I love coming across useful resources for leaders in the trenches of ministry. Here are three great ones I’d love to pass on to you:

Fam Conference
This is a new one (in fact the first one hasn’t even happened yet). Normally I don’t like to promo untested things but it’s created and run by two of my favorite guys in Family Ministry, Jim Burns and Doug Fields, I couldn’t pass it up. It’s got tracks for Youth, Children’s Marriage, Urban, Family, Men’s, and Women’s Ministry. Looks like there’s something for just about everyone on your church’s staff. I love going to great conferences and I love getting to go with great people. The Fam Conference let’s you do both.

Have a Little Faith
I both started and finished this book last week, it was that good. It’s by Mitch Albom, the guy who wrote Tuesdays with Morrie. It explores similar themes of life and death but goes further by delving into the aspects of faith that encompass both. It follows the life of a Jewish Rabbi and a Christian Pastor. It’s less about theology and more about priorities. Like with Tuesdays it’s autobiographical. Definitely worth your time to read.

Storyline Conference
If you’ve read Donald Miller’s critically acclaimed book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, then you already know what an awesome concept this is. The big idea in a nutshell is the elements of a good story (a character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it) are also the same elements that make a good life. Don’s conference will walk you through the process of discovering God’s storyline for your life and tapping into talents, resources, and experiences to help you live that story well.

Being in ministry means spending some time away from home. Whether it’s leading a camp, attending a conference, or traveling out-of-state to meet someone in person we all spend some extended time away from our loved ones. When those times come it’s important to have a plan so our family doesn’t feel like they’ve been left by the wayside of ministry. Here are 6 ways to care for family while away:

1. Spend extra time together before you go
It’s hard to be away from your family. But in a lot of ways it’s harder on your spouse and kids. One way to help everyone cope is to spend extra time together. That may include a day at your kids’ favorite amusement park, the beach or mountains, or some extra one-on-one time with each family member, including a special date night with your spouse. Whatever you decide make the time to spend extra time together before leaving.

2. Let them know how you can be reached
In these days of cell phones and iPads this may seem a little archaic but it’s still a good idea to give you spouse the contact info of where you’ll be staying, going, and a run down of what you’ll be doing. It’s not uncommon for reception to be spotty, WiFi to be down, or camps and retreat centers to not have coverage. You never want your spouse to have to scramble in the event of an emergency. Get it down and give it to them as soon as you can.

3. Get things done before you go
Take it upon yourself to make sure your household responsibilities are covered while you’re gone. That may mean calling the gardener, cleaning out the garage, or running some extra errands a day or two before you go. Do what you can to lighten the load your spouse will have to pick up while your gone.

4. Call once a day
Make each day you’re away to check in with your spouse . It doesn’t have to be for very long but the effort to call in lets your spouse know you haven’t forgotten about them or the kids. This can be a little tricky if you’re at a camp but it’ll mean the world to them if you can check-in at least once or twice.

5. Leave something special behind
I love it whenever my wife packs notes or special treats in my bag for when I’m away. Your spouse will LOVE it if leave an extra note or gift for them behind. It’s a tangible reminder of your love and affection for them they will treasure long after your trip is over. Admittedly I am bad at doing this but I include it as a reminder to us guys to step it up in this area.

6. Spend extra time together when you get back
Getting back from a trip, long or short, always feels good. Whether things went great or fell apart while you were away there’s nothing like being back home. Take some time to hear all about what happened in your family’s life while you were gone. Spend time catching up and doing something fun all of you enjoy before heading back into the normal grind (and see about squeezing in a nap or three, too).

Being away from your family for extended periods of time is never easy, but sometimes it is necessary. Having a good plan in place will help everyone cope with the disruption to their normal rhythm in a healthy way. When you spend extra time together before and after you leave, let them know how to best get a hold of you, cover your responsibilities while gone, call to check-in, and leave something special behind your family will feel how much yo love and value them.

