ADMINISTRATIVE
PROVERBS
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Christian and church quotes
God’s lantern shows us only one step at a time. Don’t ask for a floodlight.
Should we pray for money and resources of for God to
help us be worthy of His bounty?
Do we pray more for the needs of our ministry or for
the needs of those we profess to serve?
Just because we could do it doesn’t mean we should do
it, and just because we should do it doesn’t mean we could do it (now).
Pity the church that gets everything it wants.
Planning is a waste of time if you focus only on what
you intend to make happen. Instead, focus on the unintended and
unexpected consequences of what may unexpectedly develop from the
plan. The best plan is the one that surprises you in positive ways
and goes beyond your realistic expectations.
You will truly know your ministry only when you know
it as God does.
Doing it alone is better than not doing it at
all. Doing it together is better. Doing it together with God is best.
How you do ministry work is just as important to God
as what you do.
Burnout comes from being out of touch with God really
wishes you to do.
When you value people solely for their productivity,
you quit valuing people.
Why is first and worst to define; What comes next and
can be heck; How is third and takes more than a word; Who is next in line--don’t
overlook the divine; When comes last-- remember to focus on the past
Most of us are clueless about how the cars we drive
everyday work. Computers are just a box to us. And so it is for
most of us with the ministries we work in.
Organization problems are recognized by almost
everyone, but few are willing to talk about them.
No teams, no leadership.
It’s the
leaders who are most likely to be out of touch with the human realities of
their
own
organization.
Teams that lack teamwork, lack momentum, stability,
morale, and the capacity to improve and change. They also get
increasingly out of touch with reality.
To have
teamwork, a team must have:
· Frequent interaction of its members
· Bonding through work, not superficial socializing
· Communication transparency
· Mutual interdependency
What is best for clients is better sensed through
interdependent team members than through isolated individuals.
The deeper the relationships of people who work
together, the better they can impact the mission.
The best way for people to really get to know each
other is through working together, not through “fellowshipping.”
Accountability is a group phenomenon. You can’t
hold yourself accountable.
You can’t expect to drain the Pacific Ocean dry
dipping it out one cup at a time, so don’t burn yourself out trying.
The only poor people are those
who have no one to serve.
How would your church be
different without you? How would you be
different without your church?
The more invisible your
contributions are, the better (so God gets the credit).
How much do you cost your
church and its members when you don’t fulfill your responsibilities?
What would happen if you never
used the word “I” again?
The prescription for
happiness. Something to do, something to
look forward to, someone to love. (Elvis
Presley)
As a general rule, the more
you’re paid, the more you have to serve your organization. The less you’re paid, the more you can serve
people.
Bureaucracies see people as
things.
What you can do is not nearly
as important as what God can do through you.
The team leaders’ main job is
not to “get stuff done”—it’s to create a fertile climate for service and
ministry that empowers team members to get it done.
Since our Lord doesn’t value
people simply for what they accomplish, neither should we when we work with
them.
Pep talks and pressure don’t
produce commitment in others—but participation sure does.
Management techniques designed for
the secular world fit the church like a Harley-Davidson chopper fits Queen
Elizabeth.
People are motivated by
sacrifice on behalf of others—not by routine comfort
How Christians work together is
just as important as what they produce.
Ministry teams must do the right things in the right way.
Church work that is
God wants to be the partner of
every ministry, but not every ministry wants to partner with God.
The best way for ministry
leaders to succeed is for ministry members to want them to. Good members make good leaders.
Ministry teams work best when
their members feel competent, productive, appreciated, and unique. This can happen only when the committee
merges into a true team.
Committees focus on productivity,
while teams focus on people.
Autocratic decisions are easy
to make but hard to implement.
The only good goal is one that
clearly benefits others.
Committees try to make things
happen, while teams wait for them to happen (via creating a fertile
organizational environment).
The best way to change another
person is to change your relationship with them.
Build relationships, build
people.
The best ministry contributions
are the unexpected ones, which only God can produce.
You can’t lead people until you
value them.
How people work together is
just as important as what they produce.
Teams must do the right things in the right way.
Teams work best when their
members feel competent, productive, appreciated, and unique. This can happen only when workers merge into
a true team.
Committees focus on
productivity, while teams focus on people.
Autocratic decisions are easy
to make but the devil to implement.
Build relationships, build
people.
The best contributions are the unexpected
ones, and the unexpected comes form team dynamics.
