By Mike Klockenbrink

The hazy days of summer can be a strange thing. It’s a time when kids get out of school, people go on vacation, and some ministries seem to slow down or take the summer off. The office during the week can at times seem like a ghost town. Am I the only one working here? Hello?

While this may be true in many churches, it doesn’t have to be so lonely, or appear that we’ve taken the summer off. I think some churches expect people to stay away during the summer. You get what you expect. I have a couple of different thoughts here.

First, let’s talk about the church. Many churches host a summer Bible club, middle school or high school retreats, or even a family camp. These are great activities and, as a parent, it gives me something to do with the kids during the summer. These activities, however, take people away from the church and may be cost-prohibitive for some. This is especially true if you have more than one child trying to attend one of these camps. So, what are some ideas to keep people excited about church during the summer months?

Let’s be realistic – to try and do something every weekend is both physically and financially impossible. Let’s look at some different things your church can do.

• Host an ice cream social after church on the weekend. Pipe in some music and let people hang out and mingle.
• Host a “Hot August” summer night’s car show. You don’t need a ton of cars to make this a success. A few cool cars, trucks or motorcycles will do just fine. Throw a couple of grills out there and viola, what a night.
• Host a family movie night at the church. This can be done several times throughout the summer. Make it a family night, teen night, guy’s night (action movie). You get the picture.
• Meet after church for some music on the patio or somewhere on your church property. Serve some water, tea or lemonade, along with some finger snacks; then, sit back and enjoy the music.
• Host a family night. Put up some inflatables and let the kids go. Throw in a few pizzas and you’ve hit another home run.

Now what about the staff? Many of the staff get depressed and feel out of touch during the summer months. Not much going on, office seems empty much of the time. How can you fix this? It all comes down to communication. Communicate, communicate, and communicate. And then communicate some more.

Here are a few ideas you can try over the next several months.

• Gather the staff together each morning at a set time, usually when the majority of them are in. Even if it’s just the two of you. Then take five minutes to let everyone know what’s going on in your area of responsibility. Share encouraging stories of how God has revealed himself in the process.
• Take one day a week or every other week and brown bag it together as a staff. This gives those who have been gone the opportunity to catch up and to share about their time away.
• Have a once-a-month birthday celebration day. Get some of your staff bakers to whip up some treats and sing a
• Happy Birthday song for those individuals with birthdays.

Doing all of this doesn’t take away some of the feeling of loss or separation from seeing people over a period of time. It does, however, help to keep everyone in touch with what’s going on and feeling connected during a disconnecting time.

So, enjoy your summer; slow down if you must. The fall will be here soon enough.

Mike Klockenbrink is chief of staff at Lakeside Church in Folsom, CA. Mike worked for W.W. Grainger Industrial Supply for 16 years in many different capacities. In January 2000, Mike quit climbing the corporate ladder and started climbing the Kingdom ladder. Klockenbrink can be reached at mikeklockenbrink@lakesidechurch.com.

By Mike Klockenbrink

Have you gone out hiking, or for a walk, in your own neighborhood? Many walking paths have exceptional signage – they tell you where the path is and where it’s going. After a while you get to know these paths and you want to try different paths – the ones less travelled. Then, one day, you decide that you want to create your own path – the one that has never seen the footprint of man. Look at you – exciting and adventurous. You’ve created your own path.

So, are you going to keep this newfound path a secret, or would you share it with others? There’s something to be said about this newfound trail you’ve just blazed. If you share it with everyone, it will no longer have the same mystique.  But, you can’t hold back any longer. You have to let everyone know.

This is where we usually run into problems. You’ve ventured into a path and, one to two hours into the hike, you ask yourself, “Where is this path going?” “How much farther?” “Should I turn around now?” Then, you decide to turn around and head back. You tell a friend, who had been on this path, how far you made it. And, of course, he tells you that if you had just gone another quarter mile around the bend you would have seen this amazing … whatever. Oh, and there’s this little shortcut back to start.

