the city with the other elders and stole the hearts of the people. (2 Samuel 15:1-6)
That passage has always stuck with me. David wasn't with the other elders where he should have been; David wasn't accessible. Did David somehow feel connecting with people wasn't now important, perhaps because of his established kingship? Wrong! You know the rest of the story, how his son Absalom slowly turned people away from his dad David, a great king. The lesson for me that has been part of leading is being visible and available. I lead well because people know and still know I care for them.
I used to joke in my sermons if you need a hug today, see Sandra. If you need a problem solved today, please let me know. Both of us were at the door before and after meetings. We wanted to lead first and foremost from the heart, not our head. A typical Sunday for us begins at 8:30 am when we arrive to quickly move around the building to connect with the worship team, the technical team, the greeters, the intercessors, the coffee shop team, our maintenance, and the safety team. We connect with people. Then the plan's second stage kicks in; we are by the main doors, smiling and ready to greet our church family. If I am not on the stage on a given Sunday, I'm often at the doors from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm; five hours of connecting with upwards of 1000 people!
Another point I've also learned in team meetings when there is a discussion is the first people who need to speak are the heart people. The strategic and evangelistic people will dominate if I open the conversation up. The heart people won't get a say and will often feel left out. So, in meetings, I let the heart people go first. That usually means Sandra gets the first word.
It takes work for me to be pastoral but I have learned to rewire my priorities and lead with heart.
Team is better
I mentioned two of the five offices or leadership roles the Bible says are needed for the church to do well. Sandra functions as a pastor, and I'm in the apostle group. Evangelists, prophets, and teachers are also essential to be in the mix. The larger the organization, especially faith-based ones, the more critical it is to identify who naturally functions in these roles. The reason is each category brings a unique mix of God-inspired giftings to the table.
I'm not looking for balance or compromise; I'm looking for the best outcome. If it is just pastoral people making a decision, they will probably miss what the others bring to the party. Apostles think big looking at the end game. If it is a room of apostles making decisions, people will likely be used and feel hurt.
Prophets are usually black and white on issues. They are wired by "what is God saying?" and "what is the right thing to do?"
Evangelists are thinking about people who don't yet know Jesus and teachers believe that information is critical to people living right and making the best decisions.
No one group is correct; no group is wrong. The skill of a leader is to draw the best out of everyone; I'll give you an example:
We used to do an event called The Big Give. It started in Ottawa and has moved across Canada, where churches on the same weekend have a massive garage sale with a twist. The twist is everything is free. We were the first church in the greater Toronto area to do this event. All of these have been a huge success.
This is primarily an outreach, so our evangelists got a big say in what happened. The team of about 25 evangelist-minded people came up with a plan. We will do The Big Give in the 268 Attwell parking lot, out in the open so no one will be intimidated about going into a Christian church if they are from another faith.
We will have bouncy castles so their children will want to stay longer. We will have free food, so the men will want to stay longer. Longer on-site means more opportunities for our guests to interact with our church families who will serve at the various connection points.
We will have our worship team play secular songs from a stage so non-Christians will feel comfortable (our experience is that Christian music doesn't feel safe to someone from a different faith background. They quickly feel this is a religious event, and my friend tricked me into coming.)
We will do our "connect people to Jesus" in the coffee shop, another casual place with secular music playing in the background. We will have smiling adults of all ages and cultures on the Spirit Café team ready to facilitate God encounters. Every guest will hopefully see someone their age and ethnicity.
We will have the pastors, the caring people, walking around making sure that our guests felt cared for and looked after. The team will offer free delivery of what our guests are taking home. They will serve hot dogs and soft drinks.
The prophets and evangelists are on the Spirit Café team in the coffee shop, ready to read people's mail and lead them to Jesus. The apostles help with the execution and planning. The teachers have the day off!
My point is that a day like this, where we have 300+ first-time people come our way, is better and has excellence and purpose because it is a team effort. The Big Give evolved into a Canada Day Party we did in our local community, where 1400 people came! The outreaches we did last summer – with a combined total of about 5000 lives impacted – are directly because the team got involved in planning a significant event. Each event was full of excellence, fun, free food, and stuff to take home.
One of the things that Sandra and I have done well is collaborating. Almost every week, we've had a staff meeting on a Tuesday morning for everyone to be on the same page. We have pastors and directors’ meetings weekly for the same purpose. We think ahead and we think with a purpose. We think as a team.
I've learned with a team if I speak to the plan first, others don't say what they need to say. They will hold back to honour our position or because they may think the plan is set and want to keep what Steve's already got going. So most often, I present the problem or the opportunity and listen. I do clarify as the team shares; I summarize as options come up; I say no sometimes because I know things they might not know. I often don't get to implement my original plan because what has emerged is better.
Did Jesus need the Twelve on his team? Peter often came up with a bad plan. Thomas questioned the plan. Money went missing because Judas was on the team. The Twelve were not yet in step with being led by the Spirit as Jesus was, which is why they got things wrong. But Jesus needed them because he was modelling that “team is best.” Paul, the apostle and primary writer of our New Testament, was always championing the team. There are no books he wrote where he doesn't begin or end by mentioning people with him on the team. Paul started out being led by Barnabas. Barnabas was the first one to recognize that Paul was a genuine follower of Jesus. He connected Paul to the apostles (team) in Acts 6:1-4. Eventually, the "apostolic" mantle kicked in with Paul and he became the leader. When he travelled, there was always a team.
One of our business leaders at Catch the Fire is Derrick. He has started businesses, bought some, and flipped most. He is now a venture capitalist and mentors the people who run the companies where his money is. He told me he had a partner in every one of his companies—with two reasons for that. The first was the business cost him half of its total price. Second, his partner had skills that he didn't have. Team!
In summary, two things I've learned on my way to being the Senior Leader of Catch the Fire: lead with heart and team is better. I’m looking forward to sharing more lessons with you in my next blog!
Steve Long is the former Senior Leader of Catch the Fire Toronto. He and his wife Sandra led the church for 16 years and have been on staff since 1994. They now function as Ambassadors on behalf of the church. He is the author of several books, including The Faith Zone and My Healing Belongs to Me. Steve and his wife Sandra serve on two apostolic teams; one for the City of Toronto and Catch The Fire World. They live in Oakville, Ontario, Canada.
