• Church Growth

• Leadership

• Spirituality

Church

Growth

and

Revitalization

• Christianity Beyond Belief, Following Jesus for the Sake of Others, by Todd Hunter (IVP: 2009).

• Turn Your Church Inside Out, Building Community for Others, by Walt Kallestad (Minneapolis:  Augsburg Press, 2001).

• Kicking Habits, Welcome Relief for Addicted Churches, Upgrade Edition, by Thomas G. Bandy (Nashville:  Abingdon Press, 2001).

• Turn-Around Churches, How to Overcome Barriers to Growth and Bring New Life to an Established Church, by George Barna (Ventura, CA:  Regal/Gospel Light, 1993. 

• Shaped by God’s Heart, The Passion and Practices of Missional Churches, by Milfred Minatrea (San Francisco, CA:  Jossey-Bass, 2004)

• Hit the Bullseye, How Denominations Can Aim the Congregation at the Mission Field, by Paul Borden (Abingdon Press:  2003)

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• Creating a Healthier Church, Family Systems Theory, Leadership and Congregational Life, by Ronald W. Richardson (Minneapolis, MN:  Augsburg Fortress, 1996).

• Firestorm, Preventing and Overcoming Church Conflicts, by Ron Susek (Grand Rapids, MI:  Baker Books, 1999).

• Leadership and the New Science, Discovering Order in a Chaotic World, 2nd Ed., by Margaret J. Wheatley (San Francisco:  Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1999).

• Polarity Management, Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems, by Barry Johnson (Amherst, MA: HRD Press Inc, 1996).

• Temporary Shepherds, A Congregational Handbook for Interim Ministry, Reprint, by Roger S. Nicholson (Alban Institute, 2000).

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• The Good and Beautiful God, Falling in Love with the God Jesus Knows, by James Smith (IVP:  2009)

• Shaped by the Word, The Power of Scripture in Spiritual Formation, Rv. Ed, by M. Robert Mulholland Jr (Nashville:  Upper Room Books, 2000.

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The Good and

Beautiful God

Notes

After studying with Richard Foster, Henri Nouwen, Brennan Manning, and Dallas Willard, James Smith was asked to write a curriculum on “Christlikeness” that could be used by individuals and congregations.  He came up with three books series called “The Apprentice Series,” of which The Good and Beautiful God, Falling in Love with the God Jesus Knows (IVP:  2009) is the first.  The Good and Beautiful Life, and The Good and Beautiful Community will be the two other volumes, with a publishing date of January 2010 and September 2010 respectively.

The Good and Beautiful God deal with the false stories we learn while growing up in America, and follows a three-fold outline:  first, the false narrative we have within our minds; second, the narrative that Jesus taught; and third, a spiritual exercise to practice for the week.  James Smith prefers that people would read a chapter of the book, practice the spiritual exercise, and then come together with others to discuss their feelings and thoughts, and encourage one another to become more like Christ. There are good discussion questions sprinkled through each chapter and at the end, and a small-group discussion guide for each chapter.  Although there are some overlap between chapters, and there are a couple points that he could have amplified and explained better, on the whole it is a good easy-to-ready, thought-provoking book that should be a very good book for a spiritual formation or Sunday school class to use.

Below is an outline of his book, some of which includes my own thoughts, and does not include Scriptural references.  Read the book for a fuller understanding of the topics listed.

Method of Change

I:  Method of Change

  A.  False narrative:  change is just a matter of the will; we need to try harder

  B.  Jesus’ narrative:  follow Jesus

         1.  We need new narratives to follow

         2.  We need new practices that will transform our hearts, which make us

              ready to hear and respond (“soul training exercises”)

         3.  We need to participate in a good community

         4.  We need to pay attention to the Holy Spirit

  C.  Exercise:  Adequate sleep

God is Good

II.  God is Good

  A.  False narrative:  God is angry and out to punish evil doers — tick for tack

  B.  Jesus’ narrative: 

         1.  Good and bad happen to everybody

         2.  Seek the good which the good find:

              joy, peace, contentment, fellowship, etc.

        3.  Avoid the bad and evil that the bad usually find: 

             guilt, loneliness, remorse, self-loathing, etc.

       4.  Recognize hardships are a part of being human

            and can help us develop our characters

       5.  Trust that God is good and that his purposes and goodness will eventually

            be discovered through the hardships.  We might not see it on this side of

            eternity, but we will know it on the other side.

  C.  Exercise:  Silently take notice of and enjoy God’s good creation.

God is Trustworthy

III.  God is Trustworthy

  A.  False narrative:  God is to be feared because he wants to send everyone

         to hell based on one single, unrepentant sin

  B.  Jesus’ narrative:  God is Abba

         1.  God is present, pure, and powerful, who provides, pardons, and protects

         2.  As we experience God’s love and care through small problems,

              we will gain confidence and trust for major difficulties.  Therefore,

              we need to be mindful of God’s presence, power, and blessings

              each moment of the day.

  C.  Exercise:  Count your many blessings

God is Generous

IV.  God is Generous

  A.  False narrative:  we have to earn God’s favor and

        we will be rewarded according to what we do

  B.  Jesus’ narrative:  God is generous, good, and gracious

         1.  God’s attitude toward us is not determined by the extent of our love

              for him because God first loved us and will continually and always love us.

         2.  We don’t earn God’s love, but live out of gratitude for God’s love

         3.  Our actions deepen our love for God, they don’t condition

              God’s love for us.

  C.  Exercise:  Pray Psalm 23

God is Love

V.  God is Love

  A.  False narrative:  God loves us ONLY when we are good;

         God continually judges our performance

  B.  Jesus’ narrative:  God extravagantly and recklessly loves us

         1.  God wants us to acknowledge our sin and come to him

         2.  Specific sins don’t separate us from God, but rather being self-

               righteous, judgmental, and unforgiving.

         3.  Self-righteousness is turning away from grace

              and demanding justice and righteousness alone.

  C.  Exercise:  Lectio Divina on 1 Cor 13:4–8.

God is Holy

VI.  God is Holy

  A.  False narrative: 

         1.  God is fixated on sin and out to get us—to destroy us with his wrath. 

              He is the “Marquis de God.”

        2.  God has no concern about judging and condemning any one for sin. 

             He is a “Teddy Bear God.”

  B.  Jesus’ narrative:  God loves us into purity

        1.  Because God is holy and loving, he has a dedicated, definite, objective,

             just, and rational stance against evil.

        2.  He is against everything and everyone who will harm us.

        3.  God is not coercive; he does not force his will upon people.

        4.   God does not arbitrarily consign people to hell, he allows them to go there.

        5.  Hell is the place where God allows those who continually resist his love

              to remain in existence according to their own desires and will.

         6.  God operates first and foremost from grace, wooing people toward change

              and thus risks rejection.

  C.  Exercise:  Find more margin in life—time to relax and to be with God.

God is Self-Sacrificing

VII.  God is Self-Sacrificing

  A.  False narrative:  False Narrative:  Jesus didn’t have to die on the cross.

        We could have worked our way to God, or God could just have overlooked

         our sins and verbally pardoned us without all of  this “child abuse.”

  B.  Jesus’ narrative: 

         1.  Total Depravity of humanity

         2.  The cross presents the depravity and gravity of sin

         3.  God took on our nature to transform us

               (Athanasius’ recapitulation theory).

         4.  God’s nature is to express self-sacrificial love for us and he demonstrates

               his love by dying on our behalf.

         5.  Simply and easily dismissing sin and its effects, and thus not demanding

              the cost/penalty of sin would make God both unjust and unholy.

         6.  Jesus did not have to die; he chose to die.

  C.  Exercise:  read the Gospel of John.

God Transforms

VIII.  God Transforms

  A.  False narrative:  False narrative:  my essential core self is a sinner. 

         I have to sin and put up with the accompanying guilt.

  B.  Jesus’ narrative:  my essential core self is being a saint. I have Christ within

         me and I can allow the presence and power of Christ to shine in me through

         my weakness and humbleness.

          1.  We are indwelt by Christ; we have entered into a new creation; we are

                meant to house the fullness and the glory of God within us.

          2.  We are susceptible to sin, but not enslaved to it.

          3.  Our identity is shaped by who we are and to whom we belong;

                not by what we do

          4.  God’s power is revealed through weakness and dependability.

          5.  My responsibility is to abide in Christ.

               a.  Meditate on being in Christ

               b.  Practice Christian disciplines that deepen our relationship with God

                     and clarifies God’s truth to us.

               c.  Be with a fellowship that reinforces God’s truth

               d.  Avoid things that go against our true nature.

  C.  Exercise:  solitude and meditating on being “in Christ.”

How to Make

a Pickle

IX.  How to Make a Pickle

  A.  False narrative:  We must be productive and achieve many things

        as quickly as possible.  “Hurried sickness.” Example:  Martha.

        1.  Productivity, speed, and efficiency are the greatest values in life.

        2.  Idleness is the enemy of the soul.

        3.  Humans are gloried machines.

        4.  Put the “system,” the job, first

        5.  We are as valuable as the amount we produce or achieve (cf. Marxism).

  B.  Jesus’ narrative:  slow down, listen, and take notice.  Example:  Mary.

         1.  Most valuable thing in life is to listen to Jesus.

         2.  In the spiritual life, we cannot do anything important

              in a hurried manner.

         3.  We need to create rhythm and balance:  piety and mercy;

              contemplation and action; rest and labor;

              solitude and community; worship and service.

         4.  Eliminate some good things to be more attentive and deliberate in life.

         5.  Mastery of a subject as well as producing change takes a long time.

               Be persistent, and be encouraged that change will come

               as Philipians 1:6 promises.

  C.  Exercise:  Slow down.

Shaped by the Word 

NOTES:

Notes from this book contrast informational and formational reading of the Bible; reading Scripture as a discipline; reading it spiritually; and finally different techniques in reading the Bible for spiritual formation.

