How the NFL Taught Me to Multiply Leaders in My Church

ABOUT PASTORS MINISTERIAL ELDERS EVANGELISM SPOUSES ! How the NFL Taught Me to Multiply Leaders in My Church December 05, 2019 Dustin Serns Do you ever feel you have a shortage of good leaders in your church? It is easy to get discouraged and frustrated when we don’t feel others are stepping up. I have found that one of the greatest inhibitors to leadership multiplication is not “them,” it’s “me.” How I lead has a direct impact on raising up other leaders or preventing them from growing. What if there was a way to have a steady stream of gifted emerging leaders in our churches? Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out more workers into His harvest field” (Luke 10:2). That means that it is a leader’s job to pray for and cooperate with God to raise up more leaders. We can trust God to raise up the leaders He needs for the harvest. How can God help us identify and develop the leaders needed to accomplish His mission? It all starts with our leadership mindset. We find this illustrated in the National Football League (NFL). Which best describes your spiritual leadership mindset right now? While certain mindsets may be needed in various situations, wise leaders will quickly progress through the four leadership mindsets in order to multiply their impact. 4 Leadership Mindsets from the NFL 1. Referee (Limits Opportunities) The referee critically evaluates play and prevents people from breaking the rules. Referees lead with control and permission. Referees maintain safety and organization. However they don’t score touchdowns, facilitate teamwork, or win games. They are more focused on having tasks done correctly than the wellbeing of the people doing them. Sometimes players end up leaving the field because of the call of the Referee. “If you want it done right, do it yourself.” The referee “does tasks right.” 2. Running Back (Takes Opportunities) The running back is handed the ball and uses his energy and effort to move the team forward. The responsibility of the rest of the team is merely to keep people out of his way and watch him run. Because the running back doesn’t share the ball, the success of the team rises and falls on his performance. Running backs are often seen as heroes, but their ability to help their team win is heavily limited. They can only lead with the ball in their hands. The running back “does tasks himself.” 3. Quarterback (Gives Opportunities) The Quarterback leads by getting his other teammates involved. He calls the play and then passes the ball to another teammate. The other teammate has an opportunity to catch the ball and score. When that happens both the quarterback and the receiver are heroes. The quarterback is the decisionmaker. The quarterback’s teammates wait for the quarterback to decide what to do and be ready when he throws them the ball. Once the quarterback passes the ball, he is usually no longer part of the play. The quarterback “delegates tasks to others.” 4. Coach (Creates Opportunities and Develops Others to Succeed at them) The coach is the only one on the team who never scores a touchdown. Instead, the role of a coach is to help his teammates score touchdowns. A coach is a hero-maker. He has the greatest overall impact on the success of the entire team. A coach sees tasks (practices and games) as opportunities to strengthen the abilities of his players. A coach helps his players grow and become more effective in accomplishing their passions and position. A coach is not trying to fill a position with a player as much as he is trying to develop a player in his position. A coach casts the vision for his team and motivates them to push toward victory even through adversity. A great coach is always scouting for and recruiting new talent to add depth to his team. Instead of only relying on the current starters, the coach looks for opportunities to give up-and-comers new experiences and training. A coach knows that the long-term success of his team depends on his ability to recruit and develop new players into heroes. A coach gets to know his players and invests time with them. A coach cares about and mentors his players because he knows that their success on the field is also linked to their wellbeing off the field. A good coach knows he needs to do more than just hand them a playbook or instruct them in a group setting. He will spend time with and develop players in one-on-one conversations and in small groups. The coach also mentors players to build trust and chemistry with one another. The coach knows it is just as important for his teammates to work well with each other as it is for them to work well with him. When a coach has done his job well, he has set up his players for success in their positions. The team is able to score touchdown after touchdown even without the coach touching the ball or being on the field. The success of a coach is completely dependent on his ability to help others succeed. The coach “develops players to succeed at their tasks.” Summary of the Key Roles of the Coach Motivating- Help the team get excited and stay excited about accomplishing the mission Training- Set players up for success through giving knowledge, resources, methods, practice and experience (“playing time”) Recruiting- Looking for new people to add to the team and giving them opportunities to contribute in areas they are excited about Mentoring- Caring about players, frequently affirming success, asking questions, providing encouragement through mistakes, making adjustments when needed, and helping teammates work build trust and chemistry with one another. Example: Leadership Mindsets Applied to Ministry Someone from the community requests Bible studies. Referee- “The only way they will be instructed correctly is if I study with them myself.” Running Back- “The most reliable way to get it done is to do it myself.” Quarterback- “Who can I ask to go follow-up on this on their own?” Coach- “Who can I develop in their faith through this opportunity? What simple resources and method can I recommend to set them up for success? Who can I connect with them to mentor and encourage them? Do they need me to be there to help model (“practice”) for the first couple studies? When should I check back with them to see how it is going?” Application Questions Which leadership mindset do I tend to utilize most? How could I incorporate more elements of the coach leadership mindset into my ministry with my team? Who are some emerging leaders I could recruit to my team? What are some of their passions that I could help include them in or “design plays” for? You Decide Your Mindset While all of us have natural tendencies based on our personality and past experiences, our leadership mindset is a choice. We may not have total control over the people that God has brought to our churches, but we do have total control over the mindset we lead them with. The more we can progress through these leadership mindsets, the more we can multiply the success of our team (our church). Being a coach takes more work in the beginning. But in the end, it grows and multiplies what is able to happen in the end. Jesus promises to provide us with a steady stream of emerging leaders when we adopt a coach leadership mindset and faithfully pursue His mission. Not long ago, I took my church board leaders through these four leadership mindsets. I asked how they could incorporate more elements of a coaching mindset into their areas of leadership. It was an incredibly insightful and productive discussion. Why not give it a try with your leadership team? Dustin Serns is the pastor for the Port Orchard church in Washington NAD AFFILIATES MINISTERIAL NADEI About Contact Adventist Learning Community Careers InMinistry Center Ministry in Motion MISSION AL INITI ATIVES © 2019 The North American Division of Seventh-Day Adventists. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with prior written permission of North American Division of Seventh-Day Adventists. Compassion Movement Plant1000