Church Renewal Lessons From Restaurant Impossible

I watched an interesting new show last night on the Food Network called Restaurant Impossible.  In this reality show, experienced chef Robert Irvine takes failing restaurants that are on the verge of closing and does a one day makeover, discerning what is wrong and making the necessary changes to turn the restaurant around.  It hit me midway through the show that the problems this restaurateur was facing with his declining business were the same issues many of the declining churches face today.  I thought, wouldn’t it be great if churches could receive the same kind of evaluation and makeover.

In this episode, Chef Irvine's challenge was to revive The Dodge City Restaurant, a 30 year old "western" style steak house in Pennsylvania. The restaurant had not changed much in 30 years except to add more and more western memorabilia to the decor.  So the restaurant was cluttered, dingy, dreary and uninviting, in dire need of a makeover. But the owner/manager had such an emotional attachment to the decor and western memorabilia that he couldn't bring himself to remove anything, much to the chagrin of his wife.  You think many churches have the same issues?  I’ve walked into some that remind me of my grandmother’s house.  As I watched chef Irvine throw out loads of old, dust covered keepsakes and western relics, I was reminded of our mission trip to Denver last summer.

We had an opportunity to help a church outside the Denver area that had the same problem as the restaurant.  The church was not that old, perhaps about 30 years, and it had a nice, fairly modern facility, but the amount of stuff the church had accumulated inside was overwhelming.  I imagined that the staff felt obligated to use anything and everything that was donated to them so that the halls and rooms were packed with mismatched furniture and silk plants and flowers.  One small room that was used as a parlor had three sofas, a table and several chairs - so many pieces that you could hardly make it into the room.  Fortunately it so happened that we had two interior decorators on our mission team, one with a home restaging business.  We got permission to remove a lot of stuff and restage the halls and foyer.  We also painted some of the classrooms and gave the church a new, fresh look.  Thankfully the pastor gave us license to do the makeover and hopefully the church members appreciated the changes.  How many churches across America would benefit from such a simple makeover?

The second issue that was hurting the restaurant was the owner/manager's control and inability to delegate the work.  Doug had two cooks who had worked for him for most of the 30 years but he still controlled the kitchen and the creation of all the dishes.  He wanted it done a certain way and didn't trust his employees to do it right.  For example, Doug spent 20 hours a week cutting meat when any of his chefs could have done the job.  This took away time that he could spend managing the restaurant, empowering his team and training his cooks.  When the chefs were given the opportunity to create their own dishes, they proved that they could.  One commented, "if only I had more freedom in the kitchen, I could prove to Doug that I can cook".

It's no different in a lot of declining churches.  The pastor does not delegate duties that others can do, and in doing so fail to grow teams and provide the leadership the church needs.  They would rather do tasks that a volunteer could do because it is easier and gives a false sense of accomplishing something.  But by not equipping the saints for ministry, pastors rob others of the joy of ministering and miss opportunities to help others grow their faith and abilities.  The pastor's control of ministries actually does the opposite of what they intend to happen. It puts a governor on the church growth, numerically and spiritually.

The third major problem with the restaurant was the menu.  Doug's menu had way too many items.  Customers were handed 5 different menus with almost every kind of food you could think of.  This was a steak house but you could get anything from spaghetti to Mexican food.  Doug thought that the more dishes he offered, the more he could please his patrons.  But he had so many, none of the dishes were done well and the customers were so confused that it took them forever to read the menu.  Chef Irvine immediately pared down the menu to a few items that he empowered the longtime chefs to create. And wouldn't you know, they were very good and the customers loved them.

I've seen the same problem in many churches today.  You’ll even see small to moderate size churches with programs that many mega churches don’t offer.  The belief is that more programs attract more people.  But just like the extra large menu in the restaurant, a church that offers too long of a list of ministries and programs can overwhelm members.  You end up not doing anything very well.  The problem is that many programs you start become fixtures in the church which you have a difficult time ending whether they are done well or not.  Thom Rainer's book, Simple Church, gives great insight into how to overcome the over-programmed problem by simplifying your church, showing how less is better.  The principle is to focus on what you do well, what you feel called to do by God and less on trying to be and do all things for all people.

It was fascinating watching the transformation of a restaurant in one day. I know it's not feasible to revitalize a church in one day, but a dying church can have new life if the pastor and church leaders are willing to listen to outside consultants or coaches and be willing to change.  For the owner of The Dodge City Restaurant, his pride almost kept him from allowing the changes. But in the end, fortunately for Doug, his desperation overruled his pride.  How many pastors allow their pride to get in the way as they sit and watch their beloved church die?