Ministry can be a lot like American Idol: at any given time you know somebody is going to leave. Some leaders leave for not so great reasons. Many leaders leave for great reasons; like being called somewhere else, retiring after many years of service, or taking another position within your church.

So how can you help someone who’s leaving leave well? Here are 5 tips:

1. Tell everyone soon, but not too soon
As soon as people know someone on your team is leaving they become a lame duck. Regardless how you feel about this, there’s not much you can do about it. People need time to process transitions on your team. But too much time makes a painful process excruciating. On average it’s a good idea to give everyone a 2-4 weeks head’s up. Less doesn’t give people time to process. Too much more makes that person’s remaining service less effective and will only lead to frustration among your church, the leader, and you.

2. Honor their service
When a great staffer leaves its bitter-sweet. It’s sweet because something great is usually happening in their life. It’s bitter because they won’t be doing it on your team. In this case it’s very easy to reminisce on the good times, throw a party, have people share memories, and give gifts that both appreciate what they’ve done and can even prepare them for what they’re getting ready to do.

Sometimes this is not always the case. Sometimes a leader needs to leave because of a moral failure, an unwillingness to serve with the right attitude, or a consistent failure to meet realistic expectations after repeated efforts to help them succeed. When this happens you probably won’t throw a party (at least one you invite other people to) but you should still address WHY they are leaving, QUICKLY, while thanking them for the good they did accomplish, and committing to avoid gossiping and talking negatively about them.

3. Get them to write down what they do
This is the step most churches miss. While everyone has a job description of WHAT they do very few people make time to write down HOW they do their job. Don’t skip this part of the transition process. Get them to write down what they do and how they do it.

• GOOD: Have them show you how they do what they do.
• BETTER: Have them write down how they do what they do.
• BEST: Have them write down AND show you how they do what they do.

4. Have an exit interview
Set time near the end or a little bit after a staffer’s exit from your team to get their feedback about working with you. Ask them what they feel went right about their time on your team, what went wrong, and what was missing. You may not like or agree with everything you hear but there’s always at least one nugget of truth that’s worth putting into practice. Plus, it shows you value their insight and are open to improvement, which is always a good thing.

5. Begin the hiring process
After you’ve told everyone what’s going on, celebrated their ministry, gotten down how they do what they do, and processed their exit interview it’s time to begin the search for someone to fill their spot. Spend time thinking and praying about who you want and what you’re ministry needs are. Outline the process you will use to hire your next team member. I talk more about how to do this here.

It’s always tough when someone leaves. Whether you wanted them to leave or not the change will create a season of tension for your team. How you manage the tension will determine if your team will function well once they have left. These steps will help you navigate the tension and set your team up for success.

Hiring great staff is only the beginning. Once they’re on your team you’ve got to set them up for success. This is where most churches and organizations fail. A lot of times new team members feel like they have to fend for themselves.

Here are six tips to help new staff start right:

1. Make their welcome long
It’s a big deal when hiring someone. Take your time. Enjoy it. Give them time to get their bearings. Decorate their office space in a fun way for their first day. Take them out to lunch with the whole team (you pay). Let them share their story and let them here everyone else’s. Have them and their family over for dinner. While goodbyes should be relatively short, hellos should take a while.

2. Clarify the how-tos
As part of their first week you should have some kind of new staff orientation meeting. Share all of the policies and procedures that are important in your setting. Talk about what needs to be done, how to do it, and when it needs to be done by. Don’t make them do it all on Day 1. Simply talk them through how and give them some time to breathe.

3. Speak the unspoken rules
I remember working at a church where the staff had a dress code no one every bothered to share with me. Since we were in warmer weather it wasn’t uncommon for me to wear shorts every day to the office. Over time I started getting not-so-kind looks from some of the people I worked around. It wasn’t until much later (about 6 months) that someone finally sat me down and told me shorts were a no-no around the office. I didn’t have a problem with that, but it would have been nice to know. Don’t let new staff get blindsided by culture shock like I was.

