Should you ever be a ministry expert?

In ministry you can be experienced.
You can be a veteran.
You can be trained.
You can be well-read.

I don’t think you can truely be an expert.

Or at least you should be weary of someone who deems themselves a ministry expert.

Why?

Because stagnation, or worse, arrogance is the danger of someone with the expert mindset.

For culturally relevant ministry is fluid.
Technology is exponentially advancing.
What worked a decade ago needs reevaluating and, often, reimagining.

Thus, everyone in ministry must always be learning.
Never should someone in ministry think that they are an expert and have learnt everything.

Don't be the expert storyteller

Over the last few weeks I've picked up three nuggets of wisdom about storytelling.

My first chunk of wisdom has to do with stories/illustrations which involve a subject that you're not an expert in.

Sometimes, at least if you're like me, you'll share a story or illustration and need to insert an important disclaimer.

"I'm not an expert in the following but..."

On some occasions we can falsely project our expertise when, in fact, what we mean to say is...

I'm not an expert in the subject of xyz...
But I found this out this week...
But I found this fascinating...
But I think this makes the point really well...

For the other two nuggets, you'll need to stay tuned.

When you MUST NOT write your own stuff

Earlier this month I wrote here that I write almost all my own curriculum.

Somewhere last week, now trapped in the Internet, I read an article stating the case for using packaged small group studies.

Whilst it made the predicable arguments about time management and critically tested material, I think there's a healthy middle ground.

There's a time when someone in ministry MUST use purchased/external resources.

Abuse.
Suicide.
Depression.
Cutting.
Eating Disorders.

No matter how long you've been in ministry, when it comes to the above topics, you are not the expert.

Unless you've done extensive research and worked as a counselor, hands on, then you are not an expert.

When it comes to professionally treated issues, no matter how well I know my kids, I'm not an expert and it is responsible for me to refer them onto others (thus the resource folder in my office).

If When we talk to our youth about troubling issues, then we MUST be humble enough to bow to the wisdom and expertise of others.

Worship or music leader?

I've sung into a microphone during a church service exactly twice. And it was on the same day.

So it's safe to say that I'm no expert when it comes to leading worship via music.

I also can't play a musical instrument or read music.

So it's also safe to say that I'm abut the furthest you can be from being an expert musician.

But, I do know the difference between a worship leader and a music leader.

And there are lost of churches who have the later, but not the former.

The difference is not quality. It has nothing to do with their ability to both jump, sing and play guitar like John Mayer or rock a wah-wah peddle.

You can lead people in worship and not be a record-quality musician.
Equally, you can be a phenomenal muso and not be a worship leader.

The difference?

What is the leader hoping for the people to connect with?

A feeling from the "rocking" music OR the Living God, Jesus?
Are they hoping the congregation gets in tune with the music OR the Spirit of God?
Do they want those gathered to have their feet tapping OR approaching the throne of grace?

Why the minister lets their eyes glaze over

Everyone in ministry is guilty of this...

Every.
Single.
One.

What?

Nodding and trying to follow a string of technical jargon shared with them by an enthusiastic volunteer.

It comes in various forms, and is dependant upon gaps in the ministers knowledge, but it’s unmissable if you observe it from the outside.

Personally, it most often happened with musicians or sound/technology officinardos.

Often, they would be trying to help. The expert would be explaining how they fixed the buzzing sound, which I probably barely noticed, or going in depth about the improvements they made or the superiority of one kind of cable over another.

No matter how we arrived at the destination, I would be lost.

Hopefully it wouldn’t show.

Herein lies the secret in negotiating the jagon-expert.

Silence.
Smiling.
Nodding.
Googling.
Surface learning.

Why would you bother?

Because, even if you’re lost in the technicalities, you should honour those who serve. Without them the church stops. Furthermore, you should be thankful that others have knowledge and abilities (and the willingness to use them!) which you don’t posses. 

Opening the window for the 5-Minute Expert

No matter what vocation you work in, there will always be people who are experts in a certain segment of the job.

Maybe they’ve been doing it for a long time.

Maybe they’ve figured out an innovative way to do the tasks that are required.

Maybe they’ve stumbled upon a way which connects with your clientele.

No matter, most people in your workplace will have an expert niche.

A good leader looks for opportunities for that expertise to be shared.

That is why it’s important to open up periodic five-minute tutorials.

A snapshot of what works.

Hopefully, everyone in your workplace will be honest enough to realise that they haven’t worked it all out yet, respectful enough to be able to listen to a colleague for five minutes and supportive enough to be willing to try a suggestion by someone more effective then they are.