Taking a Strong Stand

I really enjoyed the Global Leadership Summit this year.  Those who have attended the Willow Creek conference over the years can attest that Bill Hybels and the Summit staff try very hard to steer away from politics and keep the focus on developing leaders through a Biblical model. It is a difficult proposition given the fact that sometimes they bring in political figures.  And when they have brought political personalities in, from both the democratic and republican perspective, these political figures stay close to the topic of leadership or faith.  Yet, of course when you are reaching literally thousands of people with your message, no matter what you say, you are bound to offend someone.
So it was this year, before the Leadership Summit even got underway, Starbuck’s founder and CEO, Howard Schultz, under pressure from a gay advocacy group, backed out of his speaking contract just days before the conference began.
Bill Hybels had to announce to crowd, many of whom were there specifically to hear Schultz, that he would not be speaking and why.
I thought Bill handled the announcement with grace and class.  And yet he still received criticism from religious groups for not taking a strong enough stand against homosexuality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFhSfr13Y6o&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Growing up in a conservative home and then developing my faith foundation in the Baptist church, one of the values that was instilled in me was to never be neutral. I was taught to take a stand and stay out of the middle, the moderate zone, that those who affect change in the world never reside in the middle.  Change agents are always on the fringe.  With that in mind, I think there are those Christians who would criticize Hybels for being in the middle, for not taking a strong enough stand against homosexuality.
I would say that if Hybels is in the middle on this, it is in the center of the will of God.  Where you stand on any issue all depends on your ultimate goal, your desired outcome.  If Hybels' objective was to teach that homosexuality is a sin, or to make a political statement, then he did not accomplish his goal, that he was not polemic (actual dictionary word for today).  But if his objective is to reach the lost with the message of Christ, which I believe was his intent, then he was a long way from the middle, he was on the edge.  If he cares more about evangelism than behavior management, about building relationships and bridges to allow one to share the Gospel than teaching right or wrong, then he met his objective.  Those who are critical of this do so because they have a different focal point and they want their cause to trump others.
Whose cause is more important?  Go to scripture.  You tell me, what would Jesus do?

Is good enough really good enough?

Recently I read the book Deliberate Simplicity by Dave Browning of Christ the King Church which argues the point that good enough is good enough in ministry, that the pursuit of excellence that many pastors and leaders pursue in churches may actually be a stumbling block to ministry.  Now that's a new one.  And it really got me thinking.   

I've grown up with the mindset that we should always strive for excellence in our work for the kingdom, citing Colossians 3:23 "whatever you do unto the Lord, do it with all of your heart", as my reference verse.  I recall being asked the question several years ago, why would anyone come to our church over the one down the street.  My answer was that we do things better, with excellence.  As I look back now I realize that is certainly one way to attract people to your church but probably not the correct way.  Now I agree with Browning that excellence should not be our goal after all. 

It is a very real struggle to keep up with not only the world, but also churches in our neighborhoods, to always come up with the bigger and better.  And there should always be a tension and desire to do things better with "all of our heart".  We shouldn't ever do anything half-hearted for Jesus.  The church has been notorious for lacking quality in ministry, doing it without creativity, imagination and inspiration.  But should excellence be the goal of the church?

As I look back on my thirty years in ministry, even though I thought I believed in the concept of doing everything with excellence, I didn't do ministry by that standard.  Not until I read the book, Deliberate Simplicity, did I understand that excellence was never my goal.  What I desired all along was transformation and it does not take excellence to transform someone.  Actually the pursuit of excellence in ministry often times becomes a stumbling block to transformation.  Rick Warren wrote, "You have heard it said, 'if it can't be done without excellence, don't do it'.  Well Jesus never said that.   The truth is almost everything we do is done poorly when we first start doing it - that's how we learn.  At Saddleback Church we practice the 'good enough' principle.  It doesn't have to be perfect for God to use it and bless it.  We would rather involve thousands of people in ministry than have a perfect church run by a few elites."  

Doing things with "all of your heart" in Col. 3:23 does not mean with excellence.  It is a motivation to do things with a heart for Christ, not to please people or reach some man imposed standard of how things should be done. When my motivation is transformation to Christ-likeness, then when I am putting together a mission trip, I am more concerned with having a team of individuals that need transforming, that are willing to be transformed and those that can help transform those in which we are ministering to.  I'm not trying to put together the perfect team that will get the task done with excellence.