This isn’t just about asking for directions or how to read a map. It’s about clear and simple instructions or communication about the path itself.

Too many times we want our staff or church body to go on an adventure with us down a new path. Sure, we know the path we’re on – we’ve been travelling it for the past six months. There are individuals who want to jump on the path just because you said so. Most people want to know how to get on the path; how long it is; where it will take them; and how to get off.

If you want to keep those new paths you’re blazing less travelled, don’t let anyone know about them. If you want to engage people to join you in this journey, make sure you have clear and simple pathways for them.

Mike Klockenbrink is chief of staff at Lakeside Church in Folsom, CA. Mike worked for W.W. Grainger Industrial Supply for 16 years in many different capacities. In January 2000, Mike quit climbing the corporate ladder and started climbing the Kingdom ladder.

For many of you this is not a new idea. Now I’m not saying I had an epiphany, but I looked at something a little differently the other day. I was having a discussion with a coworker about how much work each of us had on our plate. We talked about the length of the list each of us had and how my list had lists. These lists don’t just start and end at work. Our list may start at home in the early hours, but we carry them to work and back home again. Sometimes those lists have us leaving work to pick kids up from school, running an errand, or meeting a contractor at the house. There really is no separation of work and life.

The way I’m wired is I like to know what’s going on with people. I don’t need every detail, but I need to know about the things that can and will affect what happens in the workplace.

How can we cover for you and free you up when your husband has been in and out of the hospital for the past 12 months?

I know your husband works out of town Monday through Thursday, and you have two kids at home.

Your family is off on the weekends, and church happens on the weekends.

Your mom is getting older; her health is declining and she is consumed with what will happen.

The list goes on and on.

As I was having a discussion with a fellow staffer, we both kidded around that we’re like an older married couple – we start to assume what the other person is doing or not doing.

I thought you were working on my priority, but you were working on your priorities.

The reality is we start to do a lot of thinking for the other person without talking to them. That’s when life kicks in and shows us what’s important. Do you really want to just go to work or do you want to go to work and share life together? This is a two-way street. If you want to be invited into the lives of the people you work with, invite them into yours.

I choose to do life from the time I get up to the time I go to bed.

Mike Klockenbrink is chief of staff at Lakeside Church in Folsom, CA. Mike worked for W.W. Grainger Industrial Supply for 16 years in many different capacities. In January 2000, Mike quit climbing the corporate ladder and started climbing the Kingdom ladder.

It doesn’t have to be that way. This should be a time to celebrate and plan for the future. Sure we all have things we need to improve on, and I mean all of us, but we have also done a lot right or we wouldn’t be here.

Throughout my many years in the corporate and church world, we base our review process either on a number scale or letter grade.

Most people strive to get the “A” or “5” with 5 being best. The reality is if you don’t get the “A” or “5” in a particular area, it doesn’t mean you’re bad or not adding value. You may never get an “A” in all areas.  It’s OK, really it’s OK.

So how do we get away from using a scale to measure performance? We have discovered that we look for certain characteristics when we hire someone. So how can we make this process work for evaluating them on a regular basis?

We have broken it down into what we call the 4 Cs. I have seen 3Cs and 5Cs, but we’re settling on 4Cs.

The first C: CHARACTER – The combination of qualities, traits or features that distinguishes a (insert your church name here) staffer (i.e. Good work ethic, positive attitude, strong follow-through, truth teller, consistent; etc.).

We focus on the traits or attributes of the individual that either help or hurt the team.

Specific positive character traits the employee is living out that help our team:

Specific negative character traits the employee is exhibiting that hurt our team:

Instead of the typical letter or number grade, we evaluate how they are performing. They are either:

Under performing | Moving toward Expectations | Meets Expectations | Exceeds Expectations.

This is also done for each of the other C areas.

The second C: COMPETENCE – The state or quality of being adequately or well qualified for your position at (insert your church name here) (Each job requires a specific range of skill, knowledge and ability).