Within the church setting, it should be a no-brainer.

God has given us each different sets of spiritual gifts to use for Him.

This will shape the kind of ministry we have.

Thus, this will enable to be stronger in certain areas.

Since the body of Christ isn’t a millipede (where everyone is an identical leg), we should be more than open to glean from the wisdom of others.

Within the school context, the variety of years/classes/subjects we teach will naturally enable us to develop in specific areas.

Since so much of teacher life can involve you being placed outside your preferred context, surely hearing from those who are more effective in these areas would be advantageous.

What geography teacher (who needs to teach junior history) wouldn’t want to learn from a history colleague about effective source analysis?

What history teacher (who needs to teach junior geography) wouldn’t want strategies to effectively teach geography skills?

All it needs to take is five regular minutes…

Why do I deserve to be listened to?

I wrote plenty of statements in my last post that should have some dedicated readers hitting unsubscribe.

I have only been in youth ministry for five years. I have never worked full-time for a church. I have never worked at a church longer than 28 consecutive months.

So... Why the heck should anyone care what I think about ministry, teenagers or the church?

I'm no expert. Not even close.

If I walked into a book publisher and suggested that they should hire me to write a book, I would be laughed out of the building. In the past, I would have no chance on being on anyone's radar.

Today, anyone with time and a computer can have a voice. That's why I started this blog.

And that's the beauty of today. People you would never have heard of can add value to your life. I read heaps of blogs. The majority are of people who I would never be exposed to normally.

Sometimes they drop nuggets of gold. Sometimes they give me great ideas or links to brilliant resources.

So... Do I deserve to be listened to (unless you know me and want an insight into my small slice of the world)? Not really.

But I'm okay with that and it continually blows my mind that others read anyway...

The ground floor needs Generals

I read a stack of blogs. Particularly youth ministry blogs. It takes up a chunk of each day i'm in the office.

Normally, i'll skim articles.
Sometimes, i'll read them closer if they particularly grab me.
On the seldom occasions they will stick with me for a few days.

This post has been bouncing around my mind since i read it.

The gist? Those who know what they are doing in youth ministry can get the bigger, cushier jobs and those which are higher on the "difficulty scale" usually fall to the less experienced.

The sentence that jumped out at me was... Ministry experts should flow to the expert level jobs.

He has a point. A really good point.

It actually reminded me of this post.

The art of faux giving

I can't recall the last time I put currency into an offering plate or bag.

Sure, I've been in plenty of church services where an offering has occurred, I just haven't reached into my wallet.

For, whenever I give, I now do a direct transfer from my bank account into the church's account (it's because of people like me that it's incredibly stupid for a church not to provide these details somewhere in their bulletin).

Personally, I just don't carry that much cash with me and I can then transfer an amount somewhat close to a tithe portion into the offering, which I may not be able to do if I was relying on cash.

Consequently, I now face the prospect of a faux offering.

For those uninitiated, the faux offering is when you pretend to give the traditional way, but you've got nothing physically in your hand.

Sure, the cards informing those around that you directly give exist, but really, whoever remembers to collect those???

The regular routine is to dip your hand into the bag and do... nothing.

But, this covert offering is ineffective with a offertory plate.

This is where the expert faux-givers employ their darkest magic.

As the plate comes around you place your had near the top of the plate and you tap the bottom of the plate with your other hand. This creates a thud which rattles the coins in the plate.

The risk is that those around you will only think that you've given the equivalent of loose change, but for those who are concerned that they'll be gossiped about over morning tea due to their offertory-non-observance, this trick can save face.

At least ever so slightly...

Engaging the mind's vocabulary

I said yesterday that I've picked up three nuggets about storytelling lately. The first was to "not being the expert." The second one is...

Go beyond the visual.

Last week I was stuck by someone telling a story and I assumed they were going to invite us to shut our eyes and "become a part of the story."

Often we will want those listening to imagine themselves in the shoes of someone in the story. We want them to visualise what a character looked like or did next.

We do this because we want to stimulate the mind's eye.

What struck me was the invitation to not only SEE the person, but use two words to describe them.

It made the "imagining" process much more powerful for me.

The reason was simple. It engaged a part of my brain which I feel much more comfortable with. I value words over pictures, so the invitation to use my vocabulary was a far superior connector then just "picturing it in my mind."

Experience or experties?

Would you rather learn from someone with experience or expertise?

If you needed advice about starting a ministry, would you rather speak to someone who has run the event previously, or written/taught about the theory behind it?