A worship leader struggles with the tension between excellence and good enough every week.  Do I limit the team to just the three or four best singers, or do I include others who don't quite meet the excellence standard?  If you are more concerned with the sound than with transformation of your team members, allowing them to grow and use their giftedness for Christ, then you will exclude those who don't measure up.  It is ironic that it is easier using only the top singers each week, not having to develop less than great talent.  

An unhealthy focus on doing everything with "excellence" can take your focus off of relationships and put it on the task.  It can cause volunteers and staff to avoid risk, to avoid taking chances and innovative things.  We seldom do things quite as well the first time.  It will limit the number of people who are involved in ministry because we are prone to do it ourselves or use the experts and paid staff.   This is a real issue in churches.  Pastors and staff must deal with the tension between effective ministry and "excellent" ministry on a regular basis

In a new church plant, with limited resources, you try to stretch every cent as far as it can go to reach people for Christ.  Most new plants worship in less than excellent spaces, use less than excellent sound systems, have less than excellent children's and youth ministries.  And yet  church plants have a much better evangelical effectiveness than large, churches.  Excellence has no bearing on the evangelical effectiveness and that is the point.

Should you always "do your best"?  Of course, but with the proper goal in mind.  We can't keep up with the world's insatiable demand for bigger and better and we don't have to, if we keep our focus on the true prize; transformation into the likeness of Jesus. Then we can let go of the burden of "excellence" and be satisfied with good enough.                    

                                                                                                

Taking your team to new heights

I must admit I'm a sucker for shows like the Apprentice and Top Chef.  I love to see how people interact, watch the creative group process and how leaders deal with their team members.  You can learn a lot about leadership from the shows, especially what not to do.  One of the most difficult leadership issues on these shows is the process of working with a team to choose and settle on one idea for a marketing campaign, room design or menu. It's great fun and drama watching creative individuals try to work as a team. 

I often wondered why the leaders on the Apprentice didn't use brainstorming techniques more often to develop ideas. You'd think that these so-called entrepreneurial leaders would know how to use brainstorming to elicit better ideas.

As much drama and dysfunction there is on these reality shows, I've seen some of the same problems and leadership struggles on church staffs also (why I love the shows).  I think many church leaders just avoid using teams all together because egos get involved, those who are more dominant get their way, people's feelings are hurt when their idea isn't chosen or there is a lack of control by the leader.  So the process often times just does not produce the creative ideas one expects.  Therefore, pastors and leaders just settle with relying upon the creativity of the individual instead of the group. Each staff member does his or her own thing and there is little input from the team and most of the time, they end up doing the same old thing over and over.

If more church staffs used brainstorming techniques (correctly), I believe we would have more creative sermons, ministries and ways to reach the lost.   On one staff we tried brainstorming a few times but the leaders and team members just could not resist commenting and critiquing during the brainstorming session and it always stifled the creative process to the point that it was frustrating and not as productive as it could have been.  If you do it, do it right and you'll be successful.

I'd love to hear if you have tried brainstorming with your team and whether it has been a success or not.

Here is one technique you can try with your staff or team that should help you in the creative process.

1.  Clearly define your objective, with budget, and parameters etc.

2.  Instruct the team leaders to leave the room, brainstorm by themselves for 15 minutes to come up with as many ideas as possible.  Instruct them to be outlandish and as creative as possible within the parameters.  Write each idea on a separate post-a-note.  

3.  Have the team members return to the room separately and post their ideas, spread out on a wall or white board.  

4.  When all team members have posted, bring them back together and read the ideas together without comment or critique.  Because the brainstorming process is used to spark ideas, allow your team members 10 more minutes to come up with new ideas.  You can send them out again to come up with them by themselves or do it as a group.

5.  Add the new ideas to the others, and then group the ideas into related groups.  Once they are in groups, now you can discuss the merits of the ideas.

6.  Choose the specific group of ideas you like best and then you can narrow down from the group, to the individual idea you like best.  In many cases you'll find that there are many variations of the same idea. You'll see where the team is leaning.  But often there are one or two great ideas that come out of left field that may not have surfaced without the brainstorming session.  