What specific goals were met this year?

What specific goals were missed this year?

Specific competencies that the employee has excelled in this year:

Specific competency issues where the employee needs improvement:

The third C: CHEMISTRY – (insert your church name here) staff has a dynamic interrelation between team members. So, there should be a mutual attraction and rapport that is consistently experienced.

Give some examples of how the employee got along with other (insert your church name here) staff or key volunteers.

What are some specific challenges the employee is having in getting along with other (insert your church name here) staff or key volunteers?

The fourth C: CULTURE – The culture of (insert your church name here) is our DNA. It can be described by answering the question, “How do we live?” At (insert your church name here), we give ourselves to others, we celebrate-life giving grace, and we love meekness.

How is the employee doing in giving his or her life to others?

Describe how the employee is celebrating life-giving grace.

When has the employee displayed meekness in the past six months?

Areas where the employee is falling short in living out the (insert your church name here) culture:

So take a deep breath and relax. We’re just asking that you have good character, know your job, get along with others and you understand our environment.

It doesn’t have to be scary.

Mike Klockenbrink is chief of staff at Lakeside Church in Folsom, CA. Mike worked for W.W. Grainger Industrial Supply for 16 years in many different capacities – branch manager, regional quality manager, district sales manager and regional operations manager. In January 2000, Mike quit climbing the corporate ladder and started climbing the Kingdom ladder.

By Mike Klockenbrink

“Let’s get everyone on the same page.” I’ve heard this so many times that it has become diluted as to what it really means.

In churches that still use hymnals, you may hear, “Have everyone turn to page 721.” If we’re reading through a contract, we may ask everyone to turn to page 13 and follow along. But what does it mean as a staff or work group to have everyone on the same page together?

Many times we assume everyone is on the same page, but it doesn’t take long to figure out that that couldn’t be farther from the truth. This is what I thought, or this is what I heard, and what do you think?

After all, we as a leadership team have been meeting for some time about a particular project or plan. We’ve been talking the same language, and participating through the process together. Then we get to share with our teams what’s been going on to help bring them up to speed. However each person shares this information in so many words. If you’re a guy on the team, that would equate to a couple of hundred words. If you’re the girl on the team, that could be a couple of thousand words. Just sayin’. Henceforth, we have everyone on different pages.

So how do you stop this from happening? You can’t have everyone in every meeting all of the time. By no means do I believe that we have this dialed in. We are, however, trying a few different things to stop this from happening and eliminate the ambiguity.

First of all we started what we call cascading information meetings. After every leadership team meeting, we gather all our direct reports and share what we just discussed. This gives those not in the meeting a sense of real time communication and a chance to ask questions for clarification. Then monthly or at least quarterly, we meet as an entire group and bring everyone up to speed together.

Recently we attended the One Day Catalyst Conference with Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel. This would have typically been just for our leadership team to attend. We decided to take the entire staff to the Conference together. One of the best investments we’ve ever made. It got everyone away for one day, hearing the same common language, and made everyone feel appreciated. Your people are your greatest asset, and you need to invest in them. They need to be on the same page with you.

Are we on the same page?

Mike Klockenbrink is chief of staff at Lakeside Church in Folsom, CA. Mike worked for W.W. Grainger Industrial Supply for 16 years in many different capacities – branch manager, regional quality manager, district sales manager and regional operations manager. In January 2000, Mike quit climbing the corporate ladder and started climbing the Kingdom ladder.

By Mike Klockenbrink

The old grey donkey, Eeyore, stood by himself in a thistly corner of the Forest, his front feet well apart, his head on one side, and thought about things. Sometimes he thought sadly to himself, “Why?” and sometimes he thought, “Wherefore?” and sometimes he thought, “Inasmuch as which?” and sometimes he didn’t quite know what he was thinking about. – Winnie the Pooh

Have you ever had any Eeyores in your life? I’m sure you know someone like this. You may even work or live with an Eeyore.

