Tis the season to be working on the annual Stewardship Campaign. Not usually the most looked forward to event on the church calendar, is it? And although we know that stewardship is a year round process, the establishment of the 2011 budget throws us in the middle of a financial stewardship campaign in the fall of 2010 whether we have the energy for it or not. Are you ready for it? Are you energized by it? More than likely not...just a wild guess here! What is the level of your energy right now...not just around stewardship but in general?
The reason I ask is that as the "leader" of the congregation you, the pastor, are the steward of organizational energy. How's that for pressure? So your energy level and not just around stewardship is critical. Keeping your energy level balanced and healthy is a challenge for the modern day pastor. The demands on your time can either boost or drain your energy. Obviously, like any healthy bank account, we want more deposits in our energy account than drains or withdrawals.
If you could wake up tomorrow with significantly more positive and focused energy to invest in your work, how significantly would that change your life for the better? This question is asked in the opening chapter of the book The Power of Full Engagement by Tony Schwartz and Jim Loehr. It's a good question. It's an important question. It's a life changing question. How would you answer it?
As pastoral leaders our energy level has a direct correlation on whether or not our presence inspires or demoralizes, mobilizes or paralyzes, focuses or distracts. Taking care of our energy centers, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual can make a huge difference in our own personal health and the health of the church. Or as Schwartz and Loehr put it...
"Learning to manage energy more efficiently and intelligently has a unique transformative power, both individually and organizationally." And aren't we in the business of transformation?
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Reduce The Waste
One of the keys to being physically fit is to 'reduce the waist'. Studies show that the most dangerous weight we carry is around our waist because of the pressure it puts on our internal organs. And anyone out there who has tried to get rid of some extra pounds around the middle knows it is harder to lose than to put on. Again, I see an analogy for the church.
Churches tend to carry a lot a 'waste' weight! For example, how many programs, events, even committee work just happen because "we've always done it." Church calendars get filled up with lots of things that take energy and bodies to accomplish and yet both energy and people to carry them out has declined significantly. The complaint then becomes "why don't some of those young folks or new folks step up and take this over." It doesn't occur to them to just eliminate the activity.
I served one church that was very 'chronologically gifted' in its membership. Year after year they put on a pork dinner for the community. The year I was with them they were dreading the thought of the dinner. They didn't have the energy, the people or the heart, literally, to do all the work needed. I suggested that they don't hold it. Horrified, they replied, "but we've always done it. It's our fall fundraiser". Boldly I asked if that was the only way they could raise funds in the Fall? Some looked at me like I had grown an extra head and others were open to ideas.
What did they do? They held a porkless pork dinner! Everyone was asked to donate a dollar amount that they would have spent for tickets for their families, for ingredients they would have donated and for what they thought it was worth to them to save time and energy. They put out a big Piggy bank to collect the funds and they made as much as they did on the dinner! AND they had eliminated waste freeing up energy for other things.
Where does your church need to reduce waste...waste of time, energy and resources? What are the things that just continue blindly year after year without much return or spiritual growth? What is suffering internally as the waste weighs the membership down?
Reducing waste can be a first step to church health and wellness for this program year.
Churches tend to carry a lot a 'waste' weight! For example, how many programs, events, even committee work just happen because "we've always done it." Church calendars get filled up with lots of things that take energy and bodies to accomplish and yet both energy and people to carry them out has declined significantly. The complaint then becomes "why don't some of those young folks or new folks step up and take this over." It doesn't occur to them to just eliminate the activity.
I served one church that was very 'chronologically gifted' in its membership. Year after year they put on a pork dinner for the community. The year I was with them they were dreading the thought of the dinner. They didn't have the energy, the people or the heart, literally, to do all the work needed. I suggested that they don't hold it. Horrified, they replied, "but we've always done it. It's our fall fundraiser". Boldly I asked if that was the only way they could raise funds in the Fall? Some looked at me like I had grown an extra head and others were open to ideas.
What did they do? They held a porkless pork dinner! Everyone was asked to donate a dollar amount that they would have spent for tickets for their families, for ingredients they would have donated and for what they thought it was worth to them to save time and energy. They put out a big Piggy bank to collect the funds and they made as much as they did on the dinner! AND they had eliminated waste freeing up energy for other things.
Where does your church need to reduce waste...waste of time, energy and resources? What are the things that just continue blindly year after year without much return or spiritual growth? What is suffering internally as the waste weighs the membership down?