Interdependent people are
stronger and more productive than independent people.
You can’t lead people until you
value them.
No trust, no productivity.
Others know you better than you know yourself.
The best way for people to really get to know each
other is through working together, not through “socializing.”
No team, no motivation, no accountability!
Leadership is not possible in the absence of a team.
You can’t expect to drain the Pacific Ocean dry
dipping it out one cup at a time, so don’t burn yourself out trying.
We’re clueless about how the
cars we drive everyday work. Computers
are just a box to us. And so it is for
most of us with the organizations we work in.
No teams, no leadership.
Human goals and effort put
blinders on our awareness of how God is working in our ministry.
Leaders are the very most likely to be out of touch
with the human realities of their own organization.
Professionalization of
organizations kills off teamwork by changing the culture from “locals”
(dedicated to the organization and its clients) to “cosmopolitans” (dedicated
to their professional peers and organizations).
Organizations that lack
teamwork, lack momentum, stability, morale, and the capacity to improve and
change. They also get increasingly out
of touch with reality.
Your organization is gonna be
in financial trouble when you try to turn wants into needs. Pity the organization that gets everything it
wants.
Don't wait for decisions to
work--make them work through teamwork.
Going against the grain is
tough, but well worth it. In fact, it's the only option.
If you were looking for a job,
would you take your tools to the bustling construction project across the
street, or would you go over to the abandoned building across town and labor
alone?
Are you a gatekeeper or
empowerer?
The seed is potential
productivity. The church culture is the
soil. Church member contributions are
the crop.
Is your ministry culture frozen
tundra, a sweltering desert, or a tropical oasis?
People with interpersonal
skills recharge, rather than drain, the batteries of others.
It’s much easier to pull people
along than to push them around.
You will truly
know yourself only when God is in the equation.
Pain makes us
grow up.
Sometimes it's
best to approach the world as we would like it to be rather than the way it
actually is.
The Bible
doesn't attach much importance to one's professional success.
Some say what
you do is the most important thing; others say it's how you do it.
Actually, it's both.
The only real
solution for conflict is sacrifice.
Churches find
it easy to do most things because they stick to the easy things: building
buildings, organizing programs, raising money, etc. The hard things to do
are spiritual, such as prayer, reaching out to the poor, and proclaiming the
gospel. These are secondary in most churches because people can't do them
in their own power.
When the empire
builders say, "Lead, follow, or get out of the way," get out of
the way.
What you feed
grows.
Rigid people
hurt people.
The power
definition of leadership: Using the organization to achieve your personal
goals.
Some do the
right thing in the wrong way. Others do the wrong thing in the right
way. But steer clear of those who do the wrong thing in the wrong
way!
Definition of a
board of directors: People who are out of touch with the organization
they purport to oversee.
The biggest
problem we face in today's disjointed world is how to stay connected to
reality.
The single best
way to check your motives is to ask, who am I doing this for?
The most important verse in the
Bible for explaining what happens to organizations that desert God: I Kings
11:14 (read in context I Kings 11:6-14).
PR stands for Perverting
Reality.
Institutions don’t exist; only
people do.
A mediocre organization is one
that benchmarks other organizations.
Want to go out a limb to
champion a cause? Hold your fire until you
meet these 3 criteria: (1) You’re acting on behalf of what is right, not from
self-interest; (2) You have an insider’s big picture perspective of the facts
(so you’re not acting out of mere opinion); (3) You understand the implications
of your actions and are willing to live with their consequences for yourself
and others.
You know you’re doing a great
job when people start taking you for granted.
The only way you can support a
boss who has character flaws is to make those character flaws your own.
Limit your agenda for God,
because He probably has better things planned for you than you imagine.
Most churches try to please
people more than God.
Most people favor human justice
over divine because they’re afraid God might show mercy.
Backing a leader who lacks
character is like betting on a lame horse at the racetrack.
Which is worse: to do what you
don’t want to do, or to do what you don’t know how to do?
Agendas destroy.
How long can the people stay
innocent when the leaders are corrupt?
They weren't doing
it for God as they profess because of the way they were doing it.
They thought that imposing their own will and agenda
on the organization was leadership.
They were more concerned with saving face than with
saving the organization.
They
kept having to raise more and more money because their empire was getting
bigger and bigger.
They were decision-avoiders instead of
decision-makers.
All
out of vision and no place to go.
Hand-picking board members, facilitates a “good old boy” mentality that
dilutes accountability.