Week 13 - Rachel - Minister's Taxes

1. Use Turbo Tax

2. Minister’s do not pay income taxes on housing expenses
3. Minister’s do pay Social Security taxes on housing
4. Minister’s buying a house also get to take their housing interest
5. Claim honorariums
6. Don’t ignore the housing allowance cap

Week 12 - Rachel - Learning Leadership

Some of the best ways that people learn are from the mistakes that they themselves make. They form an understanding of what works and what doesn’t work. In ministry, there may not be much time recover from a mistake, so it’s best to find a way to evaluate what went wrong and begin again. However, it is wise to not only learn from personal mistakes, but to be observant and learn from mistakes made by those around you. Knowing this and learning from others mistakes can save time and allow you to avoid problems that could come up. By picking up on mistakes that others make, it can also make you aware of obstacles that you will face and how not to go about dealing with those problems.

Week 12 - Rachel - Formal Leadership Theory

I’ve chosen to work with 360 Degree Leadership which states that no matter who you are, no matter where your position is in “the company,” you can be an affective leader to the people below, beside, and above you.

Here is the church setting: I am a newly hired youth pastor for a medium sized church of 700 people. The staff is a decent size (8 full-time people plus office assistants). When I was hired, many of the staff members began to share their wisdom with me about working at this church, especially about the head pastor. Most say that he can be difficult to work with and keeps to himself a lot. He doesn’t put much effort in getting to know those who work under him. I’ve noticed this for myself by the lack of face time I see from him.

According to the 360 Degree Leadership Theory, I can still influence and be a leader to my head pastor, even though he seems distant and may not give me an opportunity to do so. The trick is, I need to create those opportunities. I know that I’m working in ministry and one of the greatest rules is to stand behind your head pastor. I do not want to create a schism, so I need to support him and offer to him any help I can give him. I need to go out of my way to be interested in him even if he does go out of his way to get to know me. I need to keep tight communication with him and take initiative to do things without being asked to. It’s my desire to show him that I am a leader.

Week 10, "John Maxwell Book"

Principle, "Life is 10% of what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it." 

It really is true, that there are many occurrences in our lives, good and bad, big and small, but our reactions is what sets the tone of how our life will play out. 

When you have certain things happen to you, it can either be the end of the world, or not a big deal.  This is how this principle applies to our lives, every little thing that happens to us can either stress us out and put us in a bad mood or we can control our attitudes and then let these things not get to us.  Our reactions are things that we can control and learn to change.  Not everything in the world is about us, and we must remember that to see if we are reacting selfishly, selflessly or even some way different than either of those...

If you are in a leadership position and are leading others, how you react to things is setting an example.  If you continually react in a negative manner, people are going to question your leadership.  90% is a pretty big percentage and we must remember that we can control how we react.  

Week 10, "Mistakes Ministers Make" Taylor Shanks

Interviewed Earl Shanks on 3/28/09.

Mistakes:

1. Not being on time-  When ministers are chronically late and do not take promptness seriously, shows a lack of professionalism and desire to be in their position.
2. Not sharing the vision- When a minister is not sharing what God has shared and driven them do, the importance of why we all do what we do in the name of the Lord,  shows a lack of passion and drivenness to act on what God has called us to do.
3. Selective leadership- When a minister is selective about whom he or she wants to lead a ministry and who is involved in ministry, this is not always a good thing.  

Week 13: Singleness and Ministry Melissa

Week 13: Singleness and Ministry

Code of Items I Intend to Practice to Avoid Sexual Impurity:

I will always listen to those around me when I am single and when I am married. If people come to me telling me to be cautious around someone then I will listen. I will set up boundaries with men around me and never “start anything” or respond to any co-workers if they initiate something.

I will always have an accountability partner that I can tell things to in this area of my life. I will speak truth if I think someone is acting in an unhealthy manner toward me.

I will not be in the office late at night and I will not allow myself to be in an office alone with a man. I will also not hangout with men from the church in my spare time.

I will seek God to control my emotions and fulfill my life. I will not become “emotionally attached” to another man besides my spouse. I will be in the Word and committed to purity.

I will be committed to prayer and continue to ask for God’s protection against Satan. I will dwell on the heavenly things instead of the earthly things and pursue holiness.

