A few weeks ago Gary Lamb did a post about the top 10 things he wishes he knew when he started Revolution Church. That got me thinking about my own list of things I wish I had known when I started Rocky River Community Church. Here ya go…

1. Not everyone is going to like you, approve of you, care about you, be honest with you, support you, or stay with you.

2. It’s okay to be a church for anyone but not everyone. Open the doors of your church wide so that anyone will feel welcome. But if they all feel comfortable enough to stay around then you are doing something wrong.

3. It’s okay to show people to the door. Sometimes you have to choose who you are going to lose. When people come to your church from another local church you ought to find out immediately why they left. And if they left because their former pastor ticked them off because they didn’t get their way – LET THEM GO NOW! Believe me, they will find something to get mad at you about. Let them go somewhere else and cause trouble. Even if they have a lot of money – AND YOU NEED IT – it will cost you too much in the long run. TRUST ME ON THIS ONE!

Let me be tough here. Pastor, it is your job to invite people to leave. None of us like to see people go but often times you have to do some subtraction so that your church can multiply and grow.

Here’s a warning sign. If they come to you and ask for a copy of the bylaws, that should send up a red flag and flares. They’ve been in a church that taught them how to play power games with the “rules” and you don’t need that. They will give you too many sleepless nights for the wrong reasons.

*Don’t trade wolves for sheep.

4. BE WHO YOU ARE! Garth Brooks tried to make it in Nashville (twice) by being a George Jones and a George Straight poser. At some point, a record producer said to him, “Garth – stop trying to be someone else and be who you are.” I would say that was good advice. It worked out for him and it will work out for you too. Stop trying to be someone else. Hey, you can’t preach like Steven Furtick (Elevation Church). You may use his stuff but you can’t pull that off. You’re not going to be able to lead your staff like Nelson Searcy (Journey www.churchleaderinsights.com). He’s a freak of a CEO/Pastor. You can learn his stuff, read the same books and go to his seminars (YOU SHOULD). He has a lot to teach you. But you can’t lead like he does. You can’t be him. I know because I’ve been trying for about 15 years.

My point is, BE YOURSELF! God has called you to be you. I know that sounds old and overused but it is true. You’ll do a much better job at being yourself than trying to be Ed Young, Jr.

5. Don’t try to please/impress your college/seminary professors. I loved my profs in college and seminary. I learned tons from them about everything except how to pastor a church – FORGET starting a new church. They just don’t get it. They don’t! And chances are they are never going to validate what you’re doing. And just in case you’re saying to yourself, “He doesn’t know Dr. So And So…” Yes I do…

6. Small groups are important and they are hard for every church. If you are reaching unchurched people it is hard to get people to buy into the IMPORTANCE of having another network of people in their lives. It’s just hard.

7. You are foolish if you don’t talk about money. DON’T BE AFRAID TO CHALLENGE PEOPLE TO GIVE AND TITHE! And remember, people don’t give to NEEDS they give to VISION.

8. People don’t volunteer to be a solution to your problem. They want to be a part of a winning team that – together – is doing something worthy of their time and energy. There’s a lot competing for their time. It is vital that you constantly cast the vision. If they buy into you AND the vision, they will volunteer. Be sure to tell your success stories along the way. The stories let people see progress – that you are accomplishing your vision and that the people who are participating are making a difference.

9. You have to learn to delegate ASAP! Because I did not delegate I have been the “lid” on our church so many times. Most leaders hesitate to delegate because we don't want to get burned. GET OVER THAT! YOU ARE going to get burned. People are going to let you down. They won’t always follow through. And things might not look like you want them to at times. But you have to stay with it. You have to be a consummate vision caster. You have to keep inviting people to join your work and do things. That’s the tough work of leadership. Over time you not only get more work done – but you get MORE and BETTER work done.

10. Hire and fire. You have to add staff before you need them. You don’t wait until you need a staff person to hire a staff person. Doing it that way only slows your momentum. You staff AHEAD for growth. And when it is time to let a staff member go – fire them. That is always hard. It’s not glamorous. But it is a part of doing the hard work of leadership. If you can’t fire people then I doubt you are called to be a church starter. At minimum, you need someone around you who can make the tough decisions and then carry them out.

Remember, if you wait too long to fire someone that needs to go you are only hurting the church and your leadership influence. If you know he/she needs to go then you can bet that the others (especially other leaders) around you do too. Usually your staff/leaders/key people will recognize when a person needs to go before you will.

And one to grow on…

11. Don’t start your church with bylaws (except what is legally required in your state) or constitutions or any other document (other than the Bible) that might retard your ability to lead your church. Don’t build a system or committee of people that have to approve everything before you do it. You need to have people who can help you think through strategy and budget, etc. And they should be people you hand pick and people you trust. But you don’t need a group of people that don’t fully understand your vision (even though you are constantly trying to help them see it) that put the clamps on your vision.

NOW GO LEAD!
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Websites you should check out:
Rocky River Community Church (www.rockyriverchurch.com)
Church Leader Insights (www.churchleaderinsights.com)
Gary Lamb and Revolution Church (www.garylamb.org)