For more brainstorming techniques, go to http://www.mindtools.com/brainstm.html

Motivation to change

A strange thing happened a few weeks ago.  I suddenly became very motivated to conquer my diabetes.  After struggling for 10 years, suddenly I had a renewed incentive to change my eating habits and workout routine. Why now?  What exactly happened in that clinic that suddenly inspired me to change and could I use the same methods to help change other things in my life also?

I struggled for 10 years to manage my diabetes.  There were times that I was a somewhat motivated to do something but I never really knew exactly what to do.  I was given plenty of information but was not confident in how to proceed.  The truth is that the world, culture that I live in, constantly puts pressure on me to do just the opposite of what I need to do.  The speed of life, diet, commercials, everything temps us away from what we need to be healthy.  Some of it is obvious, while most is so subtle we have a hard time even knowing when to say no.  

I floated along until I reached a point where I knew I needed to change or I faced severe health consequences.  People are usually not motivated to change unless they reach a point of desperation.  For me I had recently had unusually high and low blood sugar readings and was feeling lethargic and ill at times.  I knew I needed to change my eating habits and exercise more, but I did not have the energy to workout like I needed to.  A relative suggested I try the Diabetes of America clinic to get specialized treatment.  
At the clinic I was able to get immediate results and feedback of my blood tests.  The doctor sat with me and asked questions about what I ate, my workout habits and gave me great feedback to what was causing my problems.  I understood exactly what the problem was now and how to beat it.
The Doctor convinced me that it was possible to change, adjusted my medication to solve the immediate problem and gave me a vision of what was possible with a reasonable amount of change.  I was given a new meter to test my blood sugar and introduced to a new way to keep track.  
The nutritionist gave me a goal and a plan to reach that goal.  I now know what I can do and have the plan to do it.  I have a goal and will be held accountable to change.  Since then I have been consistent in taking and recording my blood sugar levels.  I am eating better and working out more.  The positive results were immediate.  Better blood sugar results and I am feeling much better without the highs and lows.  And I've stayed on track for the first three weeks.

From this experience I can discern the ingredients that helped motivate me to change.
1.  Must be motivated to change.  Without a strong need or desire to change, ie. health, relationships, faith etc. a person will not change.
2.  Must have correct knowledge of the problem.  Truth is powerful.  If you have any doubt, you will more than likely not follow through.
3.  A reasonable vision of what can be done.  What does victory look like.  Without a clear and reasonable goal, one will not pursue change.  
4.  A plan to accomplish that goal.  Sometimes small steps are the best.  If we can get some immediate accomplishment, it helps to motivate us to go on.  
5.  An accountability to see that it gets accomplished.  We need a person to hold us accountable.

Discussion question
What motivates you?  Who are the key players in your life that motivate you to change and hold you accountable?  Is it possible to change without any of these key components?

From the probable to the possible

God tells us all things are possible. The world tells us what is probable.  Our goal is to realize what is possible instead of what is probable.  Left up to my desires and abilities I will accomplish only what the world requires, the "probable".  What is it that motivates people to move beyond the ordinary to the extraordinary, from the probable to the possible?

I know that's a loaded question, maybe one of the top 5 mysteries of all time.  Men and women have given their lives to trying to discover what motivates others.  Theologians, politicians and business leaders all seek after the solution.  Some have stumbled upon the secret, like Adolph Hitler and used it for tremendous harm.  It is a fascinating topic but one that is extraordinarily valuable for those who understand it and can use it to motivate themselves and others.

And there are so many aspects of motivation from motivating self, to understanding how God motivates us to do His will.  So over the next few blogs, I'd like to focus on motivation and try to answer some of the questions.  I'd also like to look at some of the key people in the Bible and see what motivated them to accomplish what they did.  What was their "probable" and what was the "possible" that God brought forth in them.

What motivates you?  How have you seen God motivate you in your life, to move you from probable to the possible?

Is your church a stumbling block to full devotion or pathway to discipleship?

Reggie McNeil made a bold statement at the Exponential conference that I have been pondering the past few days.  He said that if the church is not producing disciples then all it is doing is producing consumers.  In the book And: The Gathered and Scattered Church, Hugh Halter writes, Consumerism reflects what Jesus came to call people out of. It's exactly the opposite of what Jesus is telling us to go and make!
It is the consensus of many pastors and church leaders that the church in general does not do a very good job of producing disciples.  Therefore, if the two statements above are true, then we must conclude that the church is actually leading people away from discipleship.  The church can be and is often a stumbling block to many believer's pursuit of Christ.  Now that is something to chew on.