Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
I live in a very transient ward. Some month we get up to 30 new members moving in and roughly the same amount moving out; most of these we never see in church. It’s the nature of our ward and it has its pros and cons. This results in the fact that we have a significant number of members on our rolls that we don’t know. They are just a name with few facts.
About a year ago I went through the ward roster and marked each name that I didn’t know. With roughly 500 members on the roles, 190 names were unfamiliar to me. This was concerning. I stewed over this problem for weeks and knew I needed to find a solution. Reactivating these 190 names was a long shot; however, I felt it was our duty to at least know who these people were and understand their basic life situation even if they didn’t want to attend church with us.
To solve this problem I did what most leaders do; I created a program. I called it the Hour a Week program. If I, as bishop, could find extra time in my week to do interviews and fulfill other responsibilities of my calling than I am sure each active member of the ward could find one hour to knock on doors in the ward and say, “Hi! Who are you? We are here to serve.” So that is the program I created. I challenged each member of my ward to find one hour they could take a few names and go find out who these people were. They could choose any day Tuesday through Friday at 7pm; we would meet at a center point in the ward, and then start visiting. To be honest, it worked. We got the number of unknowns down to about 25. It was a great experience!
After a few months of doing the Hour a Week program, I realize it took a lot of motivation from me as the leader to keep encouraging members to participate. Once I stopped nagging about the program in church and to my auxiliary leaders it faded away.
What happened? Why did I have to create a program in order to get people to seek out the lost sheep? Why did I have to “command them in all things? (D&C 58:26) Why were they not “anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will?” (D&C 58:27)
I realized I had a leadership deficit. I had to “compel in all things” rather than building a culture that naturally influenced other to serve.
Why Do We Compel Others to Serve?
What if all the “programs” that compelled service were abolished? No more home or visiting teaching. No more callings focused on simple tasks (i.e. door greeter, church cleaning, stacking chairs, etc.). Â No more activities committee.
I realize there needs to be some level or organization of those called to serve. If we opened up all positions (including leadership positions) to anybody that “felt like serving”, we may suddenly have a circus on our hands. However, the service culture of our organizations skews towards those in leadership positions to pick up the slack. The list of what only a bishop can do is really quite short. The fact he is greeting people at the beginning/end of church, or that he is visiting more families during the week isn’t because he is the only one that has authority to do so.
So why don’t more member just DO without being compelled? That’s the million dollar question and has been analyzed in many forms at Leading Saints.
Doing proactive service is much more difficult than doing reactive service. Leaders realize this and create a “program” that changes the proactive act to a reactive act. Instead of just visiting and fellowshipping members naturally, we make lists of families and then follow up at the end of the month to see if they have visited them.
Is it good leadership to make everything reactive? I don’t know, but every leader would love these acts of service to happen organically.
“Do Many Things of Their Own Free Will”
As I have contemplated this topic of whether creating “programs” to get other to act is really effective, I don’t know the answer. In a perfect world I see people coming to church and bathing in the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ and then leaving with no other desire than to serve.
I need to remind myself that many times the “program” doesn’t just serve as a motivational factor but also as an ability factor. Many want to serve but don’t know how to serve until their leader makes them aware of the problem and how to solve it. Rather than create a program, as I did for the Hour a Week program, could I have easily hung a list of names that need help outside my office door and encourage others to do take action?
The answer to that question is found in verse 28 of Doctrine & Covenants 28
For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.
The power is in them. It is up to the leaders to keep them aware of the problems that face the group and then encourage them to be proactive in solving it.
What are your thoughts? Do programs help promote service in the ward or do they enable people to be compelled in all things?
I don’t think it an either/or proposition. Some members are natural servers and others need a little compelling. I also believe that there is a misconception that if I visit someone not on my official list, I’m doing something wrong, maybe stepping on someone else’s territory. This is a great post and has given me much food for thought. We have trouble in our little “twig” getting people to do even the basics of their home teaching/visiting teaching let alone any extra other service. But we’ll press forward one step at a time and train, train, train. Thanks for sharing.
Rozy Thanks you! You are correct; I don’t think this is a black and white issue. I appreciate that perspective. What works to some doesn’t work for others. That make leadership difficult.
What lead to this post is when I had this realization that I try to solve all problems by creating another “program” and I wasn’t sure if that was the best way.
Thanks again for your comment.
Some experiences that I have had since called as the Bishop of our ward is that:
Success is infectious. Finding ways for members to be successful in ministering increases the likelihood of others doing the same.
Specific requests and assignments for service and rescue are much more motivating than broadcasted encouragement from the pulpit.
Modeling desired behaviors gets better and longer lasting results than verbal training…. Take others and show them how to minister…..
Express love often, and confidence loudly.
Giving others the vision of why they should minister appeals to their intrinsic values more powerfully than holding them accountable for what they are supposed to be doing.
