I wrote a series of articles that looked at the principles of the leadership classic “Good to Great” and applied them to youth ministry. Here is the first.
The Pied Piper
All churches want youth ministries that are exciting, thriving, growing, and amazing in just about every way! What we often have are youth ministries that are good, but could be great. Church leaders often ask me what it takes to ramp up the youth ministry in their parish to really reach and impact the youth of the community. This series will examine what it takes to transition youth ministries from good to great. The concept comes from a bestselling book in the business sector by Jim Collins titled Good to Great. In the book he examines companies and organizations that have made the transition from good to great with an eye on the patterns that we can learn from. It has been my experience that youth ministries can and should move from good to great. My hope is that these articles will be read not only by youth leaders but by clergy and church leaders as well so that all fully understand the nature of youth ministry and the way forward in the 21st century.
One of my ironic confessions as a twenty plus year veteran of youth ministry is that I was almost fired from my first youth ministry position. The reason was that the clergy in that church believed that youth ministry needed a pied piper in order to be effective. I was somewhat reserved in the presence of the clergy and did not display the sort of charisma that they believed would attract the hundreds of youth that they wanted to see involved in the church. The confession is ironic because I remained in that church for nearly ten years, during which we saw a 200% increase in youth group attendance, and I never became the pied piper they thought was needed.
Jim Collins, in studying companies that transitioned from good to great looked at the top leaders for patterns that would reveal the reason for such growth and development. Most people expected these companies to be led by high charisma individuals whose strong personality commanded attention and got results. What Collins found instead was a pattern of humble leaders who were not the center of attention. They were visionary and driven but worked through others to accomplish the goals they had in mind. Often they were willing to risk their careers to make changes that could have been disastrous and they had little regard for their own glory or fame. In contrast, high charisma leaders of companies tended to lead well for a season but when they retired or resigned, the company struggled.
My first youth minister (as a teen) was a pied piper whose charisma attracted hundreds of kids to youth groups. When he left the church, so did the masses of youth. We literally saw numbers immediately drop by 75%! The trouble with pied pipers in youth ministry is the typical aftermath when they leave. I wish I could report that my youth minister was an isolated example, but the truth is that I have seen the pattern time and again. Since no youth leaders carry on forever, we need leaders who will build ministries that will last. Relying on charisma is not only unwise it is not biblical. Our call in ministry is to draw students to Christ not to a youth leader. While youth ministers need to have strong interpersonal skills and be enjoyable to be around, they ought not be the main attraction. While it is desirable and even advantageous to have youth leaders who are winsome, the expectation that a good youth leader be a pied piper is dangerous.
So what sort of leadership can transition a good youth ministry into a great one? To answer that, one has to look beyond what makes for a good leader because the question assumes good ministry is already in place. This would include the leadership essentials of character, competency, and calling as well as many normal leadership traits. The answer also has to be broad enough to encompass the differences between youth ministries in a variety of settings. Personally I believe the leader who can transition a ministry from good to great has to have at least three unique qualities. These are not essentials for doing average or good ministry but one cannot go beyond without them. First would be the ability to clearly articulate a captivating vision. The vision must be adventurous or have an element of risk to it. In other words, it could fail big. Second, a relentless drive or determination to accomplish the vision must be present. The leader has to figure out how to lead people to that preferred future (vision) and overcome any and all obstacles. Finally, and this goes with the second, the leader must be a learner. I know plenty of good youth ministers around the world who have a basic set of skills and employ them well. The leader who transitions a ministry from good to great is one who is constantly learning, challenging the status quo, asking tough questions and seeking to move forward.
Because we want strong youth ministries in our churches, we usually understand that the right leadership is essential. The leader has to be the one to take the ministry where we want it to go. However, we need to bust the myth of the pied piper and look for leaders who build ministries and develop other leaders. The pied piper attracts followers to him or herself. The task of a youth minister is to lead others to Christ and in doing so, will attract not only followers but draw in leaders as well. The good to great youth ministers are not pied pipers.
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