From Good to Great Youth Ministry Part #3

In this 7 part series we are breaking down Jim Collins’ book Good to Great and how it can apply to Youth Ministry. Jim Collins wrote this book by compiling a team of researchers to examine many different companies. Over the span of months and years the researchers compiled data that put some companies in a “good” category and some companies in a “great”. After comparing the “good” with the “great” the team came up with several factors of what makes a great company great.

Summary:
We are now looking at the Third Factor which can be the toughest. All the “great” companies were able to confront the brutal facts. So many times we are not willing to face what is wrong with our company or organization; therefore, as we ignore our problems they get bigger and bigger. Jim and his group of researches were able to see that the “great” companies were not just good at facing the facts but they built a atmosphere and environment where the truth can be heard. Here are four practices that his team devised in order to help create such an atmosphere:

1. Lead with questions, not answers.
“Leading from good to great does not mean coming up with the answers and tehn motivating everyone to follow your messianic vision. It means having the humility to grasp the fact that you do not yet understand enough to have the answers and then to ask the questions that will lead to the best possible insights.”

2. Engage in dialogue and debate, not coercion.
Sometimes debates can get heated and they can get loud but as long as they are healthy they can lead you to the best answers. The process is more like a “heated scientif debate”, with people engaged for answers, not to get their say or opinion in the mix.

3. Conduct autopsies, without blame.
“When you conduct autopsies without blame, you go a long way toward creating a climate where the truth is heard. If you have the right people on the bus, you should almost never need to assign blame but need only to serach for understanding and learning.”

4. Build “red flag” mechanisms.
This is all about “turning information into information that cannot be ingnored.” Some times we ignore the brutal facts, because they are just simply too hard to face; therefore, we go into denial. By creating a “red flag” mechanism we enable others to point out our weakness, our faults, or our obstacles. By recognizing and not denying this information a company is able to grow healthily.

How this translates:
This factor can be translated into the ministry world easily. There are many times where we ignore the issues at hand or worse, are blinded by pride, worries and other distractions. In the last section we talked about getting the right people on board and if you are able to do that creating a “red flag” mechanism should be easy. So many times in youth ministry we blame the parents, the teens, the lack of commitment to faith, video games, etc. on all the reason why people aren’t coming to church. But you have to ask yourself, “Are those really the reasons or am I missing something?” And sometimes it is something really obvious. Below are some questions to help you reflect.

1. Right now what is keeping my ministry from succeeding and are those really the reasons?
2. What leaders or “right” people can I rely on to help me see the brutal facts that I am missing?
3. What permission do I grant to others to show me the brutal facts?