DEVELOPING PROBLEM – SOLVING SKILLS: Cultivating Effective Problem-Solving Techniques

‘’The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.’’ – Psalm 34: 17, 19.

To become an outstanding and effective leaders of today demands that the ability to successfully handle and solve problems must be present with us in high dimension. So many leaders have lost their leadership because of the inability to solve problems. The upward and onward movement of the church demands that the leader must be able to solve problems, quickly. I am aware that so many church leaders do not like problems, react negatively, easily discouraged by them, and will do almost anything to get away from having them. But the truth of the matter is that you cannot run away from problems and your problem – solving skills will always be needed in the church. That is the quickest way to gain leadership – solving problems. Ability to solve, tackle, address and confront problems are the hall mark of leaders. Dodging, avoiding, fearing, and leaving problems to fester will undermine your leadership. You cannot run from problems and still call yourself a leader.

A. DEFINITION OF PROBLEM.

Problem can be positive or negative. Problems are springboards of growth and progress. They may show up as unexpected events, troubles, trials and adverse circumstances. It may be triggered off by a word, an action, a behaviour, an event, or inaction. It may come instantly, gradually, naturally or supernaturally. It affects every facet of life. Nobody is immune from problems. It has no regard from anyone. It is very helpful to realize that in times like this, there have always been times like this. No problem is new and our problems today have always existed with man in this world and in the church.

If you don’t tackle problems, nobody will.
If you dodge problems, you will kill the church
If you don’t confront the problem person, you will not have peace
Sometimes, peace must be sacrificed so that progress can come
Every progress will come due to solving problems
There are problems that will grow or grey churches.

B. PEOPLE’S REACTION TO PROBLEMS.

Weeping and crying
Down cast and discouragement
Giving up and quitting
Overwhelmed and confused
Carefree and negligence
Magnifying the problem as impossible to solve
Excuses, complaining and critical spirit.

C. WHY YOU MUST HAVE PROBLEMS.

The problem free can only be found in the grave
Life is a process of solving problems – who does not have problems
Problems are springboards to growth and progress
No condition guarantee freedom from problems
Every achiever in life have learnt to overcome problems
Every problem is a disguised miracle.
Eliminate problems and life will become dull and unattractive
Every church or leader have no problem or the other to grapple with.
Profit from your partners, capitalize on your crisis and draw dividends from your difficulties.

D. TEN THINGS I KNOW ABOUT PROBLEMS.

God will not deliver you from problem, but he will deliver you in problem
Your condition is not as important as you conclusion
Problems are not meant to destroy but to develop us.
You can overcome your problem if you do not allow them to overwhelm you.
Your problems can make you better if you do not allow them to make you bitter.
Your problems can build you if you do not allow them to bust you.
God does not reveal everything. He reveals some and hide some.
If you do not handle your problem, it will handle you very well
Every problem has a life span. A door to miracle.
Problems refine and reshape us to serve others. Many of the psalms were born in difficulty. Most of the epistles were written in prison.

E. NORMAL PROBLEMS OF CHURCH AND MINISTRY.

Lack of money and supporters.
Administrative problems
Property and buildings
Secrets sins and corruption in the church
Shallow Christianity and fake preachers
Leadership digression
Rebellion, position – conscious and breakaway
Lack of growth, progress and expansion
Resistance to change and innovation
Christopaganism and scandals in the church
Doctrine and disunity
Disappointments and character assassinations.

F. HANDLING YOUR PROBLEMS SUCCESSFULLY.

The leader must be the solution, provide solution, not the problem
Put your problem in proper perspectives – problem give meaning to life
Have the right attitude to your problems – become bigger than the problem.
Prioritize the problems – face only one at a time.
Collect problem causes.
Select people to help you in the problem-solving process
Display maturity and stability
Collect problem – solving solutions
Choose the best solution and implement
Set up policies to keep problem from reoccurring.

G. COURAGE TO HANDLE SITUATIONS.

‘’And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and they voice.’’ – 1 Samuel 15: 24.

Leaders that panic and are fearful when faces with difficult situations will always offend God and lose their leadership. this is what happened to king Saul. Some lessons about courage we learn from Saul are that:

Courage and cowardice are both contagious
Without courage, it doesn’t matter how good your intentions are.
Without courage, we are slaves of our own insecurity and possessiveness
A leader without courage will never let go of the familiar.
Without courage to act, small problems will faster and develop into a raging fire that will consume all.