When I read new books on ministry or leadership, I highlight the best quotes and type them and my thoughts about the book into Evernote. I do the same thing when I go to a conference or seminar. My notes are usually organized into two sections: (1) things the speaker said that were new, challenging or especially important; and (2) actions I should take based on what I learned.

When an author or speaker often presents his or her strategies as "proven" techniques that will result in success, we quickly soak them up like a sponge, grasping at anything that will help us reach more people, make more disciples and grow the ministry. But how many times have you tried that "proven" strategy and it didn't work as well for you as it worked for the author? The same strategy that propelled the conference speaker to fame and influence bore absolutely no fruit for you. It was like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

Learning from the successes and failures of others makes you a smart leader. Using discernment in how you implement what you've learned makes you a wise leader.

We all ask the same basic questions: Why does this discipleship strategy work for them but not for me? How can the church five miles from me double by using this assimilation process, while my ministry doesn't grow at all? I used the same volunteer recruitment strategy that worked in my friend's ministry. How come they're swimming in workers and I'm still doing all the ministry myself?  

These are great questions. Why don't those "proven" strategies work as well for us as they do for others? Here are two reasons. 

1. Rearview Strategizing. 
Psychologist Edward Stewart says most people succeed at something first, and then go back and try to identify what strategy led to their success. In other words, we develop ministry and leadership strategies while looking in the rearview mirror. The problem is that often we misidentify what actually caused our success. We thought we grew because of our dynamic team of greeters, but we actually grew because of our incredible kids' ministry. So you may leave the conference and try to implement an assimilation strategy that didn't even really work for the speaker. You're mimicking their assimilation strategy when what you really need to do is learn from their kids' ministry strategy. 

2. Context-specific Strategies
Some strategies only work in certain contexts. A strategy that works for an urban church may not work in a rural church, and vice versa. Or maybe the basic idea will work, but the details need to be tweaked in order to fit your community or style of ministry. Even the apostle Paul understood that he couldn't use the same strategies in every city where he started a church (e.g., 1 Corinthians 9:20-22). The gospel is universal, but how it's communicated and lived is local. 

So what do you do when you read or hear about the latest, greatest ministry idea and you think it just might work in your church? Here are some simple guardrails to keep you from the frustration and embarrassment of implementing strategies that don't fit.

Pray
This should go without saying, but as a pastor and ministry leader, I can't believe the number of times I've put a new idea or system into motion without even asking God if I should. James 1:5 says that we can ask God for wisdom. Doing so will prevent us from implementing many of our bad ideas in the first place. 

Survey
Proverbs 11:14 says there is safety in an abundance of counselors. I know this, and yet I've violated it all too often. In my experience, spiritual leaders have a habit of being the worst offenders of this biblical principle. As you're seeking the wise counsel of others (pastors, volunteer, laity, community leaders), ask specific questions. Say you heard a new idea and want to know what would have to be changed to make it usable in your context. Ask them to dissect it and identify anything that won't work. Have them answer the questions: "If I were going to implement this in my department/ministry/church, I would want to make sure that _______." And, "If this doesn't work in my department/ministry/church, it will probably be because _______."

Test
Ideas often flop because of the scale with which they're first executed. Rather than going "all in" on a new strategy, try it in a micro setting first rather than implementing it church-wide. Consider using a small group, a particular ministry or the leadership of a certain pastor or volunteer to see if that new discipleship process works. Before you test the strategy, answer the question, "The implementation of this strategy will be a success if _____." And, "The implementation of this strategy will be a failure if _____."

Evaluate
Monitor success and failure over a pre-determined time period. If you agree to beta test it for 6 months, don't quit after one because it doesn't seem to be working. Ask multiple people on your leadership team, volunteer teams and those affected by the new processes, to help you evaluate. Don't take criticism of the strategy, system or process personally. The goal isn't to do it exactly the way another ministry did it. The goal is to arrive at something that bears fruit in your context.

Adjust
Make changes to the strategy based on the team's evaluation. If the process is complicated, don't throw it out if it doesn't produce immediate results. Break it down in stages and then tweak one part at time, checking to see if the results improve. You wouldn't haul your car to the junkyard because it had a flat tire, so don't abandon a potentially good ministry strategy because one part of it doesn't work. Last, be willing to discard the strategy completely if it doesn't produce results.  

Ecclesiastes 1:9 says it best: "There is nothing new under the sun." Learning from the successes and failures of others makes you a smart leader. Using discernment in how you implement what you've learned makes you a wise leader.