Week 13: Taxes Melissa

Week 12: Minister’s Taxes

List of Six Most Important Things I Need To Remember About Ministers and Taxes:
1. Use TurboTax because it immediately ask if you earned income from being a minister
2. You do pay social security taxes on your house
3. Report unused housing allowance
4. You can “double dip” by living in a house and getting to deduct the interest after you’ve eliminated it “off the top” of your income
5. Keep receipts to show what you actually spent
6. Get a letter in advance designating your housing expense and don’t estimate low

Week 11 - Rachel - Maxwell Book

The first principle that Maxwell shares about leading down in The 360 Degree Leader, is to get out of the office and be more approachable.

He says, “First and foremost, leadership is a people business” and a leader should connect with their people and show real interest in them. People are more likely to willingly follow if they know their leader cares about them. A good way to care is to look at everyone with potential, never sub-par. “360-Degree Leaders get more out of their people because they think more of their people.” What’s more, a leader must see every member of their team as a person and develop them that way because again, leadership is a people business.

I think that this is a great principle not only in leading, but also in life. It really better for everyone if you go into a situation thinking that everyone you are going to come in contact with has value and something to offer. It humanizes people. I think that too often we label and judge others too quickly. Then, when we need something from them, or they have something to offer us, we dismiss them and right them off.

Week 11: John Maxwell Book Melissa

Week 11: Maxwell Book

John Maxwell in The 360 Leader says, “You may be able to grant someone a position, but you cannot grant him real leadership. Influence must be earned.”

What John Maxell means by this principle is that you can’t give someone influence. A position can be handed someone, but it’s not real leadership because real leadership is influence and that is something that is earned. No one can make you follow them, if you want to be a real leader then people will need to follow you out of choice. People didn’t follow Jesus just because he told them to, they followed him out of respect and out of seeing what he was doing; they believed in not only what he did, but also who he was. In order to be a real leader, people must feel the same way about you.

It is far easier to obtain a position that someone gave you, than to actually have people that are willing to follow behind you. Anyone can sit at a desk and receive orders from someone else in order to get a job done. However, it takes a real leader to be able to call the “shots” and have people submit and follow in their footsteps. People have to believe in your vision and in where it is you are going. Only then will they be willing to follow you wherever you go, only then will you have gained influence with them.

Week 11: Mistakes Ministers Make

Week 11: Mistakes Ministers Make

I interviewed Chuck Bokisa on 03/23/09

1. They don’t become aware of church traditions or rituals so they are unaware of what members are expecting from them

2. Not updating the church body on upcoming events so that they are able to allow money for budgeting for the event

3. Not creating a good connection with the Senior Pastor in order to gain their wisdom and knowledge of the church.

Week 11 - Rachel - Mistakes Ministers Make

I interviewed Christy Moo over e-mail.

Mistakes:
1. Not bringing energy - it may at times appear that you aren't 100% on board with what's going on, or you are just not excited about what's happening. It can seem to your co-workers or even those you are trying to reach that you don't really care about what's going on, or them, and may seem that you don't want to be there. If you have a lack of energy and enthusiasm, then it's going to rub off on others and no one will be excited about it.

2. Involving yourself in badmouthing/gossip - it can become very easy to get sucked into workroom talk. It's hard to hear people badmouth co-workers and not form an early and judgmental opinion of that person. It's helpful to learn pet-peeves of others and how to relate to those you work with, but don't get caught up in all the unnecessary talk. It only brings others down and can quickly undermine any ministry that is taking place.

3. Stay organized - It becomes really easy to get behind. The first few weeks/months can be overwhelming with all the rules, regulations, paperwork that has to be taken into consideration and taken care of, not the mention the huge amount of e-mail sent everyday that you are expected to respond to immediately. Make sure you know the policies on money (credit cards, receipts, etc.), what events you are and aren't expected to be at, and also how many office hours you are to keep.

People Work, Week 9, Taylor Shanks

            I don’t think that there is any particular easy way to help with learning about people, but when you are put into ministry and are an extremely relational person those two factors help.  Some advice might include spending time with others, through relationships and spending time with others you are learning how to interact and be with others.  Secondly, I think learning to listen rather than hear yourself talk is a great way to learn about people.  If you talk about yourself all the time, how do you expect to learn anything about anyone else?  It doesn’t quite work that way.  I think you can also learn about others through knowing your own learning style and learning to adapt and be aware of how other people learn and manage.  Knowing this can help you adapt how you manage or how you interact so that you can get along and work better with others.  Another way would be to handle conflict in a mature and Biblical way.  If you feel that someone has an issue with you, be honest and approach him or her.  And try to handle it in a caring and intentional way.    

