If you see a one-man-band consultant in business it’s a fair and reasonable questions to ask, where are his weaknesses.\n\nSome areas must be fuzzy. Administration perhaps? Finance? Communication?\n\nAnd what’s fuzzy in their consultancy will be fuzzy in your organisation.\n\nSo beware.\n\nHowever, when it comes to church leadership, we love one-man-band leaders.\n\nThey save us so much effort and responsibility and so …\n\nWe may say they are multi-talented.\n\nWe may say look at how they can do anything they are given to do.\n\nWe may say how well they face difficult situations.\n\nWe may even say that this is obviously the anointing of God.\n\nBut beware.\n\nNo-one can do it all. Some areas must be fuzzy.\n\nAnd what’s fuzzy in their character will be fuzzy in your church.\n\nWhere’s the fuzziness? Where’s YOUR fuzziness?\n\nAnd who knows?
Category: FAITH & CHURCH
Subservient to the people
I recently found myself in a discussion about preaching.\n\nThe arguments flew around – could the people in the congregation be capable of giving proper feedback to the preacher.\n\nSome said no, they weren’t capable of it.\n\nOthers said yes, of course they could.\n\nSome said to aim for the best advice possible – bishops or Americans.\n\nSome said keep it local, build the community, be vulnerable.\n\nBut on reflection,\n\nIsn’t the point of preaching that one person reaches a handful of other people in a particular context with words which could be from God and should therefore in some way change the lives of the people listening .\n\nAnd if the preacher doesn’t know if that’s actually happening, then asking a Bishop or an American for advice is … well, misguided.\n\nIn other words, the gift of the preacher is given as a gift that is subservient to the people listening.
Mentoring from the Best in the World
A recent discussion on where to get advice on a particular church ministry raised this question:\n\n“Should we go to the people recognised as ‘best in the world’ for advice?”\n\nThe general consensus was yes, why not, there’s nothing to loose. Go to the top. Polish the gift. (Stroke the ego?)\n\nHowever, by not letting those around us be involved in our ministry we are failing in our duty to create a context of accountability within which we minister and we fail to build into others the experience and ability to offer a balanced critique of ministry.\n\nPerhaps we should consider forsaking personal mentoring from the best in the world, and instead accept slower personal progress but look to grow the best possible mentoring network around us.\n\nWhich route would result in more lasting and effective influence in the parish?
Diary
It was 10 minutes into the meeting when Jack looked in his diary and found he was with the wrong people in the wrong place at the wrong time planning something that he couldn’t do because he was on holiday.\n\nWhole days can go that way!
Assimliation
New people come to church. In staff meeting we discuss them. Families are particularly enticing.\n\nWe say how useful they will be in the future in helping to run the church.\n\nBut, if they only come once a month to ‘messy church’ how will they become involved?\n\nThe truth is, we have just as much trouble wondering how to move people from occasional attendance to faithful commitment as we do in moving people from no faith to faith.\n\nWhat steps should we take?\n\nPerhaps first we should change the way we talk about people. Then we may change the way we talk to people.
When is a church not a church?
Sunday. 10.55am.\n\nPeople spread across a church building. Capacity 250. Occupancy 25.\n\n11.05am. The vicar (late) gives the notices (10 minutes) and announces the first hymn.\n\nOther liturgical stuff until\n\n11.30am. Sermon (obscure and opinionated), but with no adrenaline to power it all collective energy has dissipated.\n\nEveryone – vicar, organist, congregation – slogs through the next 45 minutes.\n\n12.15pm. Coffee (cool) … (no, that’s really, cool, as in tepid).\n\nThen home (phew!).\n\nThank goodness that’s over for another week.
Measurement of Mission
Number of Carol services per year: 4\n\nNumber of Guests at Carol services per year: 400\n\nNumber of Social evenings per year: 3\n\nNumber of Guests at Social evenings per year: 15 (spouses, usually husbands)\n\nNumber of Guest Services per year: 2\n\nNumber of Guests at Guest Services per year: 4\n\nNumber of People who became Christians through this church this year: 0
Parables of Leadership: Mustang Sally
Sally loved performing and felt she was most fully on task when standing in front of a group of trainees (who all seemed to be getting younger!). These opportunities to perform were coming less often, which was such a shame in Sally’s view because she had all these teaching materials photocopied from the Leadership Training book she had written in the 80s. Still, “hope springs eternal” she thought as she switched on her computer for her weekly check of emails.
It’ll never happen …
It turns out that even being a glass-half-full person doesn’t stop me saying without prompting …. ‘It’ll never happen …’ when the following are suggested :\n\nwe’re going to get rid of the pews …\n\nwe’re going to upgrade the PA system …\n\nwe’re going to refurbish the minor hall …\n\nwe’re going to do a church plant in ….\n\nwe’re going to get everyone behind a mission …\n\nThe ingredients needed for these sort of changes are so significant and so self evident that if they are missing then long reflection on the matter isn’t required.\n\nIt’ll never happen …\n\n… and there are better conversations to have.
Demographics
78% of clergy are Introvert. That is, they are only happy in groups of no more than 30 – 50 people. Which is no doubt why the average size of an Anglican church is 54* That should make us think, don’t you think? The average age of the Anglican parishioner is 68. But that’s a different problem. * from the English Church Census, Evangelical Alliance