WIlliam Vanderbloemen thinks 2021 will be the year so many churches and organizations see much higher than normal turnover, and why it will happen.
In addition, he shares future staffing trends and how to do succession well.
Welcome to Episode 382 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.
Plus, in this episode’s What I’m Thinking About segment, Carey talks about why he is so big on digital.
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CONVERSATION LINKS
Next: Pastoral Succession That Works by William Vanderbloemen and Warren Bird
CNLP 114: William Vanderbloemen on How to Know When It’s Time to Quit
Didn’t See It Coming by Carey Nieuwhof
Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald
Rebuilding Your Broken World by Gordon MacDonald
Ten Signs of a Leadership Crash by Stephen Mansfield
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INSIGHTS FROM WILLIAM
1. 2021 will be the year of turnover
You might find this hard to believe, but William thinks that 2021 is going to be the year of turnover. And not only will it be the year of turnover, but he thinks you could end up losing some of your most valuable team members. He points to a couple of specific reasons why he thinks this will happen:
- Turnover is a completely normal thing that happens in organizations, but in 2020, almost no turnover has happened because people didn’t want to leave because of COVID.
- The last thing people wanted to do during lockdown was add MORE uncertainty into their lives, so rather than changing jobs to start a new one, they just stayed where they were.
It’s doubtful that either of those trends will continue deep into 2021. So, William wants to make sure that you are prepared to lose at least one of your most valuable team members. It’s much better to be prepared when it happens, so prepare now.
2. A pastor’s role as a priest is becoming more important now than ever before
Traditionally, pastors play three major roles:
- Prophet
- King
- Priest
All three are important, but now the “priest” role will be more important than ever for leaders, because it’s the only role that can’t really be outsourced online. Any pastor online can teach and lead your people, but you are the only one who can sit down and actually listen to them.
So, how do you start to get people coming back to your local church? William recommends you follow Billy Graham’s example of writing your sermons “with a Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other.” But that newspaper needs to be the most local newspaper you can find if you want to reach your community.
3. How to know when it’s time to start a succession
It’s so common for pastors to get “Brett Favre Syndrome” and keep thinking, “I’ve got one more year in me.” But, how do you know when you don’t have another year in you, and it’s time to start a succession?
From the research his team has seen, William sees a real season of growth that starts on a pastor’s 40th birthday but ends at their 55th or 60th birthday. At that point, a slow decline begins.
There are outliers to that data, so he gives other signs you might need to transition: If you’re no longer excited by the day-to-day work of ministry but love preaching, if you’ve started counting down the days, or think you can’t make it another seven years, it might be time to start talking about a five year succession plan.
Quotes from Episode 382
2021 is going to be the year of turnover. @wvanderbloemen Click To Tweet Every weakness is just a shadow side of your greatest strengths. @wvanderbloemen Click To Tweet Leading on empty doesn't work. @wvanderbloemen Click To Tweet The most expensive thing you can do in a succession is screw it up. @wvanderbloemen Click To Tweet When you really start to lose joy, and you don't gain any energy from it, that's a clear warning sign that it is time to start mailing it in. @wvanderbloemen Click To Tweet The three biggest reasons succession have failed up till now is finances, a lack of a calling to something else and the whole family is uprooted. @wvanderbloemen Click To Tweet COVID has accelerated some people's plans about succession. @wvanderbloemen Click To Tweet At some point, the external disruption is going to normalize. But, then that will fuel a whole bunch of internal disruption. @cnieuwhof Click To Tweet There's a huge surge coming in a need for people with a priestly gift. @wvanderbloemen Click To Tweet Digital spans the problem of geography. @cnieuwhof Click To TweetRead or Download the Transcript for Episode 382
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Next Episode: Mark Batterson
Mark Batterson has led a church in DC for over two decades. In this interview, Mark opens up about how deep the divide is in DC, how he resists the pressure to become partisan, and how to create a multi-partisan church. He also talks about the future of the church after 5 of his physical locations were put in jeopardy by cinema insolvencies, and how he manages his time.
Subscribe for free now so you won’t miss Episode 383.