I know, ideally, you'd find someone with a large dose of both. So would I.

But... What if you could only select one?

Personally, I'd go with experience.

The reason I lean this way has to do with the flow of information. Usually, if you partake in an activity, even by accident, you'll become somewhat of an expert (even if it's what not to do!).

As good as theory is, for most problems I have, I need someone who has travelled the path I'm currently struggling down.

As useful as academic answers may be, what I'm usually searching for is someone who has put the theory into practice and can warn me of the unseen landmines.

In church-land, these are the "experts" we need to seek out the most, not necessarily those who are lecturing in the topic.

Beyond a good story

My final storytelling nugget of wisdom, following on from "don't be the expert" and "engage the mind's vocabulary," is this...

Remember that the point of the story is not just a good yarn.

Sometimes we fall into the trap that a rip fantastic story is the finish line.

I know I've been guilty of it.

I've finished a scripture lesson, having done an incredible song-and-dance... but ran out of time for the "God bit" which made the story so important.
I've given a powerful, moving, humorous sermon illustration... for it to be the only part of the sermon remembered the next day.

We need to keep the REASON BEHIND the story at the forefront of our minds so it doesn't overshadow the communication mechanism.

Actually... that reminds me of something I heard about Veggie Tales... But I'll share that in my next post.

Unlearning what you know

Last night our church hosted a "Raising Boys" talk by Steve Biddulph and it was good. Really good.

Steve started the presentation by saying how parenting has been going on since the dawn of humanity and, normally, they are fairly good at getting the job done.
Parents, supported by a large number of others, raise their kids into productive adults.

Using this as a platform, Steve said that the usual parenting answer is already known. Usually your gut is correct. But due to the industrial revolution causing a instinctual-parental disconnect, we live in a time where we question this primitive voice.

I a similar thing occurs with belief in God. Small kids are quite comfortable with theism. In scripture, if you invite a year 1 kid to talk to God they are more open and accepting than in year 4 or 5. As they get older they "loose" this underlying awareness of something bigger then themselves.

Culture, upbringing, something deprograms this inherent knowledge.

Perhaps, similar to parenting, we need to place the expert-driven, modern skepticism in perspective and check what our gut thinks.

Willingness > Expert

Now that churches are starting to open up in Sydney, once again, congregations are singing.

Last week I saw a few singers and they made me reminisce about the many people who have sung into the microphones at the churches I’ve attended.

Without fail, they have been vastly more talented than I am.

The less said about me leading the singing, the better.

But, every singer wasn’t equal.

Some vary greatly on the talented-willing scale.

A number have been, frankly, world class. They sing in bands. They have released albums. They have travelled internationally.

Others wouldn’t make it post the first round of the regional qualifying for Australian Idol.

But, I would rather the later than the former.

This is true for almost any ministry I was involved in.

I would rather willingness over sheer talent.

Why?

Because I could help develop those who are willing to become more competent.

And, usually, the distance they needed to improve to reach competent wasn’t a great deal.

They just needed a few tweaks.

They needed to reflect on what they did.

They needed to observe someone else do it well.

They needed more experience.

All of this can be managed alongside gracefulness and time.

And I would rather minister alongside a willing heart than a superstar.

The obstacles when you’re not acclimatised

While my wife and I were in Europe over the last school holidays we did something which we always find a challenge - we hired a car.

Of course, the major challenge for an Australian driving in Europe is that you need to drive on the opposite side of the road.

Thankfully, after a few days we both adjusted (even if I did routinely turn on the windscreen wipers when I intended to indicate a turn), but the first few hours were hairy for both driver and passenger.

Everything was just a little more difficult.

Everything required just a lot more concentration.

Because everything was unfamiliar.

Whenever you do something new, or for the first time in a long while, everything takes a while to fall into place.

It’s true for driving.

It’s true for teaching.

It’s true for preaching.

It takes a while for your body to acclimatise to the rigours of a new activity.

But the place I most encounter this is whenever I ride a bike.

Frankly, I’m not brilliant on a bicycle.

I can ride, but I only ever do so sporadically - and usually in Europe.

This last time, my body reminded me that I was not acclimatised to the physical toll that the task would bring.

But, no matter if it is driving on the right side of the road, riding in the saddle, in the classroom or at the pulpit, there are consequences of unfamiliarity.

Everything is more pronounced.

Small things are off-putting.

You lack the ability to look far ahead.

You overly rely upon expert advice.

You require greater preparation.

You’re more drained after the activity.

Every stage is prolonged.