Too often we read the Bible solely on an informational level, where we seek to

(1) Cover as much as possible as quickly as possible to get at the "meat" and "what is needed;"

(2) Move linearly and logically, going to point to point;

(3) Master the text and put it under our control and understanding;

(4) Manipulate the text so that it says what we already know it must or should say;

(5) Be analytical, critical and judgmental, getting rid of wonder, mystery and miracles;

(6) Find solutions to our own problems;

(7) Squeeze more life out of the Source of life.

Instead we should read more on a formational level, where we seek to

(1) Meet God and allow a small portion of the text infiltrate our existence and form our relationship with God and with one another;

(2) Be open to deeper dimensions of the text, not treating it superficially or reading quickly;

(3) Allow the text to inform us as servants of the Word;

(4) Make ourselves, and our relationship with God, the object of study, not the text;

(5) Approach the text with humility, receptiveness and love, thus allowing the text to touch the core of our being and radically shape our existence;

(6) Remain open to mystery, love and wonder, accepting that not all our problems and perplexities will be solved, understood, or gotten rid of;

(7) Die to our old self in order to be transformed and live within the new life of Christ.

Reading

Scripture

as a

Spiritual Discipline

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We need to read the Scripture as a spiritual discipline:

(1) Offering up our own selves and setting apart specific time as a gift to God;

(2) Recognizing God has specifically set the Scripture aside as the primary point of contact with us;

(3) Being committed to read day after day, week after week, month after month, apart from any necessity of getting something out of it, or finding gratification or "success" with it; thus allow God to completely "waste" our time together, if that is what God wants; ["If God chooses not to use what you offer, you praise God and continue to offer it for God’s nonuse. You are not making demands on God. You are yielding yourself to allow God to do what God desires ... you are not manipulating God" (p. 116).]

(4) Prayerfully remaining cognitive about your insights from scripture throughout the day;

(5) Putting into practice and being obedient to what you learn;

(6) Finding encouragement, support and accountability from other believers.

Reading

Scripture

Spiritually

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We read Scripture spiritually, as we

(1) See our true selves as a Word of God being addressed and transformed by The Word of God (Jesus now lives in us and we are to be completely transformed into His image. Jesus is our true self);

(2) See the Scripture as inspired by God and the place where God encounters us;

(3) Strive to make all our values, structures, modes of being, thoughts and actions connected to and congruent with the new order of Being that judges everything and which will last for all eternity;

(4) Open ourselves to a loving and yielded relationship with God, not trying to manipulate God or scripture as a means to a desired end;

(5) Pray throughout the process, before, during and after;

(6) Examine and apply the scripture to our own being and doing, our hearts and lives, our feelings, wills, thoughts and actions.

The emphasis is formational because our culture over stresses information but we do need both.

1:  Meditative Technique

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Technique is not as important as one’s desire and approach to scripture. With the right motivation, expectation and perception any technique will be advantageous to spiritual formation.  Four techniques were given: Meditative Technique; Harmony-Dissonance Technique; Imagination Technique; and If-You-Were-There Technique:

Meditative Technique: slowly read the text multiple times, meditating on each sentence, phrase and word, returning to the text each time your mind wanders off of it. After careful and slow repetitive reading of the text, listen for God to speak to you.

You might pray, "God, what are you saying to me here?" Then seek to be still and listen. ... God’s address is usually very pointed, very personal, very practical. It addresses the deep dynamics of our being and doing. The Word "penetrates to the division of soul and body, to the inner dynamics and focal essence of our being, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Heb. 4:12). (Pgs 149 & 151.)

2: Harmony-

Dissonance

Technique

Harmony -Dissonance Technique: Read a selected passage and note places that are harmonious or dissonant to your thoughts, attitudes, feelings or perceptions. Then return to those portions and ask what they reveal about your inner being, about your true self in Christ, about any need or joy in your life, about an action or application that needs to be made.

As in the meditative technique, you need to still yourself before God and listen for answers to your questions. Again, remember that those points of harmony or dissonance will tend not to relate to superficial aspects of your being or doing. They may appear to start at the more surface level of your life; but if offered to God in openness and receptivity, you will find that these are points where God is addressing you at the deep levels of your being. (Pg. 152).

3: Imagination

Technique

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Imagination Technique: read a narrative or parable (a story line) and try to recreate all the smells, actions, words, sites and sounds. (Although Mulholland doesn’t suggest it, elsewhere I learned it is better, if you have time, to rewrite the story with all your imaginative details filled in.)

... then begin to examine your thoughts and feelings about the situation. Here again you may experience harmony or dissonance, which can become a focus for your prayerful openness to God and your meditation on what the Word is saying to you in this experience. You may ask yourself what you identify with most comfortably in the scene and then prayerfully meditate on why you make this identification. Or you may ask yourself what you would avoid in the scene and meditate on what the Word is saying to you in that avoidance. What do your negative and/or positive feelings about he scene reveal to you about your inner being and your outer relationships and your patterns of reaction and response to life? (Pg. 153.)

4: If-You-Were

There

Technique

If-You-Were There Technique: Similar to the imagination technique but instead of being an outside observer, you become a participant. Pick a character in the midst of the story and imaginatively retell the story from their perspective. If you were there, how would you have felt, thought, spoken or reacted? (God is sometimes an un-named character, and it is okay to imagine yourself being the main character, even if it is Jesus or God. Also note that at different points in your life, you will be drawn to different characters in the same story.) After imagining (and writing) the episode, meditate on what it reveals about your feelings, thoughts, decision-making process, and actions, and listen to what God might be revealing to you through this episode.

(Ben Johnson says that after imaginatively putting yourself into the story, stop and ask yourself if God was there in your room, right there and then, and you could ask him just one question, what question would that be? Write down the question, and prayerfully offer it up to God, and then meditate on what you think God would say. Then write that down. On the basis of that one question and answer, apply it to your life today.)

NOTES

The

Separation and

Togetherness

Continuum

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Individuals must balance separation and togetherness, and each individual has a different need, or comfort zone, in that balance than others.  Some feel a need to be more connected and close to others; whereas others are quite happy to be more separate and apart. Problems arise when a person who has a greater need for togetherness tries to befriend and develop ties with one who has a greater need of separateness.  Each one may misunderstand the advances and reaction of the other, and unless they communicate, the friendship will either never get far or break apart.

There is nothing inherently wrong with pursuing others for connection.  There would be no relationships without someone taking responsibility for connecting with others.  ... But a rule of thumb church leaders need to be particularly aware of is; Never pursue those who repeatedly distance from you.  ... both parties need to take some responsibility for the connection, and both must respect the need for distance when it is sought by one side. (P. 76).

... It would seem then that a major quality of mature leadership is to feel comfortable with others' distance from us and not to become anxious about their "abandoning" us or abandoning our view of their responsibilities. ... We can best teach others when they are moving toward us. ... When people are moving away from us, it is important to listen to them, rather than try to teach them. ... Wise leadership knows when to invite connection, when to listen rather than to speak, and when to be comfortable with distance.  There are times when it is appropriate to pursue.  In those times, pursuit demonstrates our caring for others, our interests in them, and their importance to us. (P. 77-78.)

1. The Enmeshed

Relational Style

2. The Isolated

Relational Style

3. The Connected

Relational Style

4. The Alone

Relational Style

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(4) Alone -  strongly individualistically defined and not having a strong need to be affiliated with a group.  People who fit in this category are alone to be who they are and do not react to the pressures of others.  They are crusaders and are able to state what and why they believe what they believe.  They will help people because of their own convictions, not because it is expected, or from feelings of guilt. A congregation operating primarily from this perspective will be full of social and theological activists - radicals - and evangelists, and may have trouble coordinating the various activities and crusades of the individuals.

Triangles

The best way to handle attempts of people to pull you into their problem with others is to keep the conversation focused on the two people currently present in the discussion:  yourself and the complainer.  

The basic principle here is that one person cannot change the relationship between any two other people; efforts to do so usually only make things worse.  If you are person C in the triangle, you can only manage your own relationship with either A or B.  You cannot do anything about the relationship between A and B. As soon as you take a side in the triangle, regardless of the righteousness of the cause or of the issues involved, you automatically become a part of the problem. (P.123).

The third party can also speak of their own experience and suggest appropriate action in the case, and if necessary, the third party can offer to moderate a meeting between the two. A mediator can encourage the parties to tell their stories, to understand one another, and then work on solutions and compromises.  But this is only possible if there is good will between them and if they are comfortable talking about their hurts.  The trick in mediating, though, is not to take one side over the other, no matter how just and righteous the cause may be.

One of the greatest challenges you face as a leader in the church is that many church members will tend to not be direct and open with you.  So, for example, if a member comes to you and tells you what "others" are saying, you won't know if that member is giving an accurate report or is just putting his or her thoughts into someone else's mouth to avoid telling you something directly.

In healthier relationship systems, people do not spend their time with each other focusing negatively on an absent third person.  Instead, they work toward building one-to-one relationships between them.  In a one-to-one relationship, the focus of conversation for each person is on his or her own self, life and experiences, or about the mutual relationship between the two.

Triangles come about when people cannot work toward this one-to-one closeness and they don't know what to do with their anxiety.  People have the illusion that they are getting along with each other when they are in agreement about the third point of the triangle, whether it is a child, the church, the pastor ... God, and so forth.  This helps them to avoid their real differences with each other. (P. 128.)

Firestorm warns that any church can be destroyed by a conflict that gets out of hand.  Ron Susek's primary illustration comes from a megachurch that had a cradle to grave ministry, with a bunch of programs, staff, land and vision.  Their rapid growth hid major problems that eventually almost destroyed the church, causing the loss of its land, buildings, and good civic recognition.  The good news is that they refocused, recovered, and with new leadership, became a good, sustaining, healthy church, although now a medium sized one.

