Transitions, New Positions, and Fresh Starts

I remember being 23 years old and interviewing for my first full time position.  I had spoken with at least 15 churches and by the time I began talking with a church in the Los Angeles area, I had the interview thing down pretty good.  I knew the questions before they even asked them and I knew how to answer them in a way that was both informative and moving.  And so when they offered me the job I was just so thrilled, and excited, and I thought... ready.

But I remember getting into the office on my first day.  I remember just sitting there at my desk thinking, "Uh oh, I have no idea what to do now.  I could get the job but to actually do the job, well, that was another story.  I couldn't know, at that time, what the next year would hold for me, but it was a huge and vital learning experience.  So I've compiled a brief list of things that I have gathered and learned over the years that has helped me at the beginning of a new job.  Now this is not an exhaustive list - but I hope that it's at least helpful.  By the way, today is my first full day of work at Trinity Church in Greenwich, CT.  So this is a reminder for me as well.

#1. Take Them Up On It.
When you start a new position, inevitably you'll have an elder or a leader come up to you and say, "we are so glad you're here, if there is ever anything I can do, just let me know."  Now I have heard this line so many times but rarely have I ever done anything about it, until about 5 years ago when I was working at my last church.  The head elder came up to me and said those magic words.  Previously I never did anything about it but for some reason I looked at him and said, "OK, can you get me 100 volunteers?"  He said, "pardon me?"  "Yeah, can you get me 100 volunteers over the next 3 months?" See, he knew everyone and I knew no one.  And I had favor - they loved me, we were still in the honeymoon period and I hadn't screwed up yet - but I had tried getting volunteers in the past and I wasn't so good at it.  So I took advantage of the situation and within 3 months he had recruited 120 volunteers for the youth ministry.  Amazing!  On my own I never would have been able to do that.  So number one, take them up on it, whatever "it" is.

#2.  Get To Know The Lay Of The Land.
Today I met with an intern who is finishing up the summer and then moving back home in the fall.  I just asked him to give me the good, the bad, and the horrible.  By the way, there was a lot of horrible... BUT, it's important for me, and you, to get as many perspectives and point of views from as many people as possible.  Don't come in with guns blazing without first learning the environment and studying the culture.  Be a student of that context, then contextualize the gospel and ministry methods for that specific place (don't carbon copy things you've done in the past - dream new dreams for that new place).

#3. Go After Them.
Get a list of students from the administrator, volunteers, parents, other students and compile it into categories (potential student leaders; occasional attenders; regular crowd students, etc...).  Go after the students who are leaders and make either meetings with them in smaller groups or have a few larger group meetings giving them vision and ownership of the ministry (ownership doesn't mean control - it means partnership - if you give students all control, that's what's called abandonment
 - too much control by you or by them is abandonment).  But, its important that you start building trust and allow God to knit your hearts together with the students.  This is a journey, its a mission that you get to go on together.

#4. Volunteer Revolution.
I mentioned in #1 one method for getting volunteers, and you must.  PLEASE know this - you must get knew faces, you must keep old faces, and you must clean house a bit (we'll talk more about this on #6).  Forget about ratio - get as many adults as you can who love students and Jesus.  Get nuns, waiters, college students, the elderly, parents, basket weavers, pilots, lawyers, teachers, rich people, poor people, tall people, little people - ANYONE who loves Jesus and who loves students.  You can never have enough adults pouring their lives into our youth.

Fuller Seminary just did a study that followed hundreds of students for four years.  What they found was that a student, in order to maintain their faith, needs at least 5 christian adults dedicated and partnering together to develop and love that student through the years.  5 ADULTS! Go after it!  But, don't just take anyone and you may need to get rid of some... more on that later.

#5.  It's All About Who You Know.
Find out who the key people are in the church.  People who love the church, love youth ministry, and have some clout (this might even be the search committee who found you).  Maybe form a group of advisors and meet with them once a week.  You want them to be your eyes and ears, but also your voice.  Your going to need as much support as you can get, especially for step 6.

#6. Blow Stuff Up.
So, this one is controversial.  I was taught by my professor and by many who have gone before me that in the first year you shouldn't make any programmatic changes.  "Don't do anything too drastic in the first year,"  they would tell me.  But after 20 years of doing this, here is what I have found.  No matter what you do, even if you don't change a thing, but just keep running the same old programs you inherited, some people will be unhappy.  Why?  Because you're not the previous leader.  They will say, "I don't like youth group anymore because its all different."  You'll think to yourself, "But I haven't changed a thing!"

Know this, it has changed, because a group will get their identity (at least partially) from their leader - and you're not her!  So you might as well blow stuff up... graciously and with wisdom.  What you'll find out is, many students are longing for change - they're ready for a new start.  So get them on board, share the vision, and run.  Start over.  When you hear, "hey, that's not the way we used to do it."  Just respond, "I know, and the way it used to be was amazing, but God is doing something knew and I would love you to help with it." So go blow "s" up.
 
#7.  Communicate, Communicate, Communicate.
Communicate to parents (meetings and emails and letters), to fellow staff members, to your supervisor, to the pastor, to your mom - basically everyone.  You carry the vision, you're the keeper of the play book and plan.  Great leaders lead in three ways:  down, across, and up.  Lead down to the students and volunteers, across to your peers, and up to your supervisors.  Lead, give vision, tell why your doing what your doing and ask them to get your back -- and keep doing this non-stop.

Always tell stories, walk and tell the administrator, the janitor, basically everyone - tell them a story of God working in the life of a teenager and how the ministry is seeing awesome things and how they can be praying.  Stories, stories, stories.  That way, when negative feedback is heard, the people you have carried the vision to and told stories to will say, "hold on, I've heard God's doing amazing things!"

#8.  Thick Skin, Loving And Warm Heart, Plus Balls.
Transitions are difficult - for everyone, not just you.  You'll need a thick skin for when negative feedback is thrown out - and it will be.  Remember who you are and that God's hand is upon you.   Don't give people too much power.  I worked for a guy who either would make my day or break it.  If he liked my work I felt like a million bucks.  If he hated it, I felt like crap.  Don't give people that much power - remember who you are and how God sees you.

You'll also need a loving and warm heart.  Don't forget how much God loves these people - this is why he has called you there.  Love them - even the ones who hurt you -- love them.  Help them experience the warmth of God by your very presence and words.

And thirdly, you'll need to have balls.  Yes I said it - balls.  Guts is required for leaders who work in the church (really anywhere though).  You'll need to make some tough decisions, maybe ask some leaders to step down, make program changes, dream bigger dreams.  This is going to take guts, balls.  Big ones.