Some people just have a different perspective on life. Take Tigger for example. Tigger is bouncy, full of enthusiasm, and fun-fun-fun! His self-image couldn’t be better: “The most wonderful thing about Tiggers is that I’m the only one!” He often forgets that his friends don’t like to be bounced upon. But he keeps everyone on their toes, and they love him for it!

I don’t want to be around Eeyores all the time, nor do I want to be around Tiggers all the time. Both can be very draining. There needs to be a balance. I personally lean more toward the Tigger personality most of the time. I do however experience my own Eeyore moments. This is when I need to hang out with the Tiggers around me. They are just what the doctor ordered to pick my spirits up.

It’s not always so easy for the Eeyores in our life. Most people want to stay away from them. It’s not that they’re bad people – they just have a different outlook on things. You know who these people are. They may be in the cube next to you. So what have you done lately to help change their perspective?

Maybe if we acted a little more like Winnie the Pooh. He is a friendly, thoughtful and sometimes insightful character who is always willing to help his friends and try his best.

Maybe some of the Eeyores in our life would say,

“Thank you, Pooh. You’re a real friend. Not Like Some.” – Winnie the Pooh

Mike Klockenbrink is chief of staff at Lakeside Church, Folsom, CA. www.lakesidechurch.com

By Mike Klockenbrink

On the outside, this is who I see.

You’re the receptionist who is always smiling and greeting people as they come in. You’re the cashier at the grocery store. You’re the pastor at my church. You’re the police officer who just pulled me over. But who are you really?

Everyone has a different job or role whether at work, home or play. So on the outside, this is who I see. As I get to know you, I see something a little different. That’s not who you are after all.

Many of us become who we are based on a title, position or how others have perceived us. But is this really who we are? I think many of us have gotten caught up in identity theft. Not the type where we’ve had our credit stolen. I’m talking about the type where we’ve lost our identity in who we really are.

I’m troubled when I see people lose their job or position and lose their identity. This is how people see me. What will they think? What will I do? This is who I am. Who are you really?

You’ve had a lifetime to build your identity. As a kid you were the one who loved to play soccer. In high school you were the one who was great in debate class or fought for a humanitarian cause. You go to college and land your first real job. This new position or title starts to define you to others. As time goes on, we start to become who others believe us to be. It doesn’t happen overnight, but day after day we give a little bit of our true selves away.

Then one day, we sit back and reflect on who we really are. And we realize that we are still the same person on the inside as the outside. We cannot be defined by a title or job that we hold. We are defined by our character, our values and beliefs.

You know who you are; let your actions speak for themselves. Don’t let your title, job or any individual steal your identity.

Mike Klockenbrink is chief of staff at Lakeside Church, Folsom, CA. www.lakesidechurch.com

By Mike Klockenbrink

You need to develop your staff. The staff needs development. What do you want the staff to develop into? Who has time for all of this development?

Over the years this has become much clearer for me. I can break it down into just a few categories.

• Hire the right person to begin with. Easily said, but not always easily done.
• Have a clear job description and expectation for each person.
• Utilize SMART criteria. I know this is overused, but it works.
• Specific
• Measureable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time sensitive

SMART plans or staff development plans are usually written during the time of annual performance reviews. Most of the time, the staff development plan is written by the employee’s supervisor. I believe this is where the employee should be doing their own staff planning and development.

As a leader, you should provide the vision and direction to guide your employee in the way you would like them to go. Give them a path to travel lined with opportunities and challenges.  The old cliché “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink” is very true. It’s really up to the employee to decide whether or not they want to develop themselves.

We call our employee reviews a Performance and Development Summary. We ask each employee to fill out their own performance and development summary. I have found that most employees are more difficult on themselves than I could ever be. This should be a time for each individual to reflect on the past six months and a time to grow forward over the next six months. Some key components in making this work would be to ask some of the following questions.

How did you perform over the past six months?

What are the top three goals you achieved? A time to celebrate.

What do you believe your strengths to be? Encourage.

