YOU’RE IN THE WRONG SEAT!
I was discouraged. It was a familiar place for me. I hated this part of church planting. This was my third church plant and the same thing happened every time.
For months, I worked day and night to recruit and train random strangers to become a team to help start a new church. This was a new and exciting experience for most of my core group. Most never even served in a leadership role in church before.
For months, we met together in a dirty multipurpose room of an old Baptist church on Sunday evenings. We dreamed, prayed, and planned for the launch of our new church. The excitement level was high. We designed ministry programs. We planned every detail of the grand opening.
It was such a big task that we needed everyone to pitch in and serve in several roles. You may be a great musician, but can you also drive the cargo trailer? You love children's ministry, but can you also help organize the food and refreshments? You love small groups, but can you also be in charge of the ushers and greeters?
Everyone on the team had clear roles and responsibilities. In those early days, everyone had multiple ministry responsibilities. Everyone was busy and stretched thin... And we all loved it.
After the “successful” launch of our church, the congregation began to grow. Now we had a bigger pool of people to recruit volunteers from. Some of our original people got tired and wanted to "take a break" (which is a nice Christian way of quitting).
At about the first anniversary of our new church, I sensed a lack of excitement in our congregation. There was a growing dissatisfaction, especially among our original core group. We accomplished the clear mission of launching the church. Now, they were asking, "Pastor, what's next? Where are we going? What's your vision for the church?"
It was these questions that led me to Home Depot to seek inspiration, which I wrote about in this article [LINK].
Home Depot (and Mr. T) helped me to clarify our mission. Then I realized that vision and direction was not even the biggest problem I had. The biggest problem that I had was not a directional or vision problem. I had a people problem.
I sensed a growing misalignment among my people. There was a growing sense of dissatisfaction. And now, the church was growing with [gasp] "Church People." As Christians heard about our new church, they began to attend and tell their friends.
We began to see the Pareto Principle in action - where only 20% of the people do 80% of the work. These new attendees began to see the church as a "vendor of religious goods and services." These new people would come and enjoy being taken care of. On the way out, some would even tip their waiter and say, "I'll see you next week."
Somehow, the church became more like a restaurant and the people became our customers. They came to expect good spiritual food served warmly by friendly staff.
That's when I remembered a leadership principle from Jim Collins. "Good to Great" is my all-time favorite business book, . One of his foundational principles is: "First Who, Then What."
To use his metaphor, the church is like a bus. Collins says you have to prioritize getting the right people in the right seats on the bus first. Only then should you determine the destination together. That sounds counter-intuitive, but it's very wise.
So here are the steps of applying the "First Who, Then What" principle:
Get the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off).
Get the right people in the right seats.
Only then, you can determine the destination together.
I realized that I didn't have a destination or vision problem. I had a people problem. While I believed that I had the right people on the bus, no one was sitting in the right seats.
They were sitting "tourists" seat, while they were supposed to be "team members."
We learned from Ephesians 4:11-12 that the role of the pastors and church leaders is not to do the work of ministry. Our primary role is to "equip the saints for the work of ministry."
This is when I realized that the church isn't supposed to function as a restaurant. Pastors are not chefs and waiters, and church members are not customers. The church isn't a restaurant, but it's more like a cooking school. We're here to train you on how to cook.
Pastors and church leaders are not the heroes of the story, but the mentors. We are not Daniel-san. We are Mr. Miyagi. It's not our job to defend you, beat up your bullies, and solve your problems. We’re here to equip, train, and prepare you for your own All-Valley Karate Tournament.
But here's the problem. Most people don't want to do anything that they can pay someone else to do. Church Strategist Win Arn asked thousands of church attenders this question:
"What is the primary purpose of the church?"
89% said the primary purpose of the local church is to "take care of the spiritual needs of me and my family."
Most Christians today are sitting in the wrong seat on the bus. They're sitting in the tourist seat when they're supposed to be team members. And because of this, everyone loses. There is so much at stake here.
Let's return to Ephesians 4 for more insight. Verses 11-12 says that people, not the leaders, should be the workers. The leaders and pastors should be equippers. Then in verses 13-16, he lists ten amazing results of following his instructions. Here's the list:
The church will grow and become more healthy.
The church will become united.
The faith of the people will grow deeper.
The church will become spiritually mature.
The church will have spiritual discernment and doctrinal clarity.
The church will be a safe place of loving accountability.
The people will develop Christ-like character.
Each person will be valued.
Each person will find their assignment.
And the church will have a greater impact on the world.
That's a pretty impressive list. I want that for my church, don't you? Well, how do we get there?
You need to get the people in the right seats on the bus. First, if you're a leader or pastor, that means you. Pastor, you need to stop being the person who does all the ministry. You're not the chef and the waiter. You're the equipper. You're supposed to help your people by equipping them to find and fulfill their assignments.
Pastors and church leaders need to take the mentor or equipper role. This will open up the proper seats for the people to find their place on God's bus.
We need to help people find the right seat on the bus. There's so much at stake here. Think about it this way: What happens if we do nothing? What happens if we just keep doing what we always have done?
Well, let's take that list of ten positive results and flip it.
This is what happens if we do nothing:
The church will become unhealthy.
The church will become divided.
The church will struggle with shallow faith.
The church will remain immature.
The church will lack discernment and fall into error.
The church will not be a safe place for loving accountability.
The people will not grow Christlike character.
Only a few people in the church are valued.
Only a few people in the church will find their assignment.
And the church will lose its impact in the world.
That's what's at stake. This is why we need pastors and leaders to equip God's people for the work of ministry. We can't afford to do nothing.
So let me ask you:
Are you currently sitting in the right seat on the bus?
What are your people? Are they sitting in the right seats?
Before you set the direction, you have to make sure everyone is sitting in the right seats on the bus.
Let’s change the world together.