The book gives what Ron Susek considers a typical life cycle of a firestorm, the causes of a firestorm, how to fight a firestorm at its various stages, and finally how to help a congregation recover from such a firestorm.  

This note will detail the six phases of a firestorm, and give a simple summary of what to do to help keep a firestorm from igniting, "Act trim"; and then what to do in the midst of a conflict, "Implement the four R's." Finally it will quote two paragraphs on the church's need to care for her pastor.

Six phases

of a

Firestorm

There are six phases: (1) sparks; (2) ignition; (3) full fury; (4) consuming winds; (5) final burn; and (6) rebuilding on burnt timbers.  Sparks begin to fly as change comes into the congregation and misunderstandings, disagreements, and conflict arise.  If communication channels are clear, if people have legitimate ways to complain, if the value of individuals is maintained over that of new programs, and if focus is on the issues involved and not on setting blame and guilt, then the sparks will not catch, otherwise things get worse.

(2) Ignition occurs when interpersonal relationships and connections break down, as people develop resentments, nurture us-against-them attitudes, form competing coalitions, and despise diversity instead of respecting or glorifying it.  In such a situation, one's own, or one's own group's image and power become more important than the whole group. At this point the church leadership must take immediate action.  They cannot afford a wait-and-see attitude. The problem must be acknowledge, named, and brought out in the open.  Church discipline may be necessary against people who are spreading rumors, gossip and slander, or who are ignoring proper organizational procedures.  If necessary, a neutral third party can be brought in to negotiate and mediate.

At this point, the pastor is generally in a no-win position and cannot lead the church out of the crisis alone, and thus should hire a crisis management consultant to intervene as soon as possible.  If evil and sin are promoted, and if authority is being denigrated and disrespected (the pastor's, the board's, the denomination's - see 2 Pet 2:9-10), then church discipline needs to be started.  "Do not be indecisive about issues. ... People tolerate minor mistakes in decision-making, provided they are told the reasoning, but they will not tolerate indecision" (p. 47).

(4) Consuming Winds.  Here the conflict is no longer contained within the congregation but moves out into the community and destroys the church's mission, service, evangelism, and community good will.  People leave the congregation, money dries up; paranoia sets in; and open fighting occurs.  At this point the church must work even more closely with an outside consultant.  Without taking away human responsibility, leaders must recognize and teach the power of evil, and that we are engaged in a spiritual battle with demonic forces. The leaders  must not allow Scripture to be used as a weapon against the factions, nor have sermons speak only about the conflict. Leaders must not neglect those who are uninvolved in the controversy; and can call the congregation to times of fasting and prayer; and "each leader, including the pastor, must determine whether it's best to stay or leave. Sometimes departing is best for both parties" (p. 53). 

(6) Rebuild.  "The question to be asked is not, 'Did our side win?' but, 'How can we best glorify God in all that we do now?'" (p. 60).  At this point, the congregation needs to set aside questions of "why?" or try to figure out all the details of what happened.  Instead, the congregation needs to work on charity, forgiveness, and grace, leaving the bad behind, and start focusing on the good.  Yet at the same time, repentance, restitution, reconciliation and justice must be implemented. Finally, the congregation must again refocus on the Great Commission.

Act TRIM

to prevent

a spark

from igniting

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In your action, pursue Truth, Relationships; Integrity, and Mission.

Truth

• Teach the truth of Scripture as it touches upon conflict, relationships, gossip, reconciliation, etc.

• Confront lies, rumors and gossip;

• Maintain open communication.

Relationships

• Keep in touch with everybody

• Purposely seek out conflicted parties

• Bring conflicted parties together

• Be available, approachable, communicative, and open

Integrity

• Leaders must demonstrate congruence between their words, theology, and actions.

• Individuals must be called to live out, demonstrate and carry out spiritual principles, and not be hypocritical.

Mission

• We should be concerned about Christ's purpose for the church, not our own.

• Each of us should be servants of that mission 

Implement

the four "R's"

in a conflict

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During a conflict, implement the four R's: repentance, redemption,  restitution; and reconciliation:

Repentance

• For not being a servant to God and others

• For "ancestral sins," from past history  that set up the current conflict

• For disrespecting and ignoring authority and proper procedures

• For spreading gossip and rumors

• For hurting the pastor, and even more, the pastor's spouse and children;

• For hurting the social image of the church in the community

• For hurting the mission and evangelism of the church in the community and around the world

• For selfishness, greed, anger, and malice

• For using improper means to get one's point across, to be recognized and understood, and to make changes.

Redemption

• Restore people to a right relationship with God and to one another

• Promote grace, forgiveness, and community unity

• Conflict occurs because of a lack of appropriating redemptive and spiritual means and teachings.

Restitution

• Bring justice to those who suffered loss or wrong

• Keep justice and righteousness connected to grace and mercy.

Reconciliation

• Restore friendships between people

• Reach out and keep a connection going to the people involved

• Restore the good will and good reputation of the community with the congregation.

The care

and

creation

of pastors

The book has a lot more to offer, and I would highly urge any congregation that has gone through the process or is afraid they are in the midst of a firestorm to study this book.  It would also be good for all church boards to study it as well as a preventive measure.  It is very helpful, insightful, and easy to read.  It deals with all the issues and people involved, including the church and denominational role in helping the pastor.

The real need of your pastor is to find people who can help him in the lifelong process of becoming an effective pastor.  Don't assume that seminaries create pastors.  They don't because they can't.  Seminaries can only provide the tools for becoming a pastor.  The church, more than any human factor, will determine the shaping of a pastor.  Here's how it works:  Christ gives the pastoral gift (Eph. 4:11), the Holy Spirit enhances and empowers for service (Acts 1:8; 4:29; John 14:25-26), and the pastor develops and exercises the gift (1 Tim. 4:14).  But the church will either nurture or dismantle that gift.  (P. 187.)

... a church must minister to its minister for Christ's sake and not because the pastor maintained a good approval rating on the public opinion poll.  Even if a pastor must be removed from a church, it is essential for Christians to stand with him insisting that removal be done in a God-honoring way.  The work of the church must always be redemptive in every aspect, especially in the treatment of pastors.  Only when churches care for their pastors can they bring security to the sheep.  And only then will the church encourage the best of its pastor's potential, since no one ever works well in fear and insecurity. (P. 192.)

This book was written for people consider entering into an intentional interim pastoral ministry, and for the congregation that will be using the service of one.  The book dispels the notion that an interim is supposed to just keep things going until the regular install pastor arrives.  An interim is to work on problems and make adjustments that is needed in the congregation so that any back lash or resentment will fall upon the interim and keep it from the new coming pastor. Even though a congregation might not "feel" like it is a good time for changes, it is an open and opportune time to do so.

This note will list the five major tasks of an interim and the major characteristics (thus needs) of a congregation in an interim period.

There are five major tasks during the interim period:  (1) Come to terms with the congregation's history; (2) Discover a new identity; (3) Make Leadership Changes; (4) Renew ties with the Denomination; and (5) Commit to a new ministry.  A congregation comes to terms with its history as it remembers and appreciates its past, from its founding to its present, looking for lessons, themes, strengths and weaknesses.  It is a time when people express their feelings of loss, separation, hurt, disappointment, anger and guilt, and a time to access its accomplishments, current abilities and future potentialities.  

(2) A congregation discover a new vision as they recognize that they are always in a constant flux with changes in membership, surrounding community and pastors, as they connect their experiences and abilities with specific ministries and services, and as they give up fond memories of their past and start becoming excited about the future.

(3) A congregation will have changes in leadership as a pastor leaves.  Some leaders are burned out; others had stuck around out of loyalty to the pastor; some have had their feelings hurt; and others think it is time to let others come on board and have a chance at leadership.  In a healthy congregation, such changes are expected and will occur smoothly, but in other congregations, power conflicts and despair of "filling the void" may occur.  Finally, in some congregations, a staff member may need to be disciplined and let go--a problem the previous pastor was afraid to touch and which should not be left to the new coming pastor.

(4) As a congregation gains understanding of whom they are and hope to become, it is also a good time to renew ties with the denomination and come to a greater understanding what it means to be affiliated with and recognized as a part of the denomination. 

(5) As the congregation becomes solidified and clear on where it is heading and has matched their needs and desires with a specific called ministry, the congregation is ready to say goodbye to the interim, welcome the new minister, and start a new chapter in its history.  "Ideally, the end of the interim time will be a moment of celebration of what the journey has accomplished and of the congregation's readiness for a new beginning."

Characteristics of an Interim Congregation:

• Presence of grief (loss of minister; loss of friends; loss of a hoped vision; loss of leadership and a sense of direction);

• Presence of conflict, either latent or active (some will blame others for the pastor leaving and others will be angry at the pastor "deserting" the congregation or the leaders not having, or not currently, doing enough);

• Secrets may come to light

Interim congregations often have what might be called hidden agendas, serious issues of the past which have not been resolved.  When kept underground, such issues tend to muddy the waters and seriously deter healthy congregational life. (p. 17).

• Open to the denomination

• Low self-esteem

• Lagging Stewardship

• May need to restructure and/or rebuild the infrastructure or administrative processes;

• Extremely necessary to have clear and open communication

Interim congregations often discover that their communication system is very inadequate, resulting in poor decision-making processes and in misunderstandings.  A strong congregation is one in which all information is freely shared and all members are fully informed and aware of church matters.  power struggles result when information is withheld as a means of controlling the organization.  The interim time is a crucial opportunity for a congregation to examine its practices and ensure that an open system of communication and decision making is in place at the start of a new pastorate. (p. 22)

• Ambivalence about Change will be present; and

• Mixed Emotions Will be Present.

