UCAN founder and church consultant John Truscott has just published two new Training Notes to his website:
TN153: How not to manage volunteers!
Many church members ‘manage’ others, usually volunteers. But this is often done badly. So the notes provide eight examples of what can go wrong to show how the volunteers feel in each case.
The eight are:
1. Little idea of the big picture
2. Instructions that are too vague
3. Supervision that is overbearing
4. Goal posts that move
5. Panic deadlines
6. Lack of support
7. No praise or thanks
8. Little motivation to develop
All eight also apply to normal line management of paid staff. The notes are written from the point of view of the volunteers, but the lessons to learn are for their managers. By taking a ‘how not to’ approach the dangers become apparent and the corrective action can appear more clearly.
TN154: Prayer sessions that engage
Earlier sets of Training Notes cover innovative ideas for leading church intercessions, writing prayer diaries, and organising prayer in business meetings. Here now is fresh thinking on new ways of structuring a church meeting for prayer. There are four ideas.
First, pray through a church prayer diary, or weekly printed prayer topics on service sheets. This helps those who find praying aloud intimidating because the topics give ideas and possible wording for a short prayer.
Secondly, use a daily newspaper. Give each person a news or comment page from that day’s edition and let them choose one headline and opening sentence which it is then quite easy to turn into a prayer. Necessary instructions are provided.
Thirdly, print out a list of local streets/roads in geographical groupings, consider church members who live in each set of roads and pray for them and for their witness to neighbours and others. Or pray for the schools and organisations based in those roads.
Finally, use prayers recorded in Scripture (passages are suggested) for a richer and deeper way of praying than the more feeble words we often use.
Both are available without charge on the Training Notes section of John’s website.