As reported in the tweet above, on Tuesday, July 22 Dick’s Sporting Good laid off 500 golf pros.  The company’s overall golf business missed its first-quarter sales plan by $34 million.

On the same day, Golf Digest announced it was ending the printing of its magazine after over 50 years and going completely digital.  In 2013, 408 golf courses closed as 400,000 people quit the sport.

Television ratings have reflected this decline as well.  Major tournaments are down 30%.  Non-majors are down 50-60%.  The final round of the British Open got a 2.5 Neilsen rating.  The World Cup consistently drew over a 5.0 during weekday afternoon games.

ESPN’s Colin Cowherd insightfully noted how Tiger Woods was holding the sport together and making it appear far more popular than it actually was.  He said, “Tiger was the duck tape.”  And when his production dropped, so did the entire sport.

Tiger Woods was an outlier.  Outliers are the top performers in their area of discipline.  They are different and more successful than anyone else.  And because they are so successful, top performers can give a false sense of security to their respective organizations.  This is because when these charismatic leaders leave or decline in personal performance, the organization often suffers in dramatic fashion.  As a result, Jim Collins says, charismatic leaders “should be viewed as a liability – a handicap to be overcome.” 

Tiger Woods and the sport of golf immediately made me think of churches with high profile, charismatic leaders.

If your church were to lose its charismatic leader, what would the impact be on your ministry?  How bad would the decline in attendance and giving be?  What would change?  This can be sobering to think about.

The following are 7 Things Churches Can Do To Survive A Loss Of A Charismatic Leader:

  1. Admit you have a charismatic leader.  Do not have false humility or over-spiritualize this.  Just admit it so you prepare accordingly.
  2. Hire a quality preaching team and give them visibility at prominent times.
  3. Schedule regular training sessions (weekly) for the charismatic leader to invest in those on his/her team.  This reproduces DNA, transfers ownership and positions your church and/or area of ministry for sustainability.
  4. Develop a strong group of lay leaders.  These individuals will provide stability, a sense of security and direction during times of transition.
  5. Create a leadership and volunteer culture.  This creates ownership amongst your people.
  6. Invest heavily in small groups.  A strong core of small group leaders will create unity by multiplying mission and vision. Relationships are the glue which hold your people together.
  7. Proactively develop a succession plan.  The best resource I have read on this topic is William Vanderbloemen’s downloadable resource 4 Succession Planning Trends For Church Leaders located on TonyMorganLive.com.

Are you prepared for ministry without your charismatic leader?

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