Today, Joe Sangl and I were having lunch at one of my favorite dining establishments, Outback Steakhouse. Our waiter was a young man who just graduated from college and was about to start his own business. The two of them began talking about websites, business plans, financing options, and personal growth. I just sat there quietly and enjoyed the precociousness and optimism of our waiter.
Near the end of the meal and always a promoter of others, Joe said, “Now let me tell you about Brian.” After a brief resume and showing him this website on my cell phone, our waiter said very humourously, “Look at you just sitting there like a sleeper cell!”
I have thought a lot about that statement today. By referring to me as a “sleeper cell”, he was stating that I had skills and something extremely valuable to add to the conversation but no one would ever know because I was quiet and simply blending into the background.
Many pastors and church leaders miss opportunities each week because they do not know the “sleeper cells” within their own church. There is incredible leadership potential, talent, giftedness, and financial resources sitting in your congregations each week that are walked by, missed, ignored, or unengaged simply because we do not know who they are.
How do you flush out “sleeper cells” in your church? In other words, how do you identify, engage, and enlist leaders that are currently not helping you advance mission and vision? Here are three practical things that any church leader can do?
- Check The Church’s Giving Records. This will help you identify new high-capacity, financial leaders. Pastors then need to be proactive in developing relationships with those who can significantly resource ministry initiatives.
- Spiritual Gifts Inventories.  Church leaders should provide frequent testing to help identify those with leadership gifts and then provide something meaningful to do to impact the lives of others.
- New Member Classes. Usually delivered over multiple weeks, new member classes allow church leaders to cast vision and gain valuable information on recent attendees because they have an opportunity to tell their personal stories.
For a leadership culture to be created in your church, there must be a series of systemic realities.
- Leaders must be highly valued and sought after.
- There has to be a proactive effort to look for leaders. Turkeys can be found in packs. Eagles are found one at a time. Someone must own this process.
- Create meaningful opportunities to serve others and provide solutions. Leaders understand investment. They will not invest their time in meaningless tasks.
- Create meaningful opportunities for leaders to serve with their minds, not just their hands.
Implement these ideas and watch leaders begin to step out of their “sleeper cells” and start serving those in your church.
Pastors and church leaders, what are other practices you do to help identify and enlist leaders?
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