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    Why Is Delegation So Difficult

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    Daniel A. Brown, PhD
    A message by Daniel A. Brown, PhD, while he was senior pastor at The Coastlands, Aptos Foursquare Church. For more information, please visit our website at http://ctw.coastlands.org/.

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    Why Is Delegation So Difficult

    Uploaded by

    Daniel A. Brown, PhD
    81 views4 pages
    A message by Daniel A. Brown, PhD, while he was senior pastor at The Coastlands, Aptos Foursquare Church. For more information, please visit our website at http://ctw.coastlands.org/.

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    Why is Delegation So Difficult

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    A message by Daniel A. Brown, PhD, while he was senior pastor at The Coastlands, Aptos Foursquare Church. For more information, please visit our website at http://ctw.coastlands.org/.

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    81 views4 pages

    Why Is Delegation So Difficult

    Uploaded by

    Daniel A. Brown, PhD
    A message by Daniel A. Brown, PhD, while he was senior pastor at The Coastlands, Aptos Foursquare Church. For more information, please visit our website at http://ctw.coastlands.org/.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    Why Is Delegation So Difficult?

    Practical Thoughts For Church Leaders 1


    WHY
IS
DELEGATION
SO
DIFFICULT?

    Practical Thoughts For Church Leaders

    by
Daniel
A.
Brown,
PhD


    “It
is
to
your
advantage
that
I
go
away…”
 —Jesus,
the
Savior
of
the
world


    When
we
left
our
home
church
in
late
1984
to
plant
The
Coastlands,
this
scripture

    kept
 coming
 to
 my
 heart
 again
 and
 again—along
 with
 a
 simple
 prophetic

    understanding:
I
was
to
structure
this
new
church
in
such
a
way
that
it
functioned,

    as
 well
 without
 me
 (in
 its
 daily
 operations),
 as
 it
 did
 with
 me.
 In
 other
 words,

    disciple
 people;
 develop
 systems
 and
 delegate
 significant
 responsibilities
 within

    those
systems
to
those
people.
If
Jesus
left
the
world
in
the
keeping
of
humans,
it
is

    hard
to
justify
a
leadership
attitude
that
struggles
with
entrusting
church
work
to

    those
same
humans.


    Not
 that
 it
 has
 been
 a
 smooth
 journey,
 but
 between
 the
 bumps
 and
 potholes

    (sometimes
 through
 them),
 I
 have
 learned
 a
 few
 things
 that
 might
 help
 you
 in

    configuring
your
ministry
so
that
more
people
(volunteers
and
paid
workers)
can

    be
involved
meaningfully
in
the
process.


    Many
 pastors
 and
 church
 leaders
 with
 whom
 I
 interact
 have
 a
 subtle

    misconception
 about
 the
 origin
 of
 volunteers
 and
 disciples;
 pastors
 pray
 for

    volunteers
 rather
 than
 developing
 them.
 Leaders
 wait
 for
 mature
 disciples
 to

    miraculously
appear
in
church,
forgetting
that
disciples
are
not
sent
from
Heaven

    but
made
on
Earth.


    Daniel
A.
Brown,
PhD
 ctw.coastlands.org

    Why Is Delegation So Difficult?
    Practical Thoughts For Church Leaders 2


    And
 that
 is
 precisely
 where
 mobilizing
 and
 delegating
 to
 people
 in
 our
 church

    comes
 into
 play.
 We
 are
 desperate
 for
 more
 ministry
 workers,
 not
 only
 for
 our

    church
programs,
but
also
to
more
effectively
reach
out
to
the
surrounding
world.



    Could
 it
 be
 that
 a
 merciful
 and
 kind
 God
 is
 giving
 us
 the
 biggest
 clues

    imaginable—linking
His
most
basic
assignment
for
us
with
our
most
obvious
and

    continuous
need?
We
need
more
workers;
He
wants
more
disciples.
Hmmm.
What

    would
 happen
 to
 our
 thinking
 if
 we
 connected
 our
 primary
 frustration
 with
 our

    primary
mandate?


    Discipleship,
 like
 church
 itself,
 is
 a
 process,
 an
 active
 on‐going
 shaping
 of
 one

    person
 by
 another,
 enabling
 the
 disciple
 to
 develop
 in
 ways
 he
 or
 she
 probably

    could
 not
 develop
 alone—or,
 at
 least,
 not
 as
 quickly.
 Its
 goal
 is
 to
 "perfect
 every

    man
 in
 Christ"
 (Colossians
 1:28),
 and
 its
 means
 include
 both
 public
 and
 private

    admonition.



    Mobilizing
 people,
 making
 disciples,
 and
 delegating
 responsibilities
 to
 those



    disciples
 is
 an
 engrossing,
 all‐engaging
 activity
 of
 the
 heart
 and
 of
 the
 mind.
 It

    forces
shifts
in
priorities,
time
allocations
and
basic
orientations
towards
ministry.

    Therefore,
it
will
require
a
rethinking
of
our
entire
approach
to
ministry.


    Why
Is
It
So
Difficult
To
Delegate?