Reducing waste can be a first step to church health and wellness for this program year.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Spiritual Mother Tongue
What spiritual language do you speak? By that I mean the unique way you express your faith. It's easy to think there is only one or two ways to do this and as pastors we often hope that the majority of folks in our congregations speak the same language we do. However, in reality that is not the case. And in fact, according to Christian Schwarz, founder of Natural Church Development, he says there are at a minimum 9 different spiritual languages. Furthermore, EVERY church has each language represented! His research has shown that languages are not divided between traditions or styles but all exist simultaneously in every tradition or style. It has been easy for the mainline churches to dismiss the more enthusiastic style as belonging to the evangelical/mega church or for the evangelical to dismiss the more rational style of many mainline churches. Turns out those assumptions don't hold water! What we are dismissing is in our very own congregation.
Schwarz goes on to say that as individuals we tend to dismiss the type that is our opposite and that after identifying our type and using it to grow spiritually we can stretch ourselves into the opposite type to see what growth it would offer us. His book, The 3 Colors of Spirituality, is a fascinating study of his work with a mentor in each of the 9 types he identifies. Talk about stretching!!!!
So back to my original question...what is your spiritual mother tongue? The nine types he identifies are sensory, rational, doctrinal, scripture driven, sharing, ascetic, enthusiastic, mystical and sacramental. Of course, each of us speaks a bit of each of them but there is one language that really allows God to get through to you. This is where your spiritual antenna is tuned.
And chances are the person who drives you the craziest in your church is your opposite type.
The implications for worship leadership are huge when you consider how many languages need to be spoken on any given Sunday. If you find that your worship is centered all in your language and you dismiss other styles, you might want to reconsider that. If you find others complaining when you stretch into another style, it might be time for a study of this book by the congregation.
Schwarz goes on to say that as individuals we tend to dismiss the type that is our opposite and that after identifying our type and using it to grow spiritually we can stretch ourselves into the opposite type to see what growth it would offer us. His book, The 3 Colors of Spirituality, is a fascinating study of his work with a mentor in each of the 9 types he identifies. Talk about stretching!!!!
So back to my original question...what is your spiritual mother tongue? The nine types he identifies are sensory, rational, doctrinal, scripture driven, sharing, ascetic, enthusiastic, mystical and sacramental. Of course, each of us speaks a bit of each of them but there is one language that really allows God to get through to you. This is where your spiritual antenna is tuned.
And chances are the person who drives you the craziest in your church is your opposite type.
The implications for worship leadership are huge when you consider how many languages need to be spoken on any given Sunday. If you find that your worship is centered all in your language and you dismiss other styles, you might want to reconsider that. If you find others complaining when you stretch into another style, it might be time for a study of this book by the congregation.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Get Those Muscles Talking
As fitness experts have advised us a strong core is essential for a healthy body. What they will also tell us is that when one set of muscles are working they are talking to other sets of muscles. So, if I stretch my arms over my head, the muscles that are stretching are talking to the muscles around my waist. What are they saying? "Get moving"! If my waist muscles refuse to budge, then the chances of me pulling a muscle just went up about 1,000 fold.
Think of the committees and boards in your church as sets of muscles. Do these muscles work in concert with one another? When one moves, do the others follow in order to keep the whole body healthy and without injury? Or, is it more like each committee or board is an isolated muscle unconnected to any other muscle. No one talking to each other until one of the other muscles/committees gets strained?
Christian Swarz in his church growth series talks about how churches grow organically using basic biotic principles much like plants do. The first principle is interdependence. Bascially what this means is that the way each part is integreted into the whole system is more important than the parts themselves. (Sound like our muscle analogy?). So that whatever happens in one area actually has an effect on all other parts. A poor root system will determine the beauty of the bud.
To put it into church language...the heads of all boards or committees should be talking to each other because what happens in one group will effect the others and the whole. Too often all we do in this regard is "report out" what each board/committee has done and then spend time answering questions about how this decision will change another committee's decision, putting out fires that flare up, and facilitating a string of after shock meetings.
I can hear you asking "but how much more time will that take to get everyone together, isn't that what the committee's are supposed to do on their own without having to get everyone involved, AND I am not attending another meeting." Fair questions. And I wonder just how much time is spent cleaning up the aftermath of an isolated decision that effects everyone else? Or, perhaps the bigger question is how effective is the structure of your church to promote interdependence? Could there be a better organizational structure that would allow the "muscles to talk to each other?"
I know some of you have done this. Let's hear how it works in your congregation.
