Be Your own Church Consultant!

Are consultants really necessary? 

Are they worth the cost and disruption? 

The CEO of a small tech company in Chicago had a vision of becoming a large presence in its market. He was a financial expert with a great track record, but had little experience in marketing and engineering. So he hired a consultant with the proper credentials. 

At the time, I was a young, newly promoted, division manager responsible for new product development and compliance evaluation. With the arrogance of the young, I said to myself, “We don’t need a consultant, I can tell them what is wrong here.”

In time the consultant moved in and took a desk in the office across from me. He spent the next three weeks with a notebook under his arm, asking everybody questions. Eventually, he got to me and went through the litany of questions. Months later, his report came in and I was anxious to discover what he had discovered. I was amused and somewhat angry when I realized his recommendations were almost completely in line with what I had told him. (I began to consider a career in consulting.)

Was hiring the consultant a waste of time? Some - including myself - thought so. But now I am not sure. The advantages of hiring a consultant are:

• He knows the right questions to ask.
• Information that costs something is normally accepted over free advice.
• Independence assures there is no agenda.

If you want to be your own consultant you can just follow the steps listed below.

1. Identify where you are today?
2. Determine where you want to go.
3. Develop a plan to get from here to there.

The apostle Paul was the first church consultant. 

The apostle Paul was probably the most successful church planter of all time.  Converted on the Damascus road in about 33 AD, his ministry lasted for approximately 30 years.  During that time Christianity, which began as a movement within the Jewish community in Israel, became predominantly a Gentile cult, at least in the eyes of the authorities of the Roman Empire. Before AD 47 there were no churches in  Galatia, Macedonia, Achaia and Asia.  By AD 57 Paul could speak as if his work there was done. He certainly had the credentials to be a consultant. 

His letters to the churches read like a consultants report.

• They include paragraphs that specify what the church is doing right.
• They include those things that need improvement.
• They include recommended actions.
• They provide encouragement.

In his letters Paul often thanks God for those things that the church is doing well, while offering prayers about those things where they fall short. Lets look at a few:

Ephesians 1:15-18

Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 

1. Note that Paul is thanking God for their faith and their love for the each other.
2. But, he is praying that the eyes of their heart may be opened so that they might know Hope. 

Obviously they were losing hope.

Col.1:3-5;9

We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, 

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 

1. Paul Thanks them for their faith, love and hope.
2. But in verse 9, he prays that their knowledge of God's will would grow.

1Thes.1:2-3

 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, 

1. Paul gives thanks for their work of faith, labor of love and Steadfastness of hope.  
2. But in 2 Thes., he gives thanks for their faith and love but, does not mention their hope.  Why?  Because there was a teaching that Paul was countering that the rapture had come and they had been left behind.

If you as the leader are willing to ask your people two questions, you will be able to measure the state of the church. 

1. What would the apostle Paul thank God for in our church?
2. What would the apostle Paul pray to the Father for our church?

Asking these questions will reveal much. 

Several years ago we became the pastor of a church that was divided by controversy. After six months, we called a meeting of all the leaders. We broke them into three small groups sitting around tables and asked these two questions. 

The response to question 2 was “More Love.” 

We then asked each table to put together a list of things that could be done to have more love in the body. We did not have to make any official rules or take any actions to increase love. Just highlighting the feelings that the church body lacked love had its effect. 

A year later we asked the same two questions. 

This time Love was the answer to question number one. In one year there had been a significant change. 

Consultants can make us aware of our weaknesses. When we know what they are, we are able to transform our weaknesses to our strengths, with or without a consultant.

Problem Solving Made Easy

Solving the problem is easy - once you understand the problem!

We are all looking for solutions to our many problems.

"Read the Question." Those words were emblazoned at the top of the first page of my chemistry test. Unfortunately I failed to heed the warning. Instead I jumped in and tried to solve each problem as quickly as possible. After all isn't that what many of us do?

Turning in the exam and walking out of the room, I smiled at how easy it had been. When I got the test back, I did not smile. The problem was that I had not read each question carefully and there were a number of trick questions which were placed on the test to measure the our knowledge of the subject and also to train us to think clearly.

In problem solving we often fail to read the question carefully, listen clearly to what others say, or take the time to fully consider all aspects of the problem. Our problems in technology, business, religion, government, and personal relationships fail to be solved because we do not read the questions properly.

As a result we try to solve problems by treating symptoms without ever facing up to the real problem. We are often like the child who finds a hammer and believes everything in the house needs to be hammered. We look for a solution before we understand the problem. Then when we find one solution we run around using it to solve every problem whether or not it is appropriate.

We need to first read the question and understand the real problem. Once we are able to define the problem clearly, the solution or solutions become obvious.

It is not solving problems that is hard; it is in understanding the true problem.

The biggest example can be seen in bureaucracies. There are some in governments that believe the solution to every problem is regulation. So they want to regulate technology, business, healthcare, the economy, and relationships. Government regulation is the hammer and everything must be hammered.

But, in our own businesses, churches, and personal relationships we have a similar practice. We keep looking around for that magic hammer that will solve our problems. We attend webinars, conferences, and read every new book looking for the thing that worked for someone else, then try to apply it to our particular problem. We do this without a careful understanding of our individual problem.

Before we buy that new course or apply that hot program, we must be introspective and look at ourselves and understand our specific issues. Then we can pick the proper solution that applies to our situation.

You cannot solve a problem if you do not understand the problem. But if you fully understand it and can clearly state the issues, the solution or solutions will usually become obvious. Then we can pick the one best suited for the issues we face.

When we truly understand the problem, the solution or solutions become obvious.