From the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary
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The Leader as Communicator by Lovett H. Weems, Jr.
Effective leaders are good communicators, according to Lovett H. Weems, Jr. They understand the importance of all forms of communication and that communication is always two-way, receiving as well as giving information and feelings.
One study of leadership analyzed how leaders spend their days, concluding “for formal leaders in organizations … the world consists of many activities (most of them of short duration), frequent interruptions, a large network of contacts extending far beyond the immediate work group, and a preponderance of oral interaction.” (McCall, Leaders and Leadership, 9-10)
Effective leaders are good communicators. They understand the importance of communication in all its forms and spend much time at the task.
Indeed, there is no way for leaders to avoid communication. Even the absence of direct and planned communication sends a powerful message, almost always negative. If words are not being communicated, actions are. The question for leaders is not if they will communicate, but what to communicate and how.
Listening
- “The successful leader will have not the loudest voice,” says Warren Bennis, “but the readiest ear.” While listening is as much an attitude as a set of activities, it is necessary to provide a structure for listening. Avenues for listening should be regular and frequent. Listening can and should take many different forms: one to one, groups, meals, forums, surveys, etc. Through such means, leaders receive good ideas, as well as early warning signals when things are not going well.
- Listening is just the beginning. Leaders must complete the feedback loop, or risk losing much of the benefit of listening. When people can see results from suggestions, they respond in great numbers and with great enthusiasm. One pastor used a pew survey to learn church members’ favorite hymns. The first year, only thirty of many hundred people responded. Over the next year, the pastor used the most-suggested hymns each Sunday just before the sermon. The next time the survey was taken, three hundred persons responded!
- Listening involves not only hearing, but learning to hear selectively — hearing not only what is pleasing or what fits the leader’s predilections, but listening for clues about positive directions to take or about uneasiness that may be present. Everything said is not of equal worth. Listening is more than collecting data; it is searching for insights and clues. Most importantly, the leader must hear what is not being said. Some of the most important revelations come in what people choose not to say or in who does not speak.
Studies of leadership show that the world of leaders is primarily oral. But very little of their oral communication involves giving orders or issuing instruction. Rather, it has to do with purpose, mission, direction, and values. Here are some guidelines for speaking:
- Keep it simple. Think in terms of a clear vision and some core values that you want to communicate at every opportunity, through many different means. The tune stays the same, but the verses keep changing. The tune must always remain simple if it is to be remembered.
- Make it memorable. Robert Greenleaf spoke of “inventiveness with language and avoidance of a stereotyped style” as important for religious leaders. Effective leaders use memorable phrases and metaphors. They paint pictures. They illustrate. They use symbols.
- Use every opportunity to tell the story. Tie many things to the central story and vision. See nothing as routine. One of his closest friends said that Winston Churchill spent a good part of his life rehearsing impromptu speeches.
- Use all available channels for written communication. Writing for the bulletin, newsletter, or reports is not an obligation, but an opportunity to lift the vision. Find ways to practice what Tom Peters calls the “wholesale sharing of information.”
- The symbol of sharing information is often as important as the actual information itself. Few people will remember by Tuesday information about the collection reported in Sunday’s bulletin. However, they will remember that financial information is shared with everyone. Posting board meeting minutes has symbolic value, even if few people actually read them. Announcing that the annual financial audit is available to any church member will result in increased confidence, even if few copies are requested. The presence of a mission bulletin board communicates a particular commitment of the church, even if few people can recall exactly what is on it.
- While reading is not normally thought of as communication, it is essential to leadership. If a leader does not prepare through reading, he or she finally has nothing to communicate. To be successful, most people find it essential to have a plan for reading. Develop a simple plan that fits your needs, patterns, goals, and vision. Then stay with it. Again, there must be the ability to selectively “hear” what is being read. There is no way to remember everything, so one needs to be able to remember what matters.
- Although actions are not ordinarily thought of as communication, they are the most powerful communication instrument available to the leader. When you are the leader, people are always looking at you. There are no “small acts” for leaders. Leaders must always be asking how their behavior represents the vision they are trying to articulate. How time is used, what questions are asked, what information is collected and shared, how the leader responds to people and incidents — all these things communicate what you are about. The message of one’s actions must be consistent with what is being articulated in words.