4. Check in often at the beginning
Having a new person on your team is a lot like dating someone for the first time: there should be a lot of hand holding. Not literally, mind you. But during the first month it’s your job as the leader to check in frequently to make sure they have everything they need and to see how well they’re fitting in. Don’t wait for them to come to you. During the first month make it a point to go to them often enough they know you care but no so much they feel you don’t trust them.

5. Release responsibility over time
We’ve all had jobs where people dumped work on us we weren’t prepared for. Protect new team members from that. Go out of your way to outline what they’ll be doing long-term but help to calm their nerves by letting them know you don’t expect them to do it all at once. Stack hands on a time-table for releasing responsibility at a healthy pace. While they may be gung-ho to do everything from Day 1 give them time to get settled, learn the culture, and build relationships before they dive into the grind of ministry.

6. Schedule periodic follow-ups
After the first month or so there should be a lot less hand holding. But you should still schedule time to check-in with them. It doesn’t need to be a formal meeting (although that’s not necessarily a bad idea) you should build a natural rhythm into your schedule that allows you care for your team on an individual level.

I have to admit a lot of this I learned from failure. My failure to do it and others failure to do it for me. The longer I’m in leadership the more valuable this has become for me. And I hope it will be for you too.

Hiring staff is one the most exciting and daunting tasks a leader can face. Not everyone who works in the church has the privilege of having a staff. If you are one of the lucky few then you know how important it is to do it right. If not, you probably have volunteers doing things you wish you could pay them for. In either case it is crucial to the health and stability of your team to bring the right people on.

So how do you go about hiring great staff? Here are 8 steps I take whenever hiring someone:

1. Pray for insight
This may seem like a no-brainer, but I put it here anyway because we should never underestimate how important God’s blessing is on a new hire. We may do the other steps right, but if we get this one wrong then the rest are all for not.

2. Know who you want
Before you start talking to people you’ve got to know who you need? What would they be able to do well? How many hours will they be expected to work? What tasks will they do on a ongoing basis? Who will they report to? What temperament will work best for this position and on your team? This is vital before going any further. I talk more about who to figure this out here.

3. Gather a list and narrow it down
Much like Santa you should make a list and check it twice. Write down who may be a good fit both inside and outside of your current organization. Then narrow it down to your top 2-5 people. Here are some great websites if you’re look for people outside your current ministry setting.

4. Have lots of conversations
Once you’ve got your Final Five figured out it’s time to start making some calls. Get to know them over Skype or phone before spending lots of time with them over meals and coffer in person. Have some questions prepared to help you figure out if they meet the criteria you established in #2. From there narrow your candidates to your Top 1-3.

5. Check references
It’s always a good idea to see how they’re track record has been at other jobs. If they’re previous leaders can’t speak well of them (or they consistently speak ill of all their previous bosses) that’s a red flag. A track record of not staying some place very long is also a red flag. What they’ve done in the past is a good indicator of what they’ll do in the future.

6. Test-drive
Depending on the position its advantageous to scope out how they perform. If you need them to teach kids, then watch them teach kids at your church or someplace like it. If they’re going to build a website, check out some websites they’ve already built. You don’t need to give them a 3hr exam but they should have something to show they have what it takes to work for you with excellence.

7. Get feedback
Before make a decision ask some people you trust what they think. Ideally you will have included them in the conversation pieces of this process. Every candidate will have some cons, but there shouldn’t be too many. Never forget what Solomon said:

“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” – Proverbs 15:22 (NIV)

8. Make a decision
Now it’s crunch time. You’ll need to tell everyone else no and give someone a yes. Always be gracious when extending an offer and when taking one away. On the rare occasion when everyone on your list is a no you’ll need to start this process over. That’s OK. What matters is getting the right person.

Hiring isn’t easy. It always takes longer then you think. There’s no sure-fire way to hire the perfect candidate. But when you follow these steps you increase your chances of hiring the best person available for your team.