            I think allowing others to get to know you and loving them for who they are in Christ is how you jump over walls and loses barriers when it comes to working with others.  When God is in control of your relationships it causes you to think how he would treat others rather than how you would interact with others.  

Church Fight, Week 9, Taylor Shanks

            - I met with Ryan McCarty 3/15/09, at his house after church during a leadership meeting.

             1. The Issue: Finances

            2. How Bad It Got: Pretty bad, the woman thought that finances were being misused, going to one source instead of another.  She was not happy and threatening to leave the church.

            3.  She should have done her research, because the pastors met with her to resolve the conflict and fight and she accused them of sending finances somewhere not good. When really the finances were supposed to go to a certain place, and not to the ministry she was in charge of.  She was being selfish in thinking that her ministry was more important than to the one where the money was going.  

Week 10: People Work Melissa

Week 10: People Work Essay
There are a variety of ways in which one can learn how to work with people better. My first recommendation is that you become a better listener. Open your ears instead of your mouth more. Through the art of listening you can determine what the people around you truly desire from you and what they are trying to communicate. If you focus on just listening you’ll be able to better understand those around you, instead of always trying to come up with your reply back to them. My second recommendation is to communicate openly with those that you are working with. If you have a question or an appropriate suggestion then don’t be afraid to voice it. This will make those around you feel more like a team and help staff relationships develop. My last, but probably more important suggestion is to serve those around you. This could be the most Christ-like attribute that you have in the workplace because so many people don’t do this. Watch out for those around you and try to find creative ways to make their jobs easier and more effective. Get to know those around you as people and not just for what they can do for you. When you serve someone they will notice and this may even give you a little job security.

Rachel - Week 10 - People Work

A person learns to work with people through experience. It takes time to understand that working with people is like a relationship in which to have to give as much as you would like things to change. It is all about balance between the people in the workspace. You have to be able to know what people like almost before they tell you.

Through the time a person puts into the learning experience they will make mistakes from which they will learn and grow. From those mistakes you can have a mental template of what works with people and what does not. And no two people are alike so you have to be flexible in your learning.

Also one of the most important things to learn early is that you have to be observant. Through observation of people you can learn a lot about them and how best to work with them. Through the years your observational skills will improve to a point that you will be able to do it subconsciously.

Rachel - Week 10 - Church Fight

I met with Julia Hurlow

Issue: The pastor’s schedule wasn’t matching up. He got caught up in a lot of lies and some of his relationships began to come into question.

How bad it got: It did get ugly. Naturally, because Julia was the young girl, the pastor portrayed her as being the liar. He said things about her that weren’t true. There was a lot of tension as well because her family was involved. Her father was on the board at this church, so things got messy.

What could have/should have happened: She said that she wishes that the board had taken action sooner. When she brought all of this to the board’s attention, they sat on it for a while and things only got worse before they got better. As a result, however, the pastor was asked to resign.

Week 8, "Leadership Characteristics" Taylor Shanks

List of possible characteristics of a leader:

1. visionary-  A leader should have a vision, or know what God is calling them to do and those who follow God.
2. passionate-  A leader without passion about what he or she is doing won't help others catch onto the dream. 
3. caring- A leader should be able to care about others, ministry is relational after all.
4. full of wisdom- A leader should be rich in biblical knowledge and being able to use his or her experience in life to help others.
5. determined- A leader should be determined to get things done, to help others and so much more.
6. organized-  A leader should stay organized in administrative work, and other areas.
7. personable- Being able to connect with others is important. 

Week 8, "Firing a Teacher/Leader" Taylor Shanks

1. Interviewed Pastor Ryan McCarty on 3/13/09 at 1:00PM @ Starbucks

• Don't pay people at God's House Ministries, so firing is a but different, so people are no performing.  As the pastor, we must understand that these leaders/volunteers, teachers are giving up their time, so are we filling them up as pastors?
• Use what you got until you get what you want.
• If there isn't passion, meet with the volunteer, be open and honest with them.
• Be concerned with both parties.  If there is one person who is the problem, talk to the whole group and discuss more than just that issues, and they talk to the whole group.
• If we are paying someone it is business, not just ministry.  Hiring them to do a job at the church, if they weren't doing their job, I'd fire them Donald Trump style.  (You're Fired)  Higher standard in difference between staff member and volunteer.

