Consider the greatest work of Michelangelo – the sculpture of David that now sits in the Accademia in Florence, Italy. One day, an enthusiastic admirer ran up to Michelangelo and asked, “How did you carve the David?”

Michelangelo replied with this strikingly simple description: First, I fixed my attention on the slab of raw marble. I studied it, sketched a few simple pencil drawings on it, and then “chipped away all that wasn’t David.”

The questioner was stunned. When pressed further, the artist explained: “In every block of marble, I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.”

This indeed is the art of negation, or taking away that which doesn’t belong. I’d like to add that leadership, especially today in times of economic stress, is an art of negation – what I call saying the hard nos of leadership.

Let me put this a bit more clearly: In order to make our yesses flourish, we need strategic nos. Or, as Michelangelo said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” We as leaders are called to do the same.

This reality faces us in a new way today. I’m guessing that most of us in churches are facing difficult times and somewhat stagnant budgets. Paradoxically, the current financial crisis has brought a new wave of people who are seeking comfort and some measure of spiritual insight. And so we are tempted to do a lot of things. But what we really need is not just to do a lot of things, but to focus and implement.

And that’s what I mean by hard nos. We’ve got to chisel away at our core values, mission and purpose statements with perseverance. But here’s the problem: It’s not as hard for leaders to find the yesses as it is to stick with your nos.

I offer two simple steps to living out the hard nos as leaders:

•First of all, get quiet and pray. The 19th century Christian thinker Soren Kierkegaard stated it well: “A man prayed, and at first he thought that prayer was talking. But he became more and more quiet until, in the end, he realized that prayer is listening.” Our prayer personally as leaders ought to be first to listen, and then to draw our ministry teams, church boards and congregations into listening. Here I find insight in comforting Scripture from Isaiah 30:15: “In returning and rest you shall be saved, in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” That was God’s word for the Israelites in battle – no less is it to be our direction when we battle against not flesh and blood, but against the power of diminishing budgets and increased workloads.

•Find the way that God has uniquely gifted your church. I was having lunch with some church leaders in our area last week, and one very openly reflected on his congregation: “We do a few things really well and a lot of things with mediocrity. We need to stick with the first category.”

The Brand-Identity Correlation

How then should he – should we – do this? Allow me to offer a quick insight from the art of branding and then one exercise. A relative of mine earns his living as a world-class expert in branding – the field that creates a lasting brand identity such as Nike or Coke. When people see the Nike swoosh, they think of victory, energy and sports. The Coke mark and color conjure up thoughts of youth, celebration and refreshment. I’m fascinated by this process, so one afternoon, when I found myself with this branding specialist driving around the roads near his home in France, I sought his insight on developing a brand. “What’s the key?” I asked. He replied quite crisply, “Three words. A good brand must be described in just three words – and certainly no more.”

I did some research on the topic and discussed it with other branding experts. They told me that in branding, there are several so-called immutable laws, three of which are pertinent here. The first is the law of contraction, that a brand becomes stronger when you narrow its focus. Two other laws are related: singularity, that the most important aspect of a brand is its single-mindedness, and consistency, a brand is not built overnight, but success is measured in decades, not years. So focus, single-mindedness and durable resolve – those make a good brand, and all have hard nos embedded in them.

Here’s what I thought: If huge, diverse, multinational companies can brand effectively in just a trio of descriptors, why can’t we, as congregations? And if your church were to brand yourself with just three words, what would they be? How might this exercise help create lasting success? Finally, instead of branding, what if we called it sculpting? And even more: sculpting our own David?

The How-To

Begin by brainstorming. Write every positive adjective, verb or noun you’d use to represent your church or how others actually describe your congregation. (I’m stretching the rules of branding that call for only how others portray you.) What are those words? Examples include: biblical, grace-filled, innovative, effective, dynamic and energetic. Now chart the top half with words you’d use to describe your church, and place words others would use on the bottom half.

Take a moment to review what you’ve written. What does this say about your aspirations for your church? How do the two lists line up?

I’m assuming you have about 20 to 30 words. Now comes the hard part: saying no. Remember that branding can only use three descriptors. Take a first whack at the list. Reduce your list to about 10 words. Take time: Sit with those 10 words for a few minutes. Then take a break and come back later, maybe even tomorrow. When you do return, prioritize the words. Look not only for descriptors that apply today, but also for your preferred future – what you want to become. Let the priorities determine which three words come out on top.

Before you begin, consider two pieces of advice: Keep the entire first list of words handy so it’s available for review. It may also help guide your revision process. Secondly, allow yourself to lament the descriptors you’re not going to concentrate on. It’s a hard truth that some dreams will in fact, never be realized.

Out of all these hard nos of leadership, the key is to hear God’s yes. In speaking of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul makes this declaration, “For in him every one of God's promises is a ‘yes.’ For this reason, it is through him that we say the ‘amen,’ to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 1:20).

In fact, “no” can never be the last word. Ultimately, the hard nos only create space for a deeper yes to be declared and lived in our churches and in our lives. Beyond the nos, we are designed to listen to a still, small voice whispering “yes” to what truly matters. Ultimately, it’s not even the yes that we pronounce, but the yes we hear and obey fearlessly. That’s what makes our hard nos worthwhile.

Greg Cootsona is an associate pastor for adult discipleship and college ministries at Bidwell Presbyterian Church in Chico, Calif. The author of “Say Yes to No: Using the Power of No to Create the Best in Life, Work and Love,” he has degrees from U.C. Berkeley, Princeton Theological Seminary the Graduate Theological Union. Contact him at gcootsona@bidwellpres.org or visit gregcootsona.com.