NOTES

Regarding commitment and relationships:

• Must be committed to a long-term pastorate for a turn-around takes 3-10 years.
• Church must recognize it is in a crisis, and have unity between the pastor and the congregation.
• Church must encourage others, especially by recognizing and celebrating the accomplishments of others
• Speak how changes will not destroy love, relationships, and ministries within the church, but will improve and enhance them. 
• Small, and status quo, are not better than growth and change.
• Use small groups to rebuild interpersonal relationships within the church.

Regarding the Pastor:

• Pastor must maintain spiritual disciplines while working hard and energetically.
• Pastor must create a bond of love, trust, respect and openness with the people (44).
• Pastor must promote reliability, competence, honesty, sincerity and love, by being with the people, by listening to them, and by making them feel significant, while projecting self-assuredness and self-confidence.
• The pastor must take risks and be willing to fail as well as well as to accept responsibility for failure.

Regarding education:

• Teach God is still active, able and willing to do great things
• Restore confidence in God and the people within the congregation, and re-kindle their hope and thus build up the congregation’s self-esteem.  “It is word-of-mouth, not radio broadcast and newspaper advertisements, that brings newcomers to the door.”
• Bring out, confess and mourn the past failures and existing internal strife, in a non-anxious manner without instilling shame, guilt or embarrassment but quickly shift to future possibilities. 
• Release the past, that is, the past must be acknowledge and appreciated, not denied or glorified.  It should no longer used as a barometer for measuring success or failure.  The present condition and future hope should override the past and impel people to move forward.
• Systematically teach the basics of faith.
• Seek balance between spirituality and methodology; relationships and buildings and structures; nurture and outreach; fellowship, service, worship, nurture, education and evangelism; mind and heart.

Regarding worship:

• Increase widespread and heartfelt prayer (52).
• Imprint the worship service with the style, attitude and character of the new pastor.
• Provide quality sermons that are Biblical and practical which motivate people to do something.

Regarding leadership

• Leadership must model spiritual focus and depth
• Develop teams and promote widespread leadership.  The pastor must promote and develop other leaders and delegate as much responsibility and authority as possible, and keep the spot light and praise off of the pastor.
• Nurture a spirit of learning, supporting and following the leaders.
• Get an outside perspective about the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities of the church, and recommendations for resources and programs.
• Consistently evaluate programs and ministries against the vision and goals of the church.

Regarding vision:

• Be honest about the length of time and energy to change the congregation's culture and mission, as well as the public's perception of the church, but be unrelenting in pursuing the vision.
• Discern, create, disseminate and promote a vision that becomes accepted, championed and incorporated by the church.
• Start with high energy and plan from the start.  Do not wait a long time to implement necessary changes (82).
• Instill an outward focus in the minds and hearts of the congregation.
• Develop strategies and tactics that put the vision into action in concrete and practical ways.
• Do a few essential things with excellence, that is, maximize the essential things and do not attempt to do take on more programs and events beyond those that are purposefully set to meet specific ministry goals.

Regarding mission:

• Give laity the skills and knowledge to participate in ministry.  Seek to make everyone a minister in their own sphere of influence, emphasizing the rationale and the enjoyment of doing so, and less on the details of the timing and method.
• Make ministries user friendly and easy to get involved with.
• Hold events that increase the public awareness of the congregation.
• Plan ministry events that are enjoyable and almost guaranteed to succeed.
• Define and oversee a simple plan for specific form of outreach (49).
• Market the church's strengths, and minimize its weaknesses.

Regarding structures:

• Don't focus on facility problems, but use problems as a motivation on getting people to figuring how to meet the ministry needs using their own selves, ideas and means.
• Make organizational changes to facilitate growth and not hinder it.

NOTES

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Four Passions,

Eight Actions

and

Nine Essential

Practices

1. High-threshold

Membership

Missional churches have nine essential practices.  The first is having a high-threshold membership, which makes a clear demarcation between believers and unbelievers, and which clearly defines what are expected of members and what members can expect from the church.  Membership is considered a definite, personal and holy commitment, and not something that should be taken casually.  Thus missional churches do not make membership automatic or easy.

Members commit to work for the unity and the missions of the church. Thus all members know about and support the missions and vision of the church before joining and make their commitment to the goals of the church explicit (1 Corinthians 1:10).   Members are committed not to their own ideas and comfort, but to the mission and the common good (1 Corinthians 10:24; 12:7)

2. Be real,

not religious

The second essential practice for missional churches is To be real, not religious. John Drane, in The MacDonaldization of the Church, writes “People are unlikely to be attracted to the church which, as they see it, has become a place with too much religion and too little spirituality . . . . [People want] an all-embracing reality that can give meaning to the whole of life” (Minatrea, quoted on p. 43-44). 

In other words, people are looking for authenticity in faith, in our interaction with one another, and in our actions in the world. They want to see congruity between what we say we believe and how we act with others and work in the world. Missional churches, therefore, expect members to live outside of the church the same as they act inside the church. They are called to be “living proof of a loving God to a watching world” [R. Lewis, The Church of Irresistible Influence (Zondervan: 2001) p 41, quoted by Minatrea p. 48].

In their interaction and work together, they recognize that people will make mistakes, and accidentally hurt one another’s feelings and cause messes. But missional churches accept mistakes as a natural part of life and are welcomed as signs of growth. They encourage experimentation and all attempts at doing something for God. Mistakes are a sign that people are at least making an attempt at doing and saying something, and are thus being active with their faith and interacting with others.

3. Teach

to obey

rather than

to know

The third essential missional practice is to teach to obey rather than to know. Missional churches teach both orthodoxy and orthopraxy. They teach what Christians are supposed to believe and do. “Faith possessed must become faith expressed if God’s purpose for each believer is to be realized” (p. 53). It is not what we know but how we live that counts. 

Members are taught scripture, theology, the core values of the church, critical thinking, the major spiritual disciplines, relationships, and cross-cultural interaction, using a variety of methods in order for all to know and obey the Word of God.  Nothing is taught solely for information but rather for transformation, and to get people involved in mission and service projects. Various opportunities of mentoring and apprenticeships are also offered, as they continually seek to create new leaders and more areas of service for the community

4. Rewrite

worship

every week

The fourth essential missional practice is to rewrite worship every week.  Missional churches believe worship should be an avenue for people to encounter God and grow in righteousness. Worship should affect our feelings and our understanding so that we are encouraged to leave the sanctuary and take action on behalf of God. Thus missional churches arrange worship services in such a way that the “form” is familiar but the “content” changes week to week. The primary driving image, idea or feeling of the worship service change week to week. Since Scripture speaks to the whole person in all areas of life, all emotions are legitimately touched in worship.

In order to rewrite worship every week so that worship remains fresh and transformational, missional churches make God the focus of worship, make it experiential and participatory, focus upon content, not form, celebrate creativity, and go beyond words to use all the arts.

The missional church also strives to utilize the maximum number of people possible to plan, prepare, prompt, and express worship. People are used, months in advance, to plan worship themes and sermon texts, write and rehearse dramatic presentations and video spots, create devotional guides that corresponds to the month’s planned worship services, plan music, and create visual displays. During the week, bulletin boards are set, audio-visual equipment is readied. During the worship service, various people are busy greeting people, showing hospitality, handing out worship programs, coffee and snacks, and various people are used to lead worship through its various elements. And after wards, others clean up, provide intercession and counseling, and make financial and statistical reports.

5. Live

apostolically

The fifth essential missional practice is to live apostolically. Apostles were sent out from the Church to go into the world to evangelize. They were neither maintaining nor living within the bounds of the church or of the world; they were trying to bridge the gap. To live apostolically, therefore, does not mean to take on the authority of the original apostles, nor does it mean we must recognize a line of succession for a leaders, but rather that we are to take upon ourselves the task of the apostles, that is, to proclaim, explain, convert and be an example of the joyful news of the presence and coming of the Kingdom of God. Members, then, do not spend all their time in the church, doing churchy stuff, but are sent out to live within the world, enjoy life, and witness to the joy of the Kingdom of God.  Missional churches equip them to do so by showing appreciation for and dialoguing with culture, not succumbing to the mores of the world, and giving them discernment skills. To live apostolically means recognizing we are sent into the world, understanding that our world is now a post-modern and a neo-apostolic society, and sharing the good news.  In other words, every believer is called to be an ambassador of Christ, to proclaim and reflect God’s glory by their lives.

Missional churches carefully consider alternative images to present to the world. We need to counter-act the derision of religion and Christianity in particular, and present a joyful community that is not dependent upon drugs, profanity, hatred or sex. The emphasis here is upon “images,” for people are more open to meditate about an image, a good story, or a good movie, than they are to listen to a debate or read an editorial. Thus missional churches use the arts to prick the interest of and to raise questions in the minds of people in our society.

6. Expect

to change

the world

The sixth essential missional practice is to expect to change the world. This expectation recognizes that God is the transformation business (Rom 12:2). “It is still God’s policy,” according to Tom Sine in The Mustard Seed Conspiracy, “to work through the embarrassingly insignificant to change his world and create his future” (p. 89). The problem is that we spend all our energies in maintaining our buildings and remaining safe and secure.  We hold on rather than storm ahead; isolate ourselves from the world rather than engage in changing it; we look toward the eternal future and have little interest in the present (p. 90). We keep our eyes upon our own resources and abilities rather than the resurrecting and life-transforming power of the Holy Spirit.

In contrast, missional churches expect to make changes in their communities, not change isolated and unconnected individuals, but also their work places, their clubs and recreational areas, their social communities and then the whole world. Missional churches, therefore, encourage relationships across social, economic and geographical barriers, concentrate on target audiences and at the same time seek to extend their influence throughout the world.

Missional churches make definite plans in helping in leading others to Christ and into the Church, but also how to transform their own communities and touch others around the world. They carefully plan how to help and reach specific target groups and to care for those in need around the world. Missional churches, therefore, not only work in evangelism, but also in justice, peace-making, and relief ministries.

