Staff

As most of you know, The Point's "official" staff consists of... me. But the other day I read Devin's post about Staff Expectations and thought it was worth passing on for a couple of reasons. First, I do believe that one day we will have an official paid staff and I think his list of expectations is one of the best I've run across. Second, since we don't have an official paid staff our volunteers are the staff and I think these expectations translate to volunteers just as easily as they do to people who are getting a pay check. (Giving credit where credit is due, some of the following is a direct quote of Devin's post and some is commentary from me.)

1. Loyalty -- Devin says loyalty is: I've got their backs and they have mine. I don't think you can have a healthy, functional, growing church family without loyalty among those who are in positions of leadership and influence.

2. Excellence -- My passion is that we strive to maintain an attitude of high excellence at The Point and it stems from the top down. We should not settle for second best. I want people to have the "holy discontent" that Hybels talks about and to constantly strive to get better. Now I've got to say that excellence is different than perfection. We don't need to get the two confused. Excellence means maximizing and doing the best with what we have. It means giving our best and not the left overs.

3. Personal and Spiritual growth -- Our ministries need to be an overflow of what God is doing in our personal lives. We need to be seeking after God with our whole being and submitting to his authority in our lives. This really is a given, but needs to be stated.

4. Passion -- For God, His people, and our ministry. If there is something that we are doing that we cannot be passionate about, then we are doing a disservice to God and the church.

5. A Positive Spirit -- Negativity kills. I want people to be who they are (crazy, zany, and sarcastic) but to be careful of belittling others, even in humor. This positive spirit should come through in everything.

6. Wisdom -- Be wise in your use of words (what you say and how you say it) and in your actions.

7. Have Fun -- I want us to have fun together.

8. Mistakes -- People are free to make make a mistake (once). Experiments are allowed. Risks are encouraged. However, repeat mistakes due to a lack of preparation are not allowed. I don't want staff or volunteers to be afraid to try new things, and with that comes mistakes. I want us to learn from our mistakes and allow them to move us to the next level.

9. Honesty -- Integrity at all times, in all matters. There are too many horror stories in ministry about a lack of integrity. My passion is that we have a climate of authenticity that allows our people and our leaders to be real. This helps eliminate the temptation to internalize struggles for a fear of repercussions. Integrity is a must. The gospel is at stake.

10. Work hard -- Give 110%. This means at church, in the community, and at home. I want my staff to have healthy lives at church and in their homes. I want them to work harder on their marriages and relationship with their kids than I do their ministry at church. Their primary ministry is at home. But when they are serving God through The Point, give it all you got. Laziness is unacceptable. God and the people with which we have been entrusted deserve our best.