- 3 Common Communication Mistakes and How to Fix Them by Ryan Holck
- Speak More Effectively by Asking Three Questions by Adam Hamilton
- Leaders Listen by Lovett H. Weems, Jr.
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The Mutual Benefits of Church-School Partnerships by Jake McGlothin
Jake McGlothin, author of The Mission-Minded Guide to Church and School Partnerships, says it's only logical that the two most important social institutions in our society should work together. He outlines what churches can share with schools as well as how engagement with schools can positively impact a congregation.
Two of the greatest and most important social institutions in America are the public school and the church. Most communities in America have a school and a church, usually more than one of each. These institutions have shaped a significant amount of our culture, as our right to worship and our right to an education are cornerstones of the American experience. Both schools and churches are deeply interested in helping people learn and work toward wholeness and better character. It makes sense for these two great institutions to work together to improve communities.
Partnerships between churches and schools are a natural progression toward meaningful community engagement and ultimately a glimpse into the kingdom of God.
Even small churches have resources they can share with a school.- Volunteers. Churches can provide schools with human resources through the work of trained and passionate volunteers. They can act as mentors, after-school volunteers, classroom assistants, and the like. They can provide support, encouragement, and learning to students in a committed fashion.
- Resources. Churches can provide schools with material resources. Sometimes this may be food; sometimes it may be donations of clothing or other durable goods. Churches are filled with people driven by their faith to give generously. With this in mind, churches can also provide financial resources to help with special needs and funds for particular programs.
- Community Support. Most important, churches can provide schools with the opportunity for deepening community. Churches can become advocates for schools. The church is a gathering of people that can have real and tangible impacts. And there is power in numbers, collective interest in solving problems, and communities that can enable and enlighten a widening circle of people. Churches, by getting involved in schools, can show that communities can have meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships even in the brokenness of today’s society. In our world of brokenness and fractured community, these partnerships can be a glimpse into the kingdom of God.
- Community awareness. Schools offer churches an opportunity to better understand the community and its challenges. Schools tend to be microcosms of the greater community; by working with local staff, families, and children, congregations can learn more about their communities and seek ways to be more engaged in community development and building. One simple way to learn more about the state and future of a community would be to visit a local school!
- Sustained missional engagement. Schools can help deepen a church’s sense of mission in the community. The excitement of mission trips to foreign lands leads to the idea that if you want to be transformed through missions in a church environment, you have to go on a mission trip. While there is much to be said about short-term missions and what they do for spiritual transformation, something powerful happens when a church and its members make a sustained, long-term commitment to another institution in its community. The number of people I’ve met whose lives have been changed because they took a leap of faith to serve the children within our partnership grows daily.
- Understanding and compassion. Schools can give members a better understanding of compassion and justice. Issues of oppression and poverty can be very hard to understand, especially when you only look at data. Realizing that millions of children live in poverty in the U.S. can be very overwhelming and hard to wrap your brain around. We can be desensitized by the sheer breadth of the challenges and issues we face in our communities. Schools are microcosms of the community. While you may not be able to fully understand poverty as a whole, getting to know children who struggle can help members have a better understanding of the issues, thus growing their compassion. With compassion comes a quest for justice on behalf of those who can’t advocate for themselves.
This material is adapted from The Mission-Minded Guide to Church and
School Partnerships (Abingdon Press, 2017) by Jake McGlothin. Used by permission. The book is available through Cokesbury and Amazon.Related Resources
- 50 Ways to Engage Local Schools, a free Lewis Center Resource
- Effective Church-School Partnerships by Nicole Baker Fulgham
- Engaging Local Schools Video Tool Kit
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The Right Question
Leaders do not need answers. Leaders must have the right questions.
In an interview with Tony Morgan, Pastor Stephen DeFur of Cokesbury United Methodist Church in Knoxville, TN, tells about the questions his church asks, beyond attendance and financial issues, in order to monitor vitality. Questions related to "reaching new people" are below. Additional questions were included in the February 8 and 15 issues of Leading Ideas.