Think of the committees and boards in your church as sets of muscles. Do these muscles work in concert with one another? When one moves, do the others follow in order to keep the whole body healthy and without injury? Or, is it more like each committee or board is an isolated muscle unconnected to any other muscle. No one talking to each other until one of the other muscles/committees gets strained?
Christian Swarz in his church growth series talks about how churches grow organically using basic biotic principles much like plants do. The first principle is interdependence. Bascially what this means is that the way each part is integreted into the whole system is more important than the parts themselves. (Sound like our muscle analogy?). So that whatever happens in one area actually has an effect on all other parts. A poor root system will determine the beauty of the bud.
To put it into church language...the heads of all boards or committees should be talking to each other because what happens in one group will effect the others and the whole. Too often all we do in this regard is "report out" what each board/committee has done and then spend time answering questions about how this decision will change another committee's decision, putting out fires that flare up, and facilitating a string of after shock meetings.
I can hear you asking "but how much more time will that take to get everyone together, isn't that what the committee's are supposed to do on their own without having to get everyone involved, AND I am not attending another meeting." Fair questions. And I wonder just how much time is spent cleaning up the aftermath of an isolated decision that effects everyone else? Or, perhaps the bigger question is how effective is the structure of your church to promote interdependence? Could there be a better organizational structure that would allow the "muscles to talk to each other?"
I know some of you have done this. Let's hear how it works in your congregation.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The Core Effect
Being of a certain age I find myself watching and even doing exercise DVD's. Each of them enphasizes the "core". It seems that if the core muscles are not strong then we are in for some unpleasant reactions from our backs. And given the ever increasing aches and pains in my back, I am sure my core is a bit weak. So now I am paying close attention to tightening up those core muscles, thinking far too much about where my belly button is (should be heading toward the spine through our abdomens...who knew?), and making sure my shoulders are aligned over my hips. Like it isn't enough just to stand up and walk these days!
Again as I work more on getting my body healthy I am also more aware of how closely what is happening or needs to be happening in my physical body relates to the spiritual body of the mainline church.
If all strength comes from the core in our body, isn't the same true in the church? Think about your congregation and how much "work" or "attention" is paid to the core - Jesus Christ. This is work that each individual member must do. No one can exercise and strengthen my core muscles. I must do that for myself. So too it is that the pastor cannot strengthen the members' core muscles. A stong church body has members with strong cores.
Spiritual formation and development works on that core and yet many Protestant churches don't offer ideas, workshops, teachings on this let alone even know how to go about this. For many church members spiritual formation ended in Sunday School at about age 12. And if you are new to the church, it may never have happened in any formal way at all. The weakness of this core contributes to many of the "breakdowns" that churches experience in terms of declining attendance, increased conflict and plateauing energy.
What does your church's core strengthening exercise routine look like? Do the members get a good work out, pay attention to how they walk, notice where their core is and square themselves up on a good firm foundation? Without one over time the muscles get weak, flabby and stop supporting the structure.
Begin a conversation with your members on this topic, listen to their concerns about their faith journey, advocate for a core strengthening routine and share yours with them. And just as our bodies are not all the same size and shape neither are our spiritual needs. More next time on this!
Happy Body Building.
Nancy
Again as I work more on getting my body healthy I am also more aware of how closely what is happening or needs to be happening in my physical body relates to the spiritual body of the mainline church.
If all strength comes from the core in our body, isn't the same true in the church? Think about your congregation and how much "work" or "attention" is paid to the core - Jesus Christ. This is work that each individual member must do. No one can exercise and strengthen my core muscles. I must do that for myself. So too it is that the pastor cannot strengthen the members' core muscles. A stong church body has members with strong cores.
Spiritual formation and development works on that core and yet many Protestant churches don't offer ideas, workshops, teachings on this let alone even know how to go about this. For many church members spiritual formation ended in Sunday School at about age 12. And if you are new to the church, it may never have happened in any formal way at all. The weakness of this core contributes to many of the "breakdowns" that churches experience in terms of declining attendance, increased conflict and plateauing energy.
What does your church's core strengthening exercise routine look like? Do the members get a good work out, pay attention to how they walk, notice where their core is and square themselves up on a good firm foundation? Without one over time the muscles get weak, flabby and stop supporting the structure.
Begin a conversation with your members on this topic, listen to their concerns about their faith journey, advocate for a core strengthening routine and share yours with them. And just as our bodies are not all the same size and shape neither are our spiritual needs. More next time on this!
Happy Body Building.
Nancy
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