They remind members that we live in a global society by: 

• Sending out short-term and long-term mission teams;

• Posting world maps; flying multiple world flags;

• Having special Sundays and bulletin boards focusing on the work of their own missionaries, or on the culture and problems of a particular nation;

• Assisting para-church agencies such as Voice of the Martyrs, Bread for the World, Digging New Wells/Clean Water World Initiative; and

• Celebrating World Communion Day.

7. Order

actions

according

purpose

The seventh essential missional practice is to order actions according to purpose.  They are a “purpose-drive church.”

§ They know their purpose.

§ They check that actions are based upon purpose.

§ They let go of what does not serve their purpose.

§ They do only what serves their purpose.  

[The four bulleted points are taken directly from page 102.]

8. Measure

growth by

capacity to release,

not retain

9. Place

Kingdom

concerns

first

The ninth essential missional practice is to place kingdom concerns first.  Missional churches follow the dictate of Matthew 6:33, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” The Kingdom of God is the rule of God in the midst of people, being manifested in righteousness, holiness, peace and wholeness. It is not the realm of God, but the rule of God over our choices, desires and actions, and thus is manifested in individuals and groups, and eventually throughout the whole earth when Jesus comes again.

Missional churches are not therefore concerned about building their own empire, make their own congregation the largest in the area, but rather in getting people into The Church, into a congregation where they will feel comfortable, and can grow and serve. “They see themselves as only one battalion of a great kingdom force deployed on earth. Other Christians are brothers and sisters serving the same master. Although their affiliation might be with different denominations, they find their primary identity as part of the Kingdom. They distinguish between essentials and nonessentials in doctrinal interpretation, value and cooperate with Christians from other traditions in the Kingdom tasks, and join together in spiritual warfare against the enemy” (p. 129).

Missional churches demonstrate the transforming power of the Kingdom by their own individual lives and as group, showing by acts of love and kindness, respect and space, that God is in their midst. They work with other Christians as a demonstration of unity, cooperation and service, throughout the world, over various denominations.

They also demonstrate God’s transforming power in their lives by by being honest about their mistakes and asking for forgiveness. They seek to be transparent to one another so that they can help one another with their weaknesses and burdens.

Finally being Kingdom citizens means to always be in the business of inviting others to join the fellowship and become a vital part of the Kingdom of God.

Pastoral

Leadership

Beyond these four over-arching passions, eight actions, and nine practices, Milfred Minatrea also writes about congregational structures, vision casting, leadership essentials, risk taking, and change management.  He cautions that there has to be a match to what the congregation wants and needs to that of the senior pastor or else there will be great frustration. For example, in the situation where a congregation has a pastor who is more of a manager than a visionary and the congregation wants change, the church will become frustrated with the pastor’s lack of vision and the lack of any bold initiatives.  Where the congregation is more conventional and wants to maintain the status quo and has a pastor who is a manager, there is a match. The primary focus in this case is on pastoral care and the continuation of existing programs and keeping the existing membership.  In the situation where the congregation is conventional but the pastor is visionary, then the pastor will be frustrated and complain that the church has no real purpose, no vision and won’t change.  Finally, in the situation where the congregation and the pastor are both missional minded then there is a match and a “desire to pursue God’s next missional challenge” (p. 171).

So before changing a congregation to becoming more missional, it is important to assess how ready the congregation is as well as to discern the desire and leadership skills of the pastor.  It is possible for a leader to learn skills that is necessary, but only if the desire and vision exists.

In mismatched cases, the leadership must determine if they need to call a new pastor, provide further training and increase the leadership skills of the existing pastor, or to form a new congregation from the midst of the existing congregation. If a new church will be formed, make sure support, blessings and encouragement is given to the missional group; in other words, making a cordial and planned split with everybody’ being blessed and no one blaming or being resentful of the others. Nevertheless, change will still have to be managed. People are still going to feel threatened with the loss of some friends, and the eventual necessity of meeting in a different location, and the struggle of birthing something new. There is sorrow and worry for all in saying goodbye and starting a new epoch in the congregation’s life.

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[Note a detailed expanded PowerPoint presentation along with teacher and student notes on this book, entitled, "Passions, Actions, and Practices of a Missional Church" can be requested from Chuck.  Just email him a request.]

Hit the

 Bullseye

NOTES

Paul Borden, in his book Hit the Bullseye (Abingdon Press:  2003) explains how he, as the Executive Pastor turned around the northwestern American Baptist region of churches.  Within a five-year period they experienced remarkable growth:

He orchestrated this change through radical and strong leadership, pushing the congregations to be outwardly focused and make evangelism their top priority, and either trained or brought in pastors as active change agents and missionaries, not managers, who would not be stifled by bureaucracy nor side-tracked by uninformed laity.  He explains  

Leaders should be training congregations to expect health and growth. Congregations should be upset when a year goes by if conversion and baptisms decrease. The church exists for others, and when others stop coming and cease experiencing eternal changes, congregations should start asking their leaders why they continue to meet, since their purpose for meeting is not being realized (p. 142).

Three

Basic

Principles

The basic principles behind the regional office strategies and tactics were:

“1. Fruitfulness is as important as faithfulness.

“2. What we count we value.

“3. Accountability is a basic requirement for change and must be based upon objective measurement” (p. 37).

These principles had the regional judicatory to quit acting like chaplains to the pastors and started acting like consultants who trained pastors on how to lead and evangelize. They demanded growth from all the pastors and congregations they helped, and protected the pastor from those who would try to stop the change process.  In order to accomplish this, regional staff were no longer required to visit every pastor and congregation each year, but were required to prove that congregations were growing by their work with specific congregations.  To help regional staff to become measurable change agents, the regional office bought books, CDs and tapes on leadership, the change process and congregational revitalization.  They were also sent to seminars, and staff meetings were partially devoted to further training, along with reporting on how things were progressing with consultations.

Three

Paradigms

that Hinders

Growth

SHEPHERD

Paul Borden mentions three paradigms that greatly hindered congregational growth:  (1) seeing the pastor as a “shepherd”; (2) understanding the congregation as an extended “family”; and (3) having a “small-church” mentality and structure.  Even though the pastor is indeed called to act like a shepherd, we have romanticized the role of shepherd and reduced the shepherd’s job to protection and care.  We forget that a shepherd eats some of the sheep, sheared the flock, occasionally broke a leg to keep a lamb from wondering away and force it to bond with the shepherd, leads the flock through difficult terrain to good food and water and then back out again through difficult terrain to find new sources of food, and in the biblical model, shepherds also sacrificed some sheep to God.  We forget that even though the shepherd leads the flock to green grass and still waters, it is still the responsibility of the sheep to feed and drink for themselves. They are not bottle fed all the time.  We ignore the fact that the sheep existed for the benefit of the shepherd, not the shepherd for the sheep.

OR

LEADER?

Paul explains that the “pastor” model turns ministers into “chaplains” and hinders them from actually leading and making changes in the congregational system.  When consulting with congregations, the regional staff explained that having the pastor concentrate on

caring for people and helping maintain harmony among the sheep is quite limiting in terms of the number of people that can be ministered to by one person. We also demonstrated that such mentality drives away others who are not attracted by this model, thus leaving the group often ministering to only very needy and co-dependent people (p. 71).

Paul also points out that what we normally consider as “pastoral care,” that is “feeding, caring, serving and meeting the needs of the sheep” is not, according to Ephesians 4:10ff, the job of the pastor, but rather the role of the sheep (p. 21).  Therefore, Paul suggests we quit calling ordained ministers “pastors,” and start calling them “leaders.”  Similarly, we should replace “pastoral care” with “congregational care” (p. 22-23).

The second controlling paradigm that hinders congregational growth is viewing the church as “family.”  Although scripture repeatedly uses the family metaphor and commands mutual commitment, love and care for one another, our understanding of family today detracts from having a mission and service mentality. It insolates us from “the outsiders” and causes us to concentrate on serving family members.  It keeps us from holding one another accountable for our actions and allows for mediocrity to flourish in order to protect interpersonal relationships and feelings. “One reason we are often unwilling to create specific goals and measures of effectiveness,” Paul Borden writes, “is that we know that many in our ‘family’ will not measure up” (p. 24). The family metaphor also promotes clerical tenure, so that pastors who make the family feel good and have spent a long time with the family are allowed to stay as the pastor even when all ministry effectiveness has gone. Finally, the metaphor often divides the kingdom of God into various competing family groups.  We don’t work for God and the spread of the Kingdom of God throughout the world among all peoples, but rather only for “our own kind of family.”

Borden notes that families were never supposed to be a controlling metaphor for church ministries and services.  Instead we are supposed to be like an army, “with Jesus Christ, our leader, who attacks the stronghold of Satan” (p. 23).  Solders are committed and dependant upon one another in order to stand against a common enemy and to accomplish common goals.  Relationships and feelings are secondary to the mission.  “Our current concept of family ends at care, with too little thought of what the group will accomplish.  Today we see the family promoting individual accomplishment rather than both individual and group accomplishment” (p. 24).

PROFESSIONAL

SPORTS TEAM

A better metaphor for us today would be a “professional sports team.”  A good team has great camaraderie and helps one another on and off the field—they build and maintain a sense of family, but each one is held accountable for their respective tasks and the goal of winning is never lost.  Individual feelings are set aside for the good of the team.

SMALL-CHURCH

MENTALITY

The third controlling paradigm that hinders congregational growth is having a small-church mentality.  Without going into detail, I list various aspects of what this means according to Paul Borden: 

Work

of the

Regional Staff

The regional staff worked with congregations in discovering a full and realistic view of themselves and then developing a vision for their future.  They had them compile and then continue to report statistics on worship attendance, monies collected, money sent to missions, how affective their evangelism efforts were, how many new leaders were being developed during the year, how many new small groups were formed, how many visitors attended and what percentage of those visitors became active disciples within the congregation.  The purpose of reporting all these statistics were to demonstrate that the judicatory regarding these things as important and it was hoped that by measuring these things, they would become important to the congregations as well.  “What we count we value” (p. 39).