No matter what it is, but especially in the areas of teaching and preaching, new practitioners must be warned about the snares of unfamiliarity.

This is especially true if they are used to watching experienced veterans.

For, as it takes more time to get ready, you get rocked by the unexpected and you lack the foresight to see trouble approaching, you need a gentle reminder that your mind and body will acclimatise.

Why I’m learning German

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve blogged. 

Over the last month I’ve been travelling around Southern Germany with my fiancé, which may be news if you don’t know me personally, and launching into an expanded university workload.

Leading up to my European holiday, I had an important challenge - Learn German.

Now, I’m not a keen linguist, with the only language I’ve been forced to study over the last 15 years being Biblical Greek. But, ease was not my motivation.

Why did I do it? 
Because I was going to Germany (duh), newly engaged to a German and meeting her family who are German.

These were my motivations.

To honour her family.
To honour her culture.
To open ways to connect and understand.
To share an important thing with my fiancé.

It reminds me of the things that those in ministry will do in order to connect with members of their congregation.

They will dabble in gaming.
Or try out for the musical.
Or do a crash course in the newest social media craze.
Or read up about the university subjects of their young adults.

In ministry you dip your toe into a lot of subjects, behind-the-scenes, in order to have easier avenues of connection with those you minister to.

But the aim is not to become an expert in their hobby.
I certainly didn’t leave Australia fluent in German.

But this effort shows they those around you, be it within the home, work or church are important.

Which bible translation?

DISCLAIMER: I don't pretend to be an expert in this topic. If you look at the Web you will find plenty of smarter people than me who will point you in plenty of different directions. This is just my 2c.

A while back I was asked which bible translation one should read.

The more I thought about the question the more difficult it was to answer.

A whole bunch of questions jumped into my mind after I nearly spouted out... "NIV. That's what I use. It's pretty good."

Why does it matter???

The bible being written in languages I, and the vest majority of people, don't read. I can't read Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek.

Any bible I read will be a translation from the original languages.

Additionally, language is fluid. Words are altered over time. Definitions change. Words are added and dropped from the vernacular (a good example would be the thee's & thou's from the KJV).

But these questions need to be considered...
Will the bible to be used for personal study or to be read aloud?
Do you want foot notes and cross-references?
If they were getting a study bible, would they be aware of any bias of the translators?
Will the bible to be used with kids or well educated adults?
Will the bible to be used for a new Christian or a mature believer who desires a fresh perspective?
Does the person care about gender inclusively and realise what it would mean if it were a "paraphrase" or a "dynamic equivalent"?
Would the person actuality read the introduction at the front of the bible (does anyone...) to see where the translators stand on the above questions?

To boil it down, I think you need a decent word-for-word translation (like the ESV). But this can sound like a modern-day word jumble when read aloud.

So I think you also need a decent thought-for-thought translation (like the NIV... even though it's not perfect). I would use this as my every day bible and when I was looking in-depth at a passage I would cross check the other two.

Finally, I would have handy a paraphrase (like the Message) but understand that this is a loose, poetic interpretation, under the guise of the author.

Being stuck with someone else’s words

There’s a major downside to using prepackaged material.

They aren’t your words.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ever use them.

At times, you absolutely should consider using a purchased curriculum.

You’re short on time.

You’re not an expert on a topic.

But, you should never - ever - claim that what you are saying or using is a creation of your own.

The simple reason?

Someone else’s words will not be your own.

They won’t sound like you.

They may not connect as well with your context.

And, if you play them off as your own, then you’ll be stuck with them.

After all, it would be weird if you end up disagreeing or contradicting “yourself.”

And, when your stuck with other people’s words in your mouth, you don’t want to paint yourself into a theological corner or look like you have a theological multi-personality.

Are you known as a Jesus preacher?

A while ago I wrote about preaching hobby-horses.

As a minister increasingly rides their topic-of-choice then they can aquire the label as a (insert topic) preacher.

But, I wonder, how many ministers would feel comfortable being a "Jesus preacher?"
How many, if they were brutally honest, would rather be renown for preaching the fundamental gospel then their hobby-horse?

In theory, this shouldn't be a difficult question...

Until it means that you're known for Jesus more than being popular.
Or... and this would often suck me in... Fun.
Or relevant to today's culture.
Or the innovative/engaging ministry strategy you use.
Or the subject you've majored in.
Of the topic you're an "expert" in.

I ask because, even if the minister might not want something other than Jesus to be their main focus, their continued rhetoric draws the focus away from the primary gospel message. 

Ironically, this would be something they'd desperately want to avoid.