- Are we meeting regular attenders' friends?
- Are we connecting with unchurched people on a regular basis?
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Lewis Center Announces a New DirectorWe are pleased to announce that effective July 1, the Rev. Dr. F. Douglas Powe, Jr., will become the Director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership. We are equally pleased that founding director Dr. Lovett H. Weems, Jr., will remain on the Lewis Center staff as Senior Consultant.
Learn more about this transition and watch a video.
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50 Ways to Engage Local SchoolsMany congregations find that reaching out to their local schools is an important way to serve children and families and strengthen ties with the broader community. These 50 tips can help you engage your local school effectively.
50 Ways to Engage Local Schools by Lewis CenterMany congregations find that reaching out to their local schools is an important way to serve children and their families and strengthen ties with the broader community. Here are 50 Ways you can engage your local school effectively.
Learn and listen
- Learn about schools in your area. Study basic demographics and statistics. Drive or walk around the neighborhood.
- Introduce yourself to the principal, head of school, or chief administrator. Because they have tremendous influence within a school, it is critical that they know who you are, what you are doing, and that you want to help.
- Make an appointment for a group from your church to visit your local school to observe and learn what is happening.
- Hold conversations with teachers, social workers, guidance counselors, athletic directors, and the school nurse to get a sense of the most pressing needs within the school and among students and their families.
- Go in without an agenda or preset ideas about what is needed. Ask simply, “How can we help?” Be willing to listen.
- Start smart
- Determine if programs to support schools already exist in your community, school district, or interfaith networks. Don’t reinvent the wheel if you can partner with another group or work through an existing channel.
- Put child safety first. Learn and comply with your school’s volunteer guidelines and security protocols as well as congregational or denominational policies regarding child safety.
- Prepare volunteers with adequate training. Help them understand why they are doing what they are doing and process what they experience. Cultivate an attitude of servanthood.
- Be sensitive regarding church/state boundaries. While you do not want to hide that you are from the church, it is never appropriate to pray or proselytize in a public school setting. Witness through actions not words.
- Start small. You might begin by focusing on just one classroom, grade, or subject area, rather than a whole school.
- Show up at school activities and events — big games, performances, fundraisers, etc. Make a point of talking to students and teachers.
- Get plugged into the room parents’ network, if one exists, as school and classroom needs are often communicated through this channel.
- Attend PTA meetings to stay abreast of school issues and demonstrate to the principal and parents that you care.
- Drop by the principal’s office on the first day of the school year to wish them well and offer help. Strive to maintain an on-going, face-to-face relationship with the principal, especially if he or she is new.
- Partner with other churches or non-profits, and invite others in your community to support what your church is doing. This increases the efficacy of your work and demonstrates that you are not in it for yourself.
- Under promise and over deliver. Neither school nor church is well-served if you launch an overly ambitious plan but cannot deliver. Consistency and follow through build credibility.
- Stay the course. Long-term commitment is essential to successful institutional partnerships and in one-on-one tutoring and mentoring relationships with individual students.
- Cultivate congregational support and awareness
- Preach and teach about the value of education. Pray for the administrators, teachers, staff, students, and families in your local school and for educational policy makers.
- Stay abreast of local education issues and needs. Hold information sessions. Invite the principal or a panel of other school leaders to speak at your church.
- Announce major school events — such as graduation, big games, or performances — and ask church members to show up and show their support.
- Be a cheerleader for schools and kids. Share success stories about teachers and students who are trying to do well.
- Collect books to be used in classroom reading programs or to be given to children at the end of the school year. Ask teachers or the librarian for appropriate selections.
- Develop a program to outfit kids with needed school uniforms, shoes, or athletic gear. Some churches use an “angel tree” system. Others set up a giveaway or exchange.
- Fill backpacks with school supplies to be given away at the beginning of the school year.
- Collect coats, hats, and mittens. Donate socks and underwear for the school nurse or other staff person to give away when younger children need a change of clothing.
- Fill “snack packs” or backpacks with food to be taken home over the weekend by children who rely on school breakfasts and lunches for basic nutrition.
- Start a summer lunch program in your church or another suitable location.
