Creating & Sustaining an Empowering Culture at Your Church with Dr. Derry Long

Thanks for joining us here at the unSeminary podcast. We’re talking with Dr. Derry Long, from the Yellowstone Theological Institute. He’s served for 45 years in many church leadership roles and is here to share his knowledge with us.

At churches, it’s not uncommon for 20% of the people to do 80% of the work, but as church leaders, we need to own how we might contribute to a lack of volunteer involvement and empowerment. Listen to today’s podcast as Dr. Long shares how to create and sustain a culture of empowerment at your church.

* Our part in the issues. // Church leaders need to own that we primarily produce a telling organization. People come, and we tell – most of it one-way communication in our teaching and leadership. That one-way approach often creates passivity and reduces collaboration. Another problem is that we can create a smorgasbord mentality in ministry, putting too much on the menu in the hope that the many options will entice people to serve.* Four things that empower people. // The problem isn’t always the telling in our churches, but the execution. How do you empower people and build an on-ramp to service inside and outside the church? Dr. Long found that there are four things that empower people: choice, competence, meaning, and significance.* Ask these questions about the leaders. // When looking at someone who is leading in the church, think about these questions: Where are they giving their volunteers choice? How are they building competence into the volunteers’ life? How do they find out if the people serving have a sense of meaning in their service? Are people serving simply because there’s a need, or because it’s what they feel they’re meant to do?* Every role has significance and responsibility. // Create a culture where every role has significance, and communicate that significance. Offer both “entry level” serving options and opportunities for growing in leadership. Not every volunteer role has the same level of responsibility, so look for those volunteers who show a level of skill and responsibility beyond the role they are currently in, and give them the next opportunity.* What are the economic engines of your church? // To avoid the smorgasbord mentality at your church, you have to know what the organization is about. There may be people who have skills that are valid but don’t fit within your ministry needs at this time. Leaders have to make this call. Every organization must know its economic engines. What are the four or five things that produce disciples, generate donors, bring people in the doors, or connect people to the community?* Four traits to an empowering culture. // Dr. Long started studying what characteristics must be present within a culture in order for a person to function in an empowered way. Four traits needed are voice (treating someone like they are present and valued), support (understand the reality of another and addressing it), modeling (when a leader’s behavior is in line with their rhetoric), and trust (because empowerment brings choice, and choice has risk, people can’t be empowered without trust).

If you’d like to learn more about what he talked about today, you can email Dr. Derry Long.

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