Regional staff helped the congregation develop a unique vision for themselves.  “This vision needs to be big enough to stir the blood, specific enough to be accomplished, and short enough to be put on a bumper sticker” (p. 66).  Vision was stated in such a way that it gave a picture of not only how the congregation would be different but also how the surrounding community would be changed as well.

Once a specific vision was create, it was communicated often, “presented as an option to the status quo,” and presented as a realistic goal.  The executive pastor was encouraged to be the keeper, caster, persuader and teacher of the vision.  He was coached to protect his time so that he could meditate on and expand the vision, by concentrating his work with key leaders, preaching, and applying the vision to all the church’s teachings. 

Being Friendly

is not enough

One of the most revolutionary thoughts I found from the book was demonstrating that the goal of being friendly is inadequate.  Instead, the congregation should strive to be a place where new friends are made. “Generally people become Jesus’ disciples through relationships with people who are already his disciples. This means that a healthy, growing congregation is always forming new groups so that new people can develop new relationships with disciples already in the congregation” (p. 91).  This simple change, from being a friendly place, to being a place where new friends are made will radically change the congregation’s values, goals and programming.

See a powerful

and

active Jesus

Another point in bringing about a turnaround in congregations was to give them a different understanding of Jesus.  Instead of seeing Jesus as the crucified one, the good shepherd, or the one who blesses little children, churches need to see the resurrected, powerful, glorious Jesus of Revelation 1:12–16.  It is the powerful, all-knowing, strong and purposeful King of King that, according to Borden, will inspire congregations to change and push through the difficulties (p. 137).  This Jesus will not only hold them accountable and reward them for their work, but has all the resources available to help them accomplish the mission he himself has sent them on.

Let me end with Paul Borden’s call for urgency in evangelizing the world and making disciples of Christ.  First, Borden notes that the Great Commission and the Great Commandment do not have equal status.  The Great Commission must have priority.  “When a congregation states it has two equal purposes, it will usually gravitate to the one that is easiest to achieve and as a result turn inward” (p. 92). 

Believers will have all of eternity to worship God and Jesus Christ. Believers for eternity will be able to fellowship with their Lord and other Christians. We will have the eternal opportunity to sit at the feet of Jesus Christ and be taught.  However, our God has only given us one lifetime to make disciples for Jesus Christ.  Congregations that focus on worship, fellowship, and teaching often reflect groups that have lost a sense of urgency (p. 138).

Leadership and the 

New Science

NOTES

Return to Top

1. From the biological and ecological sciences, she notes that living organisms and systems such as streams, are always changing and adapting. When major stresses affect the organism, or when the environment changes, they do not marshal all of their resources to remain the same, but rather adapt.  A new order emerges, yet at the same time, remains true to itself and function.  A beach is still a recognizable beach, before and after a hurricane.  A finch is still a finch, even if adapted to radically different islands (micro-evolution). 

In this way, dissipative structures demonstrate that disorder can be a source of new order, and that growth appears from disequilibrium, not balance. The things we fear most in organizations--disruptions, confusion, chaos--need not be interpreted as signs that we are about to be destroyed.  Instead, these conditions are necessary to awaken creativity. (P. 21).

Thus when we enter those chaotic times, we should not become fearful that we are dying, but rather we should look forward that something new is emerging.  If we know who we are, have common values, maintain our inter-connectivity with one another and with our environment, and quit striving to maintain the old ways, we will become stronger and better. (These are points, she makes repeatedly throughout the book.)

2. Quantum physics speaks about how subatomic particles are interrelated and still interact with one another even though being vastly distant from one another, how accurate prediction is impossible, how the perspective of an observer changes the data one collects and the conclusions reached, and how it is impossible to control all aspects of a system. Simple prediction and replication are impossible, so instead of making minute plans and overly worrying about organizational structures, managers should rather be concerned about "strategic thinking," where people know the group's intent, purpose, identity and values, so that they can make proper reactions and maintain good relationships.  Relationships within and without the organization, and the cooperation and involvement of people, are more important than structure and lines of authority.  

Quantum physics also notes that small changes, and seemingly insignificant interactions, can affect the whole system. By the very act of being observed, the system is changed.  A butterfly in Mexico affects the hurricane forming off the coast of Africa. Thus just by asking questions of people, or working with just a few people, the system can be affected.  

I don't personally spend time any more on elaborate plans or time lines. I want to use the time formerly spent on detailed planning and analysis to create the organizational conditions for people to set a clear intent, to agree on how they are going to work together, and then practice to become better observers, learners, and colleagues as they co-create with their environment. And I have learned that great things are possible when we increase participation.  I always want more people, from more diverse functions and places, to b there.  (P.46.) 

3. From field theory, we learn that there are invisible fields of energy that influences our behavior, for example, gravity, a store's feeling of opening and fun, or exclusive prestige and power, a church's feeling holiness.  Whereas such fields cannot be seen, and are at times hard to describe, human organizations mold and create their own fields through their collective culture, values, vision and ethics. This means that as we observe various behavior, we need to be asking what culture and value they represent, and ask if that is consistent with what we want to be and project to others.  It is important that we walk our talk, and if we want to change or improve our organization's field of influence and energy, we must be clear on who and why we are, make sure that identity is always in the forefront and understandable by everyone, and be congruent to it. 

Interpersonal fields are created and shared by groups of people, and thus must emerge from within the group.  A leader cannot impose a vision and change the field of energy, but a leader can slowly affect and help mold the field.  Leaders are to help people graciously and lovingly see how actions are contrary to the stated and shared vision of the group, and to always expand and explain the vision; in other words, discipline,  forgiveness, and mutual support.

This work requires awareness, patience, and generosity.  Behaviors don't change just by announcing new values.  We move only gradually into being able to act congruently with those values. ... we have to be more self-reflective ... help one another notice when we fall back into old behaviors. ... The leader's task is first to embody these principles, and then to help the organization become the standard it has declared for itself. (p. 130). 

5. Chaos theory demonstrates that what might seem, at a single point of time, chaotic and without order, is orderly, when viewed over a period of time.  "Strange attractors" can be recognized so that even though a system cannot be predicted, it still nevertheless, acting from within a consistent inward order. There is a pattern within a pattern that is demonstrated across the system. Thus when we look at an organization or interpersonal problem, we need to be asking if the problem is reflective of a repeating pattern. The problem, though, is that such recurring behaviors, themes and patterns, don't normally show up at close range, while in the midst of a problem.  They only so up when looking over a period of time, and sometimes only as reflection is done with a person from outside of the system.  Leadership needs to find ways to help develop strange attractors that lead to wholeness and growth, and able to survive chaotic times, and that is done by developing meaning and values in the organization.  

... I have witnessed the incredible levels of energy and passion that can be evoked when leaders or colleagues take the time to recall people to the meaning of their work.  It only takes a simple but powerful question:  "What called you here? What were you dreaming you might accomplish when you first came to work here?" This question always elicits a deep response because so few of us work for trivial purposes. Most people come ... with a desire to do something meaningful, to contribute and serve. (P. 132-3.)

6. A system gets into trouble when relationships break down, when information is lacking, when it is unclear on its identity, goals, vision or values, and when contributions and ideas from others are being ignored.  When in trouble, the organization needs to get in touch with itself, through group process and interaction, looking at three major areas, identity, information and relationships, while paying attention to feelings, perceptions and desires. The first major step is to discover what excites people, and what they deem is meaningful. Then to explore how their deepest desires and purposes may work together, or against, one another, and finally, to pursue if a new meaning and changes are available and desirable. We must step back from the presenting issues and explore together our aspirations, purposes and values. We must develop a curiosity on what makes the other tick.  What are their hopes and fears?  Then we can once again see one another as colleagues, not as enemies, and "we might discover common issues and problems we both deem significant" (p. 151). Then we might decide it is worth adapting and changing to mutually support one another.

If we engage in such a process, and if we help just a few people within the system become clearer on who they are and why they have joined and work in an organization, we will affect the whole system.  In other words, "'preaching to the choir' is the right thing to do" (p. 151).  They will become energized, and more able and willing to voice and explain their purpose, which will in turn affect others around them. 

Kicking Habits

NOTES:

Thomas Bandy wants to help dying churches make radical systemic changes by showing where they are addicted to bad habits and ways of thinking.  Although I believe he has overstated his case at times, I found his work challenging, informative and encouraging. He not only shows problem areas but also suggests how to bring about change.

I've taken most of his points and made a list of polarities.  Read through the list below and see how much to the left, middle or right your church is between each of the 43 polarities. If your church is primarily or all the way on the left side of a polarity, score a 1; mostly on the left,  2; if balanced between the two, 3; mostly right, 4; and all the way on the right, 5.

Total your score.  The least amount you can score (every answer on the left side) is 43; if every answer was balanced, in the middle, 129; and the highest possible score is 215.  According to Bandy, the larger the score, the more likely the church is healthy and growing.  In other words, a church wants to be able to answer each polarity either in the center or to the right.  The more answers fall in the left side, ones and twos, the more problems the church will have in reaching our post-modern society.

[For an Excel, printable version of these polarities, see Bandy Polarities.xls.]

Bandy has many interesting things to say; for example, youth groups fail, not because there is bad leadership or programming, but rather, because the 18 - 40 year old members are not enthusiastic about and encouraged in their own spirituality. In other words, the future of the church is not the youth, but rather the young adults. 

He encourages church to play down and stream line bureaucracy, management and financial concerns, so that ministries can evolve and be able to meet timely needs in the community, and so that the church board (elders) can be more involved in ministries and spiritual growth.  