Week 7-"Conflict" Thursday Post- Taylor Shanks

List of Insights about Conflict:

1. As a body of Christ we are supposed to treat others the way we want to be treated, and when we enter into conflict we must be careful that when we are arguing with someone, we must argue but show respect and the idea of how we might want to be treated in such conflict. 

2.  If you have any sort of insight as to a possible conflict with someone else, you are to approach them in a tender, loving and caring way.  The whole idea of if you confront someone and they deny what is happening, then you bring someone back with you.  And if that does not work, you bring the church behind you to support you.  

3.  As someone who might be a part of the conflict and realize that they are in "the wrong" to be honest in front of God and front of those around you, it is your job to admit you are in the wrong.  Admitting is the first step to fixing the problem.  

4.  Sometimes we ourselves as higher than others, causing conflict because of pride or being exclusive with who we spend time with, our love should not be selective, for God's is not.  

5.  Read 1 Corinthians 13, it describes a lot about love, showing its characteristics and we can apply those characteristics to any situation of conflict. 

6.  Conflict is not just personal, it can also be corporate and beyond the church.  We can pray for conflict within our churches, for conflict between others, (not getting involved, just praying out of awareness that there is a conflict) and for conflict politically, culturally, racially, we are not bound by praying for certain things.  God can work through our prayer to those who needs assistance ad-mist their conflict. 

7.

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Week 7 "Motivating Volunteers" Taylor Shanks

1. Interviewed Ryan McCarty on February 22, 2009

2.  Five Tips for Motivating Volunteers

a. Gathering People together and sharing the vision

b.  Selling the vision/ vision casting

c.  Spotlighting things about leadership

d. Honor those have done things well

e.  Highlight positive things 

Week 10: Church Fight Melissa

Week 10: Church Fight

Interviewed Jil Mazellan on 02/11/09

Two men who happened to be board members at the church were ready to fist fight in a church meeting over a woman in the church. The pastor of the church had been counseling this woman and having inappropriate relations with him. After the meeting was over the church ended up slitting because the woman was an elder in the church and half of the church thought the pastor should have been forgiven for his actions and given back his position and the other half said no. The pastor had been with several vulnerable women in the church and many people were affected by it. In the end the pastor resigned, even though he wanted his position back, the church let him go. In this circumstance I think the church did the right thing in not letting the pastor stay on staff. Despite the church splitting, one really can’t help what people actually decided to stay and leave. Perhaps a church meeting could have been held to dry to address some of the concerns of the people who left the church, in an attempt to get them to stay. In any case, the situation played out how it did and I think it’s good that the pastor wasn’t accepted back into his position.

Rachel - Week 9 - Leadership Characteristics

Leadership Characteristics

A church leader has many attractive characteristics:
1. Authority- they have the sense of authority that makes people want to listen.
2. Confidence- they believe themselves so we follow suit.
3. Knowledgeable- their knowledge far surpasses the normal church patron.
4. Outgoing- they have to be willing to share their faith with others.
5. Friendliness- they are friendly to everyone, which makes them feel welcome.
6. Responsible- the church leader has to be able to stay on track for the church.
7. Good listener- an important part of the church leaders job is to listen.

People want to follow a church leader because they are a natural leader who commands attention and loyalty. There is a sense about them that people want to be around them. The characteristics above give a brief outline of the desirable aspects of a church leader.

Rachel - Week 9 - Removing Someone

I did a face to face interview with Julia Hurlow.

How do You Go About Removing Someone?

1. Redirect their gifting
1. First, re-evaluate and re-assess what they have been doing
2. It is good to get into the habit of constantly re-evaluating things. It makes things easier down the road, especially when you are searching for someone to fill in a volunteer spot because you know what you need and what kind of person you need.
3. By re-evaluating, it would make it easier to move a person who isn’t working out to another location.
4. Remember, this is a process. Don’t walk in and tell them one day that they are fired. Take the time to make the decision and be able to understand what is going on and why. Then, work to place this volunteer somewhere that’s a better fit for them.