We are not perfect in our ward by any means, but I have seen so many lives blessed as the members have come to love each other… Sometimes it is hard to get meetings started because they are so glad to see each other there! Attendance has increased from low 80s to 130-140s and I expect it to keep going.
This is an awesome comment! I totally agree with you.
The MOST POWERFUL tool is the one that we use the least — it hasn’t been mentioned here yet — personal, individual conversations. A bishop exists to serve members of his ward, not to lead them as a supervisor manages employees. But I can imagine tremendous power in a stake president or elders quorum president meeting with a brother and having a conversation about his family and his growth and his service and his needs — the conversation could move to his duty to help in the kingdom, in the work of proclaiming the gospel, perfecting the saints, and redeeming the dead — the president could ask the brother what he is doing in these areas, sincerely thank him for his efforts — the president could ask him about his intentions for these areas in the future. In other words, the president could minister to an individual rather than administering to a group. Let that man decide what he will do, and appreciate him for whatever he does. Isn’t this a novel idea? Somehow, when I imagine what the Savior would do, this is sort of what I imagine.
This sounds like what I thought a PPI is supposed to be like; was I surprised when I went in for my first as a newly called RS Pres. The Branch President didn’t ask me any questions, just told me this is the time to talk to him about Relief Society, but no questions about my family, my needs, my accountability. The new BP asks one question, “So, how are you doing? You doing okay?” And then he launches into a monologue of information and updates about something I helped him with professionally six months ago, then with five minutes left he asks about RS.
Can we say “Training”? What a blessing it would be if leaders would read the handbook, take notes in training meetings (but that would mean they would actually have to attend them) and do their best to pattern their leadership after the Savior.
Thank you for your insight full comment, it gives me hope that there really are members who understand how things ought to be.
Bishop Francom,
My first thought is that I’ve learned (and I know I’m not alone in this) that as leaders we always have to be careful that whether or not we create another program or system, that we assume no one is doing what we know is a need in our auxiliary, quorum, ward or stake. It’s so tiring to hear leaders from the pulpit say, for example, we all gotta get out there and do our Hometeaching better. As Elders Quorum President I never once made a blanket statement like that to my quorum. There’s always at least a few who are doing their best to truly care for their assigned families by visiting them as often as needed (with once a month as a minimum), and also those who are actually doing it.
So, let’s say Brother Brown or Sister White is already visiting with/reaching out to individuals not on their official assignment list. If I were Brother Brown I may not necessarily tell my priesthood leader, unless I hear him specifically ask about that individual, for fear of seeking praise for service I am trying to render “in secret” for my Father’s glory.
I am not accusing you of assuming no one is ministering to the lost sheep, but only that we recognize their are dedicated members of every ward who are anxiously engaged in a good cause, with power…in them…to be agents, without our necessarily knowing it. My parents and grandparents, and many more I know, have always ministered like that without reporting it to their priesthood leaders.
My second thought is that we need to be extra sensitive to our fellow brothers and sisters ministering within their own family and serving where service should come first- to our spouses, children, parents, siblings, etc. We talk all the time how God comes first, then family, then our hometeaching/callings/church programs, but when you have a member actually putting their family only second to God and that results in maybe that member not getting as much done in their current calling as maybe the person before them or if Brother/Sister Superstar held the calling it will surely take extra sensitivity and discernment to recognize that where the best of our recognition is due. Recently someone I know who was the EQ Pres. in his ward, who’s known throughout the Stake for magnifying his callings, was moving out of ward boundaries and scheduling conflicts with the Stake resulted in him not being released until the week after he had already moved. Despite being recognized and praised for several years for his wonderful work, those same members didn’t mind calling him “trunky” his last couple months as EQP because he was actually putting his family before all of it more than ever before and naturally not as much was getting done in his calling.
Well, this comment is long enough, so I’ll just finish by asking, will you recognize immediately those members lives your 1 hour a week program has changed? Both those who got out and served and those who were served? How many members are now being more proactive who weren’t so much before you instituted the program? Who experienced success and learned a bit better how to minister like the Savior did and has more confidence to get out there more and this has gained more power..in them?
You may not see the ripple effects during your time as Bishop, or maybe not even during your time in the ward… maybe not even until the next life, but they are there!
Thank you for your post and allowing me to preach to myself. 🙂
Sorry typo in my first sentance. It should read “…that we NOT assume that no one is doing what we know is a need…”
Assignments are fine. Even the Savior received assignments and gave them. You may call it a program if you would like. In the end, all we can try to do is take an individual as they are now and try helping them to take another step towards the Savior. The great thing is that we will be taking another step too.