- Conduct giveaways with dignity and discretion to avoid stigmatizing recipients. Seek the school’s guidance on where needs exist and the best way to distribute items.
- Involve volunteers from your church in tutoring, mentoring, or after-school programs. If your school does not have programs to plug into, spend time investigating models and best practices.
- Create and support a computer lab either in your church or your school.
- Organize and resource a summer academic enrichment program in your school or church to counter summer learning losses.
- Start a “graduation ministry” to assure that children are making academic progress, graduating from high school, and preparing for college.
- Offer college-bound students SAT prep-sessions, guidance on college selections, and help in completing financial aid forms and applications.
- Offer spaces and places
- Organize a volunteer workday to spruce up school facilities, helping with cleaning, painting, landscaping, facilities repair, play ground upgrades, etc.
- Make church facilities available for team banquets, parties after school dramas, offsite meetings, or other school-related activities.
- Host a community celebration at the beginning of the school year. This might be an occasion for a school supply giveaway, an immunization clinic, or a school uniform exchange.
- Support and affirm the work of teachers
- Host an event to celebrate and recognize teachers in your congregation and community.
- Start a teachers’ group within your church for educators to resource, support, and affirm one another in their vocational calling.
- Encourage a culture of speaking positively about teachers to counteract the messages of disrespect and blame so rampant in some rhetoric about public education.
- Send notes and cards of appreciation to teachers in your schools. Provide modest gifts as a token of appreciation, such as coffee shop or bookseller gift cards, plants, note pads, etc.
- Ask church members or small groups to cater a special thank you lunch for teachers. Provide snacks for the teachers’ lounge occasionally throughout the year.
- Contribute basic supplies to help teachers stock their classrooms — items such as pencils, paper, tissues, hand sanitizer, classroom decorations, stickers, and books that teachers often purchase with their own money.
- Provide classroom volunteers. Many teachers value this help above all else.
- Support parents and families
- Offer to support families and parents through parenting classes, crisis counseling, ESL or basic literacy classes, translation assistance, or by accompanying them to school meetings.
- Offer transportation or childcare so parents can attend back-to-school nights, PTA meetings, or teacher conferences. Offer your church as an off-site location for these meetings if it would make it easier for parents to attend.
- Work together with parents to foster their engagement in school issues and to empower them to advocate for their children and their school.
- Help church members engage in ways that open their eyes to the systemic injustices manifest in public schools. Encourage them to go deeper and ask “why.” Examine and address root causes of poverty and inequity.
- Be an advocate for public education. Keep up with the work of local school boards as well as relevant state and federal policies. Support more adequate and equitable school funding.
- Expect transformation! By engaging local schools, churches can build bridges of hope within their community that can lead to stronger schools and stronger churches
Download a PDF of this page to share with others.
Learn How to Partner with Your Local Schools
Our local schools provide many opportunities for mission within our own neighborhoods, and increasing numbers of churches support their local schools through ministries large and small. If your congregation is considering a school-focused initiative, check out our Engaging Local Schools Tool Kit. Learn more and watch introductory videos now.
Read now and download free.
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Quotable Leadership:
We are more likely to learn something from people who disagree with us than we are from people who agree.[Michael Fullan]
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What Next Faithful Step is God Calling Your Church to Take?
Discovering God's Future for Your Church is a new turn-key tool kit to help your congregation discern and implement God's vision for its future. The resource guides your church in discovering clues to your vision in your history and culture, your current congregational strengths and weaknesses, and the needs of your surrounding community. The tool kit features videos, leader's guides, discussion exercises, planning tools, handouts, diagrams, worksheets, and more.
Learn more and watch an introductory video now.
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Editors: Dr. Ann A. Michel and Dr. Lovett H. Weems, Jr.
Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary
Connect with the Lewis Center:
Lewis Center for Church Leadership
Wesley Theological Seminary
4500 Massachusetts Avenue NorthWest
Washington, D.C. 20016, United States
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Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary
Connect with the Lewis Center:
Lewis Center for Church Leadership
Wesley Theological Seminary
4500 Massachusetts Avenue NorthWest
Washington, D.C. 20016, United States
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