Study the Group You Lead

Every group has its own personality and proclivities. Do not miss this. What works in one place and with one group may not work the same way in another. Why is that?

Organizations are imperfect because they are made up of imperfect people. You need to discover whether they are clannish or open to new people. Do the children stay at the church or leave the area when they graduate? Have they traveled the world, the country, or just their state or county? Do they prefer home cooking or restaurants? Are they stuck in the pain of the past or open for new adventures?

Taking time to study your organization so you really know its constituents, is vital. After I had been at East End Baptist Church for about a month, my mother came to visit on the weekend of my installation. By then I thought I knew all I needed to know. As I talked with my mother, I was peppering off item after item, and everything I saw that I thought needed to be updated, changed, uprooted, or fixed.

My saintly old mom stopped me in my hurry and said, “Son, this is the church. It is not the speed boat of Zion; it’s the old ship of Zion.” I knew exactly what she meant, and I have strived to heed her advice ever since.

It takes time to retrain and change the proclivities of a group of people. The leader should take confidence in the fact that if the leader stands at the helm long enough and moves with intentionality, even a group’s inclinations can be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Taking time to fairly assess your situation is the first step toward a productive future. Several years ago I traveled to New Jersey to interview a young pastor who was ready to leave the church he was serving after just two years. In the interview I asked him to tell me about his current church and situation. He went on to share his complaints and frustrations about the people, the place, and the practices. When he finished talking, I slammed my folder shut and declared to him, “This interview is over! God did not send me here to offer you a job but to tell you to stay where you are.”

It was obvious to me that the young pastor couldn’t see it, but from all he told me I knew what was true. I went on to tell him to stay there, be faithful, preach the gospel, and the church of his dreams would materialize before his eyes. Years have passed and around the time of his pastoral anniversary, in one form or another, he sends a note that celebrates the fact that he is still standing.

The right assessment of where you are can make all the difference. Studying the people, places, patterns, patterns, and proclivities can take you where God wants your leadership to go.