When the board starts to work on a new vision or explore new ways to minister to the community, people on the fringes should be involved.  Get the elders to go on a retreat along with people who are inactive, or who are not members. Go out and ask people what they think of the church and what they need to help them be whole, healthy and mature. Listen to the people who are expected to get the most out of a ministry.

I especially enjoyed his emphasis that each ministry should be based upon need, desire and excellence.  Ministries develop through people's gifts and passions, and are only released to perform the ministry only after being trained.  Whenever a ministry idea is suggested, the response should not be a question of money, but rather does it fit in with the ethos of the church and what can the church do to support the person, or people, who want to perform the ministry.  

Bandy wants each and every group of the church to be a PALS group:  Praying; Active in some for of "hands-on" ministry; Learning from the Bible as well as ways to improve their ministry abilities; and Sharing their faith.  Although eventually Bandy would have us do away with standing committees, he does suggest that through an interim period, they be transformed into a PALS group as well, and then be given freedom to develop into a specific action and task force.  

As groups go out to minister, they realize that their mission is incomplete unless they explain their motivation and why they are working.  Thus ministry and service is explicitly tied to evangelism, and no group is released from the obligation to share their faith by saying their actions speak louder than their words.  Actions and words must go together.  People, especially the leaders, must be sharing Jesus with others. Thus leaders are ready to share their faith in an authentic, natural manner, using their own terminology, illustrations, and examples, so that "outsiders" can understand. 

As groups split into various, ever-changing and adapting ministries, the church is unified by a common commitment to a vision and a value system, as well as attendance in worship. Continuous communication through various means is also important, but primarily people are motivated, connected and informed on what is happening at worship so that to miss a Sunday is to miss out.  People in general, and leaders specifically, have a deep desire to come and check out on ways God is acting in their community.

Bandy warns that any church that seeks to transform itself into this type of ministry and leadership model, will experience much resistance, stress and conflict.  It will not be something a church can do over night.  A vision must swell up and over take the people and then the structure can be changed.   

I highly recommend the book to any church that wants to take steps in stopping their decline and who has the courage and faith to become unstuck from its past heritage and traditions and are desirous of becoming new. 

It would be nice to work with a group who wants to at least keep the polarities in my list in balance, and then to start to tilt them to the right.

NOTES

According to Todd Hunter’s book, Christianity Beyond Belief, Following Jesus for the Sake of Others (IVP: 2009), the problem with much of American Christianity in today’s world is that the message has been reduced to “me and Jesus” and a joyful time far in the future, beyond time, after the rapture. We overly concentrate on the saving death and resurrection of Jesus, and often ignore the exciting transformative journey with other believers, who are engaged in a world-transforming enterprise.

Instead of forcing people to face death and God’s judgment, Todd encourages us to get people to consider living in the here and now. He wants us to recognize that we are created to live a very long time—eternally. Thus we need to ask ourselves and others, “If we know we will live a very long time, what will we do differently?” “Who will we follow?” “Around what narrative would we organize the various aspects of our lives?” (p. 25).

The

Christian

Story

According to Todd, modern Christianity has been living a truncated narrative. The story ignores the beginning, jumps to the middle, talks about our sin and the need for Jesus, and then quickly moves to the second coming of Jesus and the final judgment. We concentrate on the needs of individuals, and present Christianity as an individualistic response for those needs. Thus, people have forgotten, or never learned, why God created the world and don’t understand that we are entering into an ongoing living story of God.  We are not allowing the community of God and all of its story to develop and shape us.

The story of God’s people begins with the creation of Adam and Eve, who made to enjoy the presence of God, living under God’s direction, and as a couple and family begin to transform the world. They were to re-create God’s creation. Instead, they sought their own way and brought disorder, destruction, blame, and alienation into the world.

God then called Abraham to be the founding father of a new community of faith with the purpose of living in the presence of God and transforming the world. But Israel became more concerned about being a nation at ease, with affluence and political influence, and thereby turned away from being a spiritual light unto the nations. They departed from the ways of God to follow the ways of other nations. They neglected God’s call to reshape the whole world through righteousness, justice, and holiness.

Jesus then came into the world to gather a new community around him, who be shaped by the love and grace of God and make a difference to those around them.  They became friends of sinners, cast out demons, healed sickness and disease, and modeled and proclaimed a new meta-narrative to their neighbors.  Although no perfect in living out their ideals, they nevertheless existed for others, not for themselves.

After Jesus’ death and resurrection, Jesus commissioned all of his followers to go and transform the world, starting from Jerusalem, and then extending out to Judea, Samaria, and the outermost ends of the world. The followers of Jesus were to make a difference to the people around them, and thereby slowly trans-form the whole world according to God’s loving way and rule. They were to actively and joyfully involve themselves in the affairs of the world, and the needs of others, so that the community of God could grow, and so that others would experience the new, life-affirming, and life-giving community of wholeness. By their life together, others would discover a new way of living, a new narrative to direct their thoughts and actions, and a new way for transformation.

When the new world and new heavens are created, we will be resurrected and given new physical human bodies, and again we will have the same responsibility to be a community to help one another learn about, re-create, and re–create in the world. In other words, to be a transformative community in the new cosmos.

The story of God’s people, then, has been, and will always be, a united people, called out from the individualistic and destructive ways of the fallen world, to live under the direction and love of God, existing to demonstrate, extend, and manifest the kingdom of God, for the benefit of others and the glory and honor to God.

This means the Church

is created and governed by the calling and sending activity of God. . . . Church is a community of people created by the kingdom of God, which is the expressed intent of God, his rule and reign. Local churches—gatherings of Christ’s followers—exist as outposts of God’s kingdom agenda. It’s really that simple. And the devil is not in the details. The devil is in the wrong story, which produces a wrong mental picture and wrong pattern for church life (pgs 67 & 69).

Four Points

that explain

the

Christian Life

Cooperative

Friends

Such training, though, is a life-long, ongoing process, not a once-in-a-lifetime decision or a single discipleship course to master. It is a way of life. It is purposefully preparing and acting as an ambassador of God, not to manipulate people into making a decision for Christ, but in order to introduce others to a better all-encompassing meta-story and community. We need to be friends for others, purposefully and thoughtfully speak and act as friends of God so that others can become friends of God.

Creative

goodness

for the

sake of others

Exhibiting an servant lifestyle helps us be agents of God. It brings pleasure to God, is a blessing to others, and it

pulls the best out of us. We feel fully alive, fully human. This kind of life is good for us. In it we become most human—truly us. We are fully human while expressing constant goodness on behalf of others. This story sets the trajectory for our eternal destiny and undying cosmic role (p. 102).

Through the power

of the Holy Spirit

The Spirit empowers us for a purpose, not to give individuals experiences of pleasure and joy, nor to make people feel important or holy, but rather to develop communion with God, bring wholeness to the community of God, and extend life to others. The Holy Spirit helps us help others.

Without an outlet, without a focus on others, life in the Spirit becomes stale. It has no power to create life in others. At some point such a life actually stops being “in the Spirit” because life in the Spirit, by definition, means giving life to others” (p. 141).

We need to be “animated, energized and guided by the power of the Holy Spirit.” On the one hand, we should not ignore the Spirit, nor reduce him to a theological cipher; but on the other hand, we should not become overly emotional or exhibit bizarre behavior. We need to live out of an understanding of having the holiness, power, and presence of God within us, making us temples, priests, and ambassadors of God. We need to put our faith in action, speak up, be involve, and assist others, with the blessing, power, and authority of God within us, according to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We need the knowledge that God has sent us out, and also the experience of being sent out on a daily basis by the Holy Spirit.

Five steps

in walking

in the Spirit

Todd Hunter gives five steps in walking out in faith under the leadership of the Spirit.

First, we need to be open to divine appointments with others by being involved with others and listening to them.

Second, after carefully listening to and being with others, we seek to discern what is gong on in the other person’s life and spiritual journey.

Third, we discern what the Spirit want us to do at that moment with and for the other.

Fourth, we act: “give a word of comfort or wisdom, say a prayer, lend a hand or whatever is appropriate” (p. 139–140).

Fifth, check in with the other person. Ask what the other is feeling and thinking, and in conversation with the Spirit, ask yourself, “What should this person—or both of us—do now?” (p. 140).

The Golden

 Triangle

of Presence

In other words, we are to constantly keep a conversation going with our own selves, God, and others. We seek to be open to, aware of, and interact with our own selves, God, and others. This is what Todd calls the “Golden Triangle of Presence” (p. 105–106).

Life energized by and animated through the power of the Spirit is attractive to today’s seekers. They want to know God and his power. Mere mental assent to doctrine will never do. They want to experience God; indeed, all of us want to feel linked to God, merged into an alliance that results in changed life. . . . Through God’s full story, seekers will know they have indeed found and connected to God.

     The person and work of the Holy Spirit has another important practical application for contemporary seekers. They often prefer to learn new truths experientially. This is how they know something is real. It is common today to hear that someone came to faith because he or she sensed the presence of God, witnessed the healing of a friend or was touched by God in some way. When the work of the Spirit is active in a community of faith, seekers hear a language they understand and value. (Pg. 141–142.)

T.I.E.

Groups

Finally, Todd Hunter ends his book with a simple way to implement the ideas in his book: be involved in a TIE Group—a “Three is Enough Group.” This is a weekly transformational group of three friends doing three simple things: pray, read, and serve. (1) They pray together to be alert to the Spirit’s leadership and guidance. (2) They grow in faith by reading and mediating on God’s word and on other good texts on the spiritual journey. (3) They

serve others by being alert, by noting others through creative, resourceful and inventive help. Serve others by being humble, gentle, generous and genuinely altruistic—we do not draw attention to ourselves or our TIE group . . . we start looking for small but meaningful ways to serve our community” (p. 160).

