If there's one thing that is true for all people called to church work, it's that they have passion not only for God, but for their church. If you get a group of young church workers talking, chances are you'll hear them talk about what they love about their church and what they hope to change. As a young church worker, these are some insights that I’d suggest would be helpful for both young and seasoned church workers to know about each other in order to be a healthy team.
[gss-content-box color="gray”]This post is a guest post written by my brother Corey Grunewald. Corey does Graphic Design & Video Editing at Faith Lutheran Church and can be found on the Twitters.[/gss-content-box]
Seasoned Church Workers
Don't be discouraged that those you're in leadership over want to change or shake things up. They don't believe what your church is doing is all bad, otherwise they wouldn't be there. The truth is, they want the same thing you want: to lead the congregation to a deeper relationship with Jesus. They understand that they are trying to change things that you worked a long time to achieve. They don't want to simply forget the history of their church, but they do want to continue creating history. They respect what you have done and simply want to continue that process.
They stand on your shoulders as they begin to lead; don’t knock them down.
Young Church Workers
Your leadership was once where you are. They weren't always the boss and they faced a lot of flack when they were trying to move the church forward. If you experience a lack of freedom in pushing your church forward, you may be experiencing the protective nature of a leader. Because they've experienced so much, they want to protect you from the negative things they've encountered. They know the pain of negative feedback and want to help you avoid it.
If there's one thing to remember in changing things in your church it's this: when you try to move your church forward, you're not just asking for a buy in from leadership, but for leadership to take the fall if things don't work out.
If you’re a veteran church worker, what do you wish you could’ve told a younger version of you? If you’re a young church worker, what would you like to tell a future version of you to make sure to remember?