by Mark Bahr
Did that headline catch your attention? Rather harsh, I know, but a principle that I think is becoming more and more important for Lutheran schools due to the ongoing challenges associated with providing a high-quality Christian education. The days of operating as a solo, stand-alone institution are becoming overwhelming as it relates to enrollment, personnel, programming, and especially, finances. The pressure is on the school leader to figure out all these challenges while he/she also needs to learn to become much more efficient or the school will suffer or maybe even close. That’s asking a lot of one person!
However, that is the exact problem right there—we expect everything to be handled by one person. No wonder it is said that leadership is lonely at the top. Most of our Lutheran high schools don’t have a whole team of fulltime administrative people to collaborate with and handle all the responsibilities. Typically, the top dog is doing everything, and burning out in the process, which is never a healthy thing. There has got to be a better way, right?
God never intended it to be like this. Right in the beginning of the Bible, in Genesis 2:18, it states, “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for man to be alone.’” Once God created man, He almost immediately created a helpmate for him to share in the duties and decisions in life. We were never created to work alone. We were created to be social beings interacting and collaborating with others. We need to remember that fact and intentionally begin connecting with others who can help us accomplish our tasks and provide the camaraderie that we desperately need to handle the nuances of life and profession. We tend to sense this every year at our annual ALSS Conference when we have a chance to be together and network with one another. We feel supported, valued, listened to, and understood when we share our stories of how things are going personally and professionally. That euphoric type feeling shouldn’t be an outlier though. We need to find more ways to stay consistently connected.
Leaders need to authentically incorporate interactions with other leaders that will make our jobs more efficient and more effective. However, we often get too wrapped up in the whirlwind of the day or are too proud to ask for help which just leads to further burnout and loneliness. Leaders need to intentionally take advantage of the various resources and best practices that are available to us. For instance, if you are struggling right now with your leadership, reach out to a trusted colleague for a little encouragement or guidance. Or, if you are trying to figure out how to fill the gaps for your curricular needs, check out programs like Orange Lutheran Online, the Genesis Virtual Academy (connected to Mayer Lutheran), or Faith (Las Vegas) Lutheran Online, a newly developed program.
What about challenges with finances and/or business functions? Investigate TRIUN3 Services (www.weteachtruth.org/triun3), which was recently launched through our Association here in the Milwaukee area. TRIUN3 is designed to “Serve school leaders to bring financial expertise to help ensure organizations deliver on their mission.” Services offered by TRIUN3 would include Outsourcing Financial Services, Education Staffing Solutions, Fractional CFO Services, and Strategic Consulting. Basically, TRIUN3 can provide any or all of the back-office tasks for schools and churches that need a higher quality and/or expertise due to the limited or expensive personnel resources needed to deliver those type of services. TRIUN3 was created to collaborate with your school leadership so that your school business operations can function with much more efficiency and effectiveness. The size and complexity of our Association has allowed us to employ a really talented and experienced team of people who are both willing and desiring to share what they have learned with others. Plus, we are always stronger when we are working together, just as it is encouraged in Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
Hopefully, this article has encouraged you to commit to seeking ways that you can collaborate more often, both sharing your own expertise and receiving good counsel/guidance from others. God actually ordained us to work together as evidenced by these passages:
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”
Matthew 18:19-20: “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
May our good and gracious God continue to bless you as you faithfully serve Him!
Mark Bahr is Head of Schools for the Lutheran High School Association of Greater Milwaukee. He can be reached at mbahr@lhsagm.org.