When numbers lie

I was recently inspired by a post I read by Ben Arment that highlighted Steve Jobs biography. (Ben’s blog)

“Jobs did not organize Apple into semi-autonomous divisions, he closely controlled all of his teams and pushed them to work as one cohesive and flexible company, with one profit-and-loss bottom line.”

While there is room for criticism of  Jobs’ personal life, I have always been intrigued by the culture of Apple. They have built a tribe that is awe inspiring.

Such cultures do not form organically, they require great intention and diligent care. There is constantly the tension of control vs flexibility. How do we create a culture that allows, even encourages and celebrates innovation while still maintaining high standards?

What do you measure?

If you strangle a number long enough it’ll tell you whatever you want it to. This is where complacency sets in with most churches. Churches tend to measure two things: nickels and noses. (That is giving and Sunday attendance) The challenge with these metrics is that they may lead you to draw a faulty conclusion, just because giving and worship attendance is steady is not an indication of a healthy and vibrant church.

Instead of counting only attendance and giving, measure movement.

A church that only measures the numbers knows how many people attended last Sunday, but can they tell you over time how many of those people are sticking? Do we know how many people that attend a “meet the pastor” lunch end up connecting in a life group or by serving as a volunteer?

Culture often celebrates the big numbers – the Jr High retreat that attracts 500 attendees, is the ministry that sees an increased budget in the new year, but a better indicator of success is how many of those students remain connected in their High School years? In other words, how well are your Jr High and Sr High leaders working together?

If the executive leadership team of a church is not intentional about telling everyone what matters, then that which is loudest will garner the most attention, budget and recognition. It is the responsibility of the lead pastor to direct the culture by defining what is measured. Before the rowing team can argue about the color of their uniforms, they must first agree to row in the same direction.