Pastor Steven Furtick

A few weeks ago our lead staff completed a very helpful exercise I discovered in a book called Execution.
The goal was to identify old beliefs that need to be replaced with new beliefs as we lead Elevation Church to the next level of growth and impact.
From time to time in the coming weeks, I’ll share some of our conclusions in hopes that it will spark discussion in your church/business/family about the paradigm upgrades that are standing between where you are and where God wants to take you.

Paradigm Shift #1:
Old belief: Problems must be covered up
New belief: Problems need to be exposed and solved

When I write it out like that, it sounds so simple.  You’d think exposing problems would come naturally to a staff that wants the church to get better and better at reaching the city for Christ.  It doesn’t come naturally.
In fact, I realized a few months ago that my own emotional insecurities had created an unhealthy proclivity within our team to only report good news.  Because we wanted to protect momentum and morale so badly, we developed a culture of good news at all costs.  Rather than honestly identifying and addressing weaknesses and failures, we subconsciously learned to spin everything to make it look like a win, or like it really wasn’t that bad.

Now, we’re trying to upgrade from a culture that prizes good news at all costs to a culture that values the truth with solutions.  If something isn’t going well, we should acknowledge it directly, regardless of how uncomfortable it makes us feel, or how bad it makes us look.  However, this doesn’t give us a license to spew negativity and breed pessimism.
When a staff member is presenting a painful truth, the rule of thumb is:
Don’t bring just problems…bring solutions.  (I credit Bishop T.D. Jakes with this principle.)

Example:
Don’t just tell me the volunteer base is thin.  Give me a detailed analysis of how it got this way, along with your 3 best detailed recommendations as to how we can replenish it, and we’ll work it through together.  The truth…with solutions.

How about you?  In your marriage, parenting, or company: have you created a culture that welcomes the truth-with solutions?  If you don’t, the problems eventually will be exposed.
It’s better that you expose the problems before the problems expose you.