    Why
 is
 it
 so
 difficult
 for
 pastors
 to
 delegate
 significant
 work
 and
 ministry
 to
 the

    people
 in
 their
 churches?
 There
 are
 several
 basic
 reasons,
 and
 it
 is
 often
 a

    combination
 that
 gives
 rise
 to
 the
 reluctance
 to
 entrust
 programs
 and

    responsibilities
to
others.
Most
of
our
behavior
as
leaders
is
unconscious,
but
what

    we
 do
 and
 do
 not
 do
 sends
 unmistakable
 signals
 to
 our
 church
 about
 what
 we

    value.
 Even
 though
 we
 might
 tell
 people
 to
 “get
 involved,
 volunteer,”
 we
 can
 be

    sending
 conflicting
 behavioral
 signals
 that
 communicate,
 “Just
 kidding,
 we’ve
 got

    everything
taken
care
of
with
the
people
who
are
already
engaged.”



    While
 we
 recognize
 the
 importance
 of
 mobilizing
 increasing
 numbers
 of

    responsible
 ministry
 partners,
 we
 rarely
 do
 a
 self‐inventory
 to
 see
 to
 what
 extent

    we’re
unknowingly
working
against
that
goal.
Is
the
problem
exclusively
that
“It’s

    nearly
impossible
to
find
committed
people”?
Here
are
some
common
reasons
why

    pastors
find
it
hard
to
replace
themselves
with
people
they
disciple/train:


    • Pastors
 sincerely
 want
 to
 serve
 the
 people
 in
 their
 churches,
 and
 that

    servant‐heartedness
sometimes
forgets
that
giving
others
opportunity
to

    serve
 is
 one
 of
 the
 most
 loving
 things
 a
 leader
 can
 do.
 Jesus
 explained


    Daniel
A.
Brown,
PhD
 ctw.coastlands.org

    Why Is Delegation So Difficult?
    Practical Thoughts For Church Leaders 3


    that
 the
 pathway
 to
 significance
 is
 through
 the
 servants’
 quarters.

    Pastors
 who
 do
 not
 want
 to
 “bother”
 others
 and
 ask
 for
 their
 help
 are

    unintentionally
barring
the
doors
to
those
rooms.


    • Pastors
are
sometimes
worried
that
the
delegated
task
will
not
get
“done

    right,”
which
is
to
say,
exactly
like
the
pastor
would
have
done
it.
Perhaps

    because
 of
 faulty
 notions
 of
 authority,
 some
 pastors
 have
 come
 to

    imagine
 that
 they
 really
 are
 authorities
 on
 every
 subject
 and
 type
 of

    activity
from
decorating
to
worship,
to
retreat
planning
to
budgeting,
to

    graphic
 design,
 etc.
 Aren’t
 we
 glad
 God
 does
 not
 espouse,
 “If
 you
 want

    something
done
right,
do
it
yourself”?


    • Pastors
 have
 been
 burned
 by
 previous
 experiences
 with
 delegation,
 and

    they
are
not
eager
to
be
disappointed
all
over
again.
It
only
takes
a
few

    dropped
balls
by
volunteers
to
condition
pastors
not
to
trust
the
quality

    or
 quantity
 of
 others’
 work.
 Actually,
 most
 of
 the
 disappointments
 in

    delegation
 happen
 because
 leaders:
 Miscast
 people
 in
 unsuitable
 jobs;

    fail
to
give
enough
information
or
support;
choose
not
to
deal
with
pre‐
    existing
attitude
problems;
or,
unintentionally
prevent
people
from
really

    taking
ownership
of
the
job.


    • Many
pastors
confuse
delegation
with
dictation.
If
a
leader
spends
all
the

    time
to
think
a
job
through,
and
spell
out
how
it
is
to
be
done,
the
leader

    has
already
missed
the
point
of
delegation.
Jethro’s
advice
for
how
Moses

    ought
 to
 delegate
 ministry
 to
 others
 contains
 a
 simple,
 but
 often

    overlooked
 detail:
 Let
 others
 be
 the
 front
 line;
 let
 them
 be
 the
 first
 to

    deal
 with
 situations,
 and
 whatever
 they
 decide
 they
 cannot
 handle

    should
be
brought
to
Moses—not
the
other
way
around.


    • Pastors
 become
 too
 busy
 to
 look
 for
 disciples
 and
 enlist
 more
 workers.

    Since
it
takes
longer
(initially)
to
adequately
delegate
than
it
does
to
do
a

    job
themselves,
pastors,
who
are
already
crunched
for
time
because
of
all

    the
things
they
are
doing
themselves—because
it
is
quicker,
have
a
hard

    time
 justifying
 the
 “lost
 time”
 that
 delegation
 and
 follow‐up
 require.

    Eventually,
the
church
ends
up
only
able
to
produce
what
one
extremely

    busy
leader
can
accomplish.


    • Pastors
can
fear
losing
importance
if
many
other
people
start
doing
lots

    of
great
things.
Pride
urges
leaders
to
keep
the
credit
(thereby
the
work)

    for
 themselves;
 the
 truth
 is
 that
 unless
 they
 have
 a
 pride
 problem


    Daniel
A.
Brown,
PhD
 ctw.coastlands.org

    Why Is Delegation So Difficult?
    Practical Thoughts For Church Leaders 4


    themselves,
 people
 will
 respect
 a
 leader
 who
 delegates
 significant



    responsibility
far
more
than
they
will
regard
a
leader
who
does
not.


    If,
 as
 church
 leaders,
 we
 can
 admit
 that
 much
 of
 the
 reluctance
 our
 people
 have

    toward
meaningful
service
and
involvement
in
our
church
is
due
to
our
attitudes,

    then
 we
 will
 see
 much
 more
 breakthrough
 than
 if
 we
 simply
 continue
 to
 blame

    them
for
not
helping
us
more.



    Daniel
A.
Brown,
PhD
 ctw.coastlands.org


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