{"id":13363,"date":"2023-09-22T05:00:42","date_gmt":"2023-09-22T09:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/?post_type=resource&p=13363"},"modified":"2023-09-21T15:42:25","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T19:42:25","slug":"how-to-own-a-ministry-mistake","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/how-to-own-a-ministry-mistake\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Own a Ministry Mistake"},"content":{"rendered":"

I struggle with mistakes. It\u2019s not that I fear mistakes. On the leadership risk-tolerance scale, I lean toward taking more risks. Messes, mistakes and outright failures come with taking regular, calculated risks.<\/p>\n

My struggle is not the fear of making<\/em> a mistake. My struggle is the responsibility of owning<\/em> the mistake.<\/p>\n

My desire to be right supersedes my desire to take risks. In other words, I\u2019m fine with admitting failure so long as I don\u2019t have to deal with the problems it can create. So, my attitude ends up being something like,\u00a0\u201cIt didn\u2019t work. Can\u2019t we just move on now?\u201d\u00a0In the zero-sum game of commodities trading, or in the fast-paced race of venture capital, such an attitude might be beneficial (maybe). In the church, however, you\u2019re being selfish when you have this attitude.<\/p>\n

Your mistakes \u2013 my mistakes \u2013 involve people. Time, resources and energy were poured into whatever endeavor failed. The church placed hope into something you said would work. If a ministry initiative failed because of your leadership, then you need to own it. Owning a ministry mistake is more than simply admitting it happened. Even if there was no malice on your part, even if your heart was completely pure in motive, as a leader, you must take steps to own whatever ministry mistake occurred.<\/p>\n

The four steps below will help.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Apologize without an excuse<\/strong>. I\u2019m sorry, but. . . (Wrong!). I\u2019m sorry if. . . (Wrong!). I\u2019m sorry, however. . . (Wrong!). These statements aren\u2019t apologies; they are political posturing. When you make a mistake, the first step to owning it is simply saying, \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d Also, only address the group affected. If your mistake involved three people, then apologize to them, not the whole church. Conversely, if your mistake affected the whole church, don\u2019t just apologize to three people.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Briefly explain why<\/strong>. Most people in the church understand that leaders make mistakes. You likely won\u2019t get much sympathy (such is the nature of leadership), but if you explain yourself, then people will understand. After apologizing, explain your actions. But don\u2019t camp there. When you explain too much, you sound \u2013 and likely are \u2013 defensive.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Offer a corrective path forward<\/strong>. Explaining why a mistake occurred is a backward perspective. This step is a forward perspective. Tell the affected group the safeguards you\u2019re putting in place to help prevent future, similar mistakes.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Don\u2019t dwell on it<\/strong>. Don\u2019t look back. Move down the corrective path and don\u2019t wallow in the past. Some may bring up past mistakes. Once you\u2019ve owned the mistake, however, it\u2019s time to move on from it. When someone mentions the previous mistake, all you need to say is a simple \u201cthank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obviously, mistakes come in varying degrees. Taking a big risk with 25% of the church budget is completely different than trying something small with a few people. Making the same mistake five times is different than making a mistake once. The degree to which you apologize, explain why and offer a corrective path is proportional to the size and frequency of the mistake.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be afraid to take risks. Don\u2019t be afraid of making a mistake. It will happen. You just need to own it as a church leader.<\/p>\n

This post originally appeared on <\/em>Sam\u2019s blog.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I struggle with mistakes. It\u2019s not that I fear mistakes. On the leadership risk-tolerance scale, I …<\/p>\n

How to Own a Ministry Mistake<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13364,"template":"","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[],"channels":[],"topics":[53],"languages":[],"class_list":["post-13363","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource_type-article","topics-replanting"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Own a Ministry Mistake - Church Replanting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/how-to-own-a-ministry-mistake\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Own a Ministry Mistake\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I struggle with mistakes. 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