Turn Your

 Church 

Inside Out

NOTES

I ... wanted to build a church for those who didn't go to church, a church for others. I wanted to do away with the insider-outsider mentality, do away with the prerogatives of church membership and affirm the privileges of missionary service in the name of our gracious, loving and missionary God (14)

He didn't want to get rid of the meeting the true spiritual needs of members, or cease celebrating and encouraging members.

Church members have legitimate needs, and it is legitimate for the church to tend to them.  It is illegitimate, however, when caring for church members becomes an end in itself, the primary reason for the church's existence (11).

Thus he set out to wondering what it would mean, in all areas of the church, to be other centered.  He started to pray about it, talk to community leaders, non-members, unbelievers and the marginalized.  He started pushing the church leadership toward that direction, and purposely decided not to meet all the expectations the congregation had had of him.  

In the first few years, 25% of the membership left, but 40% more came.  After six years of "wondering," they started to make programmatic and definite changes, and after following that path for twelve more years, the church had to moved to a 200-acre campus with more than 10,000 people calling themselves members, from 3,000 to 5,000 gathering for celebratory worship each weekend; and over 10,000 gathering for special celebratory services.  Tens of thousands of both paid and volunteer hours and millions of dollars in mission-focused resources are spent each year as we respond to the larger community's hunger for God (14).

This book tells how the church evolved, and gives principles that any church can use to also become a church for others. Following his advice does not guarantee the same results, neither will it mean a church will come up with the same programming and look, but it will mean they will be more mission and evangelism centered.  They will be growing, in all aspects of that word, and thus, be more pleasing to God.

Their nine guiding principles of a church for others are:

Cheer for others.

Express nonjudgmental love for others.

Listen wholeheartedly to others.

Encourage others.

Build authentic relationships with others.

Receive the gifts of others.

Appreciate others.

Treat others with kindness.

Energize others with grace.

But not changing worship may be playing with a worse fire. To insist that nothing in worship be change, to insist that we keep on doing what we have always done, is finally to reduce worship to magic, to the un-Christian belief that "correct" forms, rituals and words will somehow compel God to be present "for us" (72).

Finding the exact forms, words, music, style and images to use in worship will be determined by the expected visitors who will be attending.  Worship leaders must talk with the "others" to see what works and does not work. There is no one answer on creating a worship service for the benefit of others, because people differ in each locality. It may be liturgical, utilize country-western music, or flow like a talk/host television show. Worship needs to use the language, music and images of the participants, so as to be stimulating (dare we say "entertaining"?), not boring, and engaging "people at many different sensory and intellectual levels" (73). 

In worship people encounter God, and God encounters them.  In that encounter, faithful people will be nurtured and those without faith will be evangelized.  If worship is about encounter, then the distinction between so-called seekers' worship and believers' worship is a false one (74).

Since worship is seeking to bring about an encounter between participants and God, it is not designed to be a time of in-depth study.  Purposeful times of discipleship and development of the proper practices and correct understanding of the faith come through small-group experiences, written, audio and video resources, retreats, classes and seminars.

Principles

of Worship

Kallestad gives other principles of worship, with others in mind:

• Worship should always be an experience of reverence for God.

• Worship should always be an experience of love, acceptance and openness to the "others" among us.

• Worship should be authentic and real, expressing the leaders' and the people's true beliefs, feelings and life.

• Worship needs to be relatable, applicable and understandable; set within one's own culture, time and life.

• Worship is to be a relational experience with God, with others and with ourselves, deepening relationships with God and building a stronger community.

• Worship should resonate with passion.

• Worship should be a rewarding experience.  

Those on the edges of faith who cross the threshold into our churches must be able to take something with them when they re-cross the threshold back to the parking lot. An experience, a thought, a feeling, a practice that flows from having encountered God as they are, who they are, and where they are.  When this happens, people return because they can't stay away (p. 82).

Worship should be well planned, coordinated, and presented, seeking to give the best to God, while also guarding against a "performance mentality."

A community exists because of common commitments, common beliefs, common values, and a common vision of what the well-being of all looks like.  When commitments, beliefs, values, and vision are not largely and reasonably held in common, communities fragment, conflict erupts, and mission gets lost in squabbling.

It is essential to keep in mind at all times that you are building a community, and community building has to do with consensus building.  It is more than worth the time and effort it takes to bring people along and gain their ownership of the vision.  If you only work with those who immediately catch the vision, you will tear down community rather than build it.  Again, patience, staying the course, is extremely important.

Thus Kallestad recommends great praying, careful planning, and patiently getting the leadership of the church on board, starting with the pastor(s) and then moving out to the staff, official leaders, key leaders, and the committees and groups within the church.  Throughout the process, leadership is expected to model the values, ministries and actions toward which the church is moving. 

Other principles of change include:

• Continuing to push the vision in the forefront of all gatherings

• Communicate clearly and often and encourage people to talk about their feelings and the changes in public forums, not privately in parking lots or over the telephone gossip lines.

• If some one refuses to accept the changes, does not catch the vision, and becomes a stumbling block to the process, invite them to leave.

• Work the change into each and every program.  Let the people know exactly how things will have to change in all areas of their life. 

• Provide continual updates, and celebrate successes.

• Give complete budget information showing how monies given have resulted in ministries and how it conforms with the values, goals and vision of the congregation.

The watchword of leaders is:

Take every opportunity to cast the vision,

and make it concrete and practical! (p. 176).

Polarity

Management

NOTES

Each pole has positive and negative attributes associated with them, and each pole is interdependent upon one another.  One cannot exist without the other. A system will experience problems associated with both poles, if only one pole continues to be emphasized over a long period of time. 

The interrelationship of the polarities can be charted in a square with positive aspects of each pole (left side and right side) listed on the top, and negative aspects on the bottom.

When people start to experience the problems of one of the polarities (L-), they sometimes mistakenly believe that the strengths of the opposite pole (R+) is the solution to all their problems. When the move to the new pole, they eventually will experience problems associated with that pole (R-), and perceive their solution is the opposite (L+).  Yet after awhile, similar or the same problems they started with will come back (L-), and people will clamor to push for the opposite once again (R+). This is a continual and natural process of groups. 

The goal of polarity management is to keep the system in the upper quadrants as long as possible, and the transitions through the lower quadrants as short as possible.  In other words, try to get the system to enjoy the positives of both polarities and to keep them in balance.  When one pole is getting too much emphasis, shift to the other. 

In managing a polarity, it is important to get everyone involved to see the complete picture. They need to see the positives and negatives of both sides. This can be done by filling out a polarity chart and get people to agree exactly what the issues and poles are. For example, a church that is arguing about keeping things as they always have been, or making radical changes to reach out to the younger generation, might create a Stability/ Change Polarity Chart:

Click on the chart above for an animated version.

Permission granted to download and use the animated pif, 

if acknowledgement given to its creator.

Next they can come to agreement which quadrant the church is currently in, and perhaps chart the history of the church as having cycled through the quadrants a couple of times in the past. Then people can discuss how to proceed to get the best of the upper quadrants.  Yet also noting, that to continue to stay stuck in one quadrant, perhaps L+, will eventually produce all the negatives of both (L- and R-).  The polarity must be seen as a both/and, not an either/or situation. Sometimes one pole needs to be emphasized over the other, but both needs to be worked at. (This goes with other common church fight scenarios that are really poles to be managed:  the church exists for member/the church exists for others; nurture/evangelism; word/deed; pietism/social action; mind/heart; etc.)

If a group cannot determine what the polarities are, they can start to fill out a chart by filling in the quadrants directly.  Start at the lower left (L-) and have them list what they are complaining against and wish to escape by making the desired change.  Then have them fill in the upper right quadrant (R+), listing what they hope to achieve.  Then get them to start to think about why people are resisting the change and the positive things they were experiencing.  What are people afraid will happen, and what are they afraid of losing or leaving behind.  At the same time, they can be thinking about the two poles that are defining the issue, but make sure the polarities have neutral, non-threatening, non-emotional connotations about them.

The "neutral" axis, the line dividing the upsides from the downsides in the model, becomes important when building dilemmas that are emotionally loaded.  At either end of the neutral axis there is usually a word which identifies the pole, like Individual or Team.  This word should be as neutral as possible.  If it is considered positive or negative, it belongs in the respective upper or lower quadrants above or below the neutral line [229]. 

When being a tradition bearer and while talking to some one who wants to make a change, start with their values and perceptions.  Ask them how they perceive the current situation, that is, talk about the negatives. Then ask them what they hope the change will bring about.  Afterwards, assure them that you also understand the current problems, and want the same positive outcomes that they want. After they know you understand their concerns and desires, then express your fears to where they want the system to head, as well as what you appreciate and value in the current way.

Notice that as a tradition-bearer, you not only joined the crusaders by trying to see their reality first, you also moved through the quadrants with the direction of movement they wanted to pursue. By making the rip through the quadrants in this fashion, you gain some credibility and get a more complete picture of all four quadrants.  You also increase the possibility of being heard.  It is worth the trip.

The objective of the effective tradition-bearer is not to block crusades but to join them and challenge them at the same time. To join them is to recognize that the situation is a polarity that needs managing. That means there will be regular times when there needs to be a shift in focus from [one to the other] .. and that it will shift back again [p. 71].

I wholeheartedly recommend this book for everyone associated with management, leadership and seeking change. It is easy to read, and well laid out with charts, case studies and discussion questions.

Magazines

The Christian Century, a magazine devoted to denominational news, social trends, book reviews and articles for pastors of mainline denominations; tends to be liberal politically and moderate theologically. 

Christian History, a magazine giving articles, books reviews, photographs and history lessons regarding a person, theme or movement that is important to Christianity.

Christian Research Journal, a magazine that probes modern religious movements, promotes doctrinal discernment and critical thinking, provides reasons for Christian faith and ethics, and information on evangelizing cults and different religion.

Homiletics, a preaching magazine giving suggestions for sermons, illustrations and Biblical commentary, with an emphasis upon the new, catchy and contemporary.  

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