I believe there needs to be some sort of accountability and stewardship emphasis in this whole process. I rarely if ever hear about or see any Personal Priesthood Interviews going on in my ward. A PPI is a key motivator and a key success tool to doing your church calling. Also believe that stewardship interviews are critical for anyone that has a church calling. If people are not held accountable and responsible then shame on the church leader!
It seems like programs simply institutionalize what we should already being doing as motivated disciples of Christ. Home Teaching would not even be necessary if we all made an effort to care for those around us. We are lucky that the Church has limited our reported responsibilities to our callings and home and visiting teaching. Or has the home teaching program created the problem of lackadaisical members? I don’t know that it has. I just see that we are so distracted entertaining ourselves to spiritual death. I’ve overheard people say that they are too busy spending family time that they don’t have time to do their calling or home teach, but a few moments later they talk about binge watching “Breaking Bad” on Netflix. We make time for what we want to do. How do we as leaders help more people to want to do good and be good? I think Anthony Webster nailed it in his comments above!
I too firmly believe in stewardship accountability and PPI’s and stewardship interviews and setting the example as a Christ Like Leader would lead. We learn in the temple about the importance of return and report what you were asked to do. Yet I can personally count on one hand how many PPIs I have had in my ward in the last 6 years.
As a former Army officer I was taught to always LEAD, FOLLOW, or GET THE HECK OUT of the WAY,
In sports we learn to always go back to the basics! Maybe it is time that the church goes back to the basics and starts spending more time teaching church leaders how to lead like the Savior led. Maybe we design church leadership centers around the church where Bishops, Stake Presidents, and other church leaders can go and learn how to become better and more effective church leaders. We send missionaries to a Mission Training Center for weeks or months. And yet our lay church leaders get very little training and guidance on how to become better and more effective church leaders.
Our home and visiting teachers also do not have the opportunity to attend a Mission Training Center environment and learn how to be more effective in their respective callings. We also send our missionaries to an MTC and train them how to be effective full time missionaries and yet we fail to adequately train our own member missionaries to be effective in their callings as member missionaries. Shouldn’t they get lots of training and hands on experience as well?
I believe the Savior would say take time to teach my leaders and leaders lead by example! Feed my sheep! Every individual is important. Quit having so many meetings and go seek out the lost sheep and go feed them and love them back into the church!
Random acts of kindness are not recognized by the recipient or the Ward team in our area. Members seem to esteem leaders as “gods”, and having anyone else offer service doesn’t count. I had one sister say to me when her husband was dying that no one from the Ward was visiting her. Hello!! I was there!! I didn’t count, because I didn’t have an assigned calling. I also know that an account/ detailed report is not taken by leaders nor used as a means for action. They only want the statistics. One reason for this failure is the lack of true delegation of responsibility and receiving genuine reports in either an interview or meeting.
Genuine ministration has gone by the by. Its all about fun and carrying out programmes for programmes sake and getting those stats up!
IT’S ABOUT CONVERSION
In my opinion, it all comes down to conversion. To me, that is the root of the issue. The more converted a member is, the more they will “be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;”
So, as leaders, we need to do everything we can to help our members become more converted to the gospel. And conversion comes through (1) knowledge of doctrines and (2) acting on our knowledge.
So the premise is, if you want to see your home teaching increase, you can do it externally (i.e. assigning, interviewing, reminding, calling etc.) or you can try to do it internally (i.e. increasing faith through studying doctrine and DOING the work that gives you spiritual experiences that increase your conversion). Internal motivation is always better because it lasts and the quality of action is much higher. So what is the one thing that would increase a member’s internal motivation to do home visits and other callings?
THE POWER OF FOCUSING ON ONE THING
I’ve found in my professional and ecclesiastical life that if you focus on just one thing, that one thing will get done. So…if you wanted your ward to focus on just one thing to increase their faith and strengthen their conversion, what would it be?
What I mean is if you were going to preach one thing, return and report on one thing, include the one thing in all your visits and interviews, set goals to achieve the one thing….what would that “one thing” be?
1. Daily scripture study.?
2. Home visits?
3. Family history research and temple attendance?
What is the one thing that if done, if done, would take care of many of the other issues in your ward?
I guess thats for you to decide as a church leader.
AN EXAMPLE OF THE ONE THING
My new stake president, who I’d worked with when he was a bishop when I was on the high council, always said that they could only really focus on one thing at a time as a ward.
When he became the stake president he set a goal for the stake to research, find and do ordinance work for 10,000 deceased family members. And every time he spoke, he talked about that one goal. He encouraged all the families to set their own family goal for how many names they could find monthly to take to the temple.
The results were pretty astounding. We hit that goal and exceeded it. Many many families in our stake learned how to do family history research and many saints temple experiences were dramatically improved.
So the question is, if you were to focus your ward on making sure you do the “one thing” what would it be?
Okay, that’s my jumbled ramblings for the day. Back to work.
David Frey
Houston, Texas