Too often church leaders swing the pendulum in one direction or the other when it comes to staff expectations, whether that be paid or volunteer staff.
no expectations – People freely do what is right in their own eyes.
lots of rigid expectations – People constantly feel pressured to conform and measure up.
On the one side, they say expectations stifle the Spirit. Yet, if the expectations line up with God’s Word, how are they quenching the Spirit?
On the other side, they say God is a God of order so expectations are needed. Yet, if the expectations reflect more of the leader’s personal agenda or temperament than God’s Word, perhaps they are stifling the Spirit.
The conclusion? Expectations can be beneficial but they must be the right expectations.
Church Staff Expectations that Line Up with God and the Basics of Life in Him
The whole TrainChurchLeaders.com site is about reminding leaders to line up with the basics of life in Him. The Practicum provides the practical side of it by running common leadership practices through that grid. Staffing, whether paid or volunteer, is one of those areas. We all tend to place expectations on our staff so we’ll start the staffing posts there. Even leaders on the “no expectations” side of the pendulum actually expect people to go with the flow of the Spirit.
The best expectations we can, and should, place on church or ministry staff relate to the basics of life in Him. Click on links below to read more about what we can, and should, expect from staff.
- Expect alignment with the church’s purpose.
- Expect adherence to body life principles.
- Expect pursuit of God’s mission.
- Expect Christ-like character and integrity.
- Expect reliance on God’s power.
While time commitments, certain outcomes, etc. may be typical expectations, the ones we truly need to enforce and hold people accountable for are those that line up with these basics of life in Him. When people meet these expectations, the rest seems to fall into place so we don’t have to swing the pendulum to the side of rigid expectations.
All Posts about Staffing:
- Church Staff Expectations
- Communicating Expectations to Church Staff
- Church Staff: Expect Alignment with Church Purpose
- Church Staff: Expect Adherence to Body Life Principles
- Church Staff: Expect Pursuit of God’s Mission
- Church Staff: Expect Christ-like Character & Integrity
- Church Staff: Expect Reliance on God’s Power
- Church Staff: Expect a Partnership Mentality
- Encourage Church Staff to Grow in Grace
- Encourage Church Staff to Walk by the Spirit
- Encourage Church Staff to Use Their Spiritual Gifts
- Spiritual Gifts Best Suited for Staffing Ministry
- Encourage Church Staff to Pray Without Ceasing
- Encourage Church Staff to Regularly Feast on God’s Word
Wow! Such teaching is important for growth of Ethiopian and other ministers and church leaders to show the glory of God to the believers and the world being under the guidance of Holy Spirit … Thank you!