What are the areas you need to improve in? Support.

What are the action steps you’re going to take to get there? This is where the SMART goals fit in.
Keep your staff development plan to less than a page. If you make it too long, it can lose its focus.

There’s a great quote I really resonate with from Andy Stanley “Direction, not intention, determines destination.” While each person may have the best intention of developing themselves, they need to be headed in the right direction or they’ll never reach their destination. Remember that this is their plan to develop themselves with your support and encouragement. When you put their future in their hands, it’s up to them.

Mike Klockenbrink is chief of staff at Lakeside Church, Folsom, CA. www.lakesidechurch.com

By Mike Klockenbrink

It’s just a season. I remember saying on many occasions, “Get ready, this is the start of our busy season.” It seems that our busy season starts in January and ends in December. Does it really ever end, or does it just keep going?

While technology has greatly increased the speed in which we do business, it really doesn’t do anything to help us slow down. That is, to slow down and take a deep breath. I’ve caught myself getting frustrated having to wait more than five minutes at a fast food restaurant. I even have gone as far to park and go in when the drive through line is too long. It’s no different at the grocery store trying to figure out what line will move the fastest. I seem to choose the line that ends up having a price check problem. Hurry up and wait.

A dear friend just told me that we all need a pause button. Kind of like your DVR, it gives you the freedom to pause or stop what you’re doing and resume it later. If it was really that easy, we would all be taking a turn at pushing the button.

So what are some action steps you can take to help your staff push that pause button when they need to?

• Every morning get in the huddle by departments, teams or the whole staff and allow each person to take one minute to tell the group what they’ve got going on that day.
• If you recognize that someone is overwhelmed, take action. Help them to prioritize what their working on. Delegate some of their responsibilities.
• Close with prayer as a group. Focus on the mission. Focus on specific needs.
• Create a safe zone. Keep an open door policy; allow your staff to talk with you if needed. Throughout any day, give your staff a place to go and take a break.

God has a great way of throwing us little reminders to slow down and pay attention to what is important. We have opportunities to make choices throughout each day. What’s really important is that we take time to experience what is going on around us. Seasons will come and seasons will go, so hurry up and take time to be slow.

Mike Klockenbrink is chief of staff at Lakeside Church, Folsom, CA. www.lakesidechurch.com

By Mike Klockenbrink

I’m Cindy, Jim’s administrative assistant. I’m responsible for making sure Pastor Jim’s meetings get scheduled, phone calls are made, meeting minutes get out to on time, following up with other ministries to make sure their on track with the upcoming program and the list goes on.
I know you know me. You tell on a regular basis that I’m doing a great job and what an asset I am to the team. But, do you really know me?

I’m a single mom struggling to make ends meet. I don’t want to bother you with all my problems; I know you’re really busy. I had to get food from the food shelter this past week and my son’s 4th grade teacher called and said that we need to meet.

Do you know me?

I’m Mark, director of adult ministries. Things have been a little crazy with the kickoff of the new men’s ministry and my small group’s coordinator out on maternity leave. But you know me, whatever it takes to get it done, I won’t let you down.

Thanks for the note and coffee gift card for a successful kick off. But, do you really know me?

My three teenage girls are starting to date and one is hanging around with the wrong crowd. My wife and I have tried everything, but our oldest daughter is making some very poor decisions. I’m afraid we might lose her.

Do you know me?

Can you hear it as you walk through the office? It may not be said out loud, but I guarantee you its being said. “He doesn’t even know me, the real me.”

So when a Cindy or Mark is not up to their normal level of high performance. Don’t assume they are just not doing their job. Seek first to understand, then to be understood.

When was the last time you asked one of your staff members what’s going on in their life? John chapter 10 tells the story of the Shepherd and His Flock. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.

When you invest in your most precious asset – people – your investment will pay off in the long run.

Mike Klockenbrink is chief of staff at Lakeside Church, Folsom, CA. www.lakesidechurch.com.