I’m away from the Alban Weekly this week, but I’ll return to your inbox next Monday, Nov. 17! I’d like to welcome back this week’s guest contributor: the Rev. Dr. A. Trevor Sutton, who serves as the senior pastor of St. Luke Lutheran Church in Lansing, Michigan, and as an affiliate scholar for Acton Institute. He wrote for us earlier this year about integrating work and rest. He’s the co-author of “Redeeming Technology: A Christian Approach to Healthy Digital Habits” (with Dr. Brian Smith, MD). He teaches, writes and speaks frequently about technology and the church in a digital age. You can find out more at his website. – Prince
Minutiae. Details. Little things.
You know what I’m talking about: a whole day spent digging out of your inbox. Meetings to plan meetings. Forms for reports. Reports about forms. Stacking chairs in the fellowship hall. Checking expiration dates in the church fridge.
Ministry leaders know they need to rise above minutiae, get out of the weeds and do the high-leverage work of leadership. They need to be about vision casting, team development and charting a course for the future of ministry.
And yet leaders must also lean into minutiae. Minutiae can be high-leverage leadership work. Never judge a task only by its apparent magnitude, complexity or prestige. The word “minutiae” simply means “small” — not insignificant or unimportant. I have learned some of my greatest leadership lessons from minutiae.
Not all small tasks are equal. Some are meaningless; some are meaningful. Leaders must discern the difference and respond accordingly. Here are three questions for the next time you face these kinds of tasks:
What little details loom large? Little tasks can offer major leadership opportunities. Appreciation. Encouragement. Personal thank you notes. Phone calls. Praying with someone. The highly relational nature of these tasks gives them profound meaning. There is no such thing as minutiae when it comes to people.
What do I learn from the details? I recently helped lead a congregational youth trip. This made for a lot of minutiae — prepping chaperones, arranging flights, ordering groceries. Getting into the details helped me learn things that I would have missed otherwise. It brought about meaningful interactions with our students. Had I offloaded the work to others, I would have missed these powerful connections with my people.
What details set an example? When leaders attend to details, others notice. Dealing in the details teaches your team to do the same. For example, every Monday morning, my staff reviews visitor names from our Sunday worship. Going through a spreadsheet of names may seem like minutiae — but it teaches that names matter, people matter and this is what we are all about.
Resources
Spiritual leadership is always contextual
It’s tempting to think there’s a formula for leading people, but it’s important to read the context to understand how the Spirit is moving, writes the vice president of spiritual foundations for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA.
By Jason Jensen
Trusting youth to lead
As some churches scramble for a quick solution to waning youth programs, a Lexington, Kentucky, church has found success in building over time and empowering their young people as leaders.
By Kory Wilcoxson
Administration is a Christian vocation
It’s easy to see how teaching, scholarship, preaching, counseling and other activities are the work of ministry. But it may be harder to understand how being an administrator in a Christian institution is also the work of the gospel, says Donald Senior, who was the president emeritus of Catholic Theological Union and the author of a book on the subject.
Q&A with Donald Senior
Shifting perspective hones leadership skills
When we shift perspective as leaders, we pause, slow down and consider fresh possibilities in the face of challenges, writes a director of programs and grants for Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.
By Elizabeth Tamez Méndez
Before you go
Many influential leaders focused on details. George Washington was known for obsessing over the cleanliness of his soldiers’ toilets. When Washington seemingly had more important things to do, he sent several letters about latrines. Similarly, a church leader like Dietrich Bonhoeffer led a youth group while resisting the Nazis. Clean toilets and youth group logistics may seem like minutiae — but they were high-leverage leadership tasks for these leaders.
Jesus dealt in minutiae as well. Remember, there is no such thing as minutiae when it comes to people. Jesus had a point and purpose as he got down on bended knee to wash another’s feet: “For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15 NRSVUE).
A. Trevor Sutton
Pastor and writer