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Kathy Sizer
Minister of Adult FormationTrinity United Presbyterian Church Santa Ana, CA kathy@tupcsa.org
Other staff present includes: Alan Landes (Senior Pastor); Arleen Whitney
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2) I don't agree completely, but I'm OK if we go ahead. 3) I don't agree, but I can see most everyone else agrees and I can live with it. back to top Relationships are the Non-Negotiable of Leadership Relationships are like a farmer conditioning the soil for a fruitful harvest. This conference together has allowed us as a staff team to work on those relationships together. What a gift for a bunch of busy people to be together day and night for three days with so much to "chew over" together! Where have I let broken relationships become acceptable—as though this acceptance is an inevitable part of the baggage that comes along with leadership? At this conference, sometimes it is the conversation around the edges that is as helpful as anything else. Part of the success for us was sitting around meal tables discussing the issues brought up at the conference. In gardening, it's much more fun for me to go to gardening classes and shop for new plants than it is to condition the soil. Sometimes in my garden I'm so busy that my new plants die before I have time to plant them. I guess going to conferences and reading books is rather like my plant shopping. Easy to do that all the time, but not enough time to nourish the soil of relationships, or even plant my plants. If it's true that the bigger and older the church grows, the harder it is to nourish relationships, how does the staff of a large church do this? It would have been good to hear a model for that. If you have 5 things on your plate, you should keep 1 and give the others away. Otherwise, you are stopping 4 people from doing ministry by keeping those things for yourself. back to top Lay Ministry is Thinking Differently, Not Just a Program The world is not made up of things, but of relationships. The kingdom is people—and people are built to last; programs aren't. So let programs end when they are no longer useful. What kind of people are we growing at Trinity? Think small. Look for break-through people. Expand from little things that are working. back to top Most Christians Can’t Speak the Language of the Culture in Which We Live The first thing missionaries do is to go to language school. Jennifer James was trying to take us to language school. Lots of people discredited what she said. But she is picturing the world as it will be. It was daring and great to include her. The videotape played before her talk set the context. She is an expert on what the world is saying about the church, but many of us didn't want to hear it. It is unfortunate that so many walked out. I wonder how many others checked out without leaving the room? At least they were hospitable enough to her to stay in their seats. Since we often socialize and live in the church, she helped us connect with today's culture. back to top How Can We Have a "Language School" to Teach Our People the Language of Their Culture? People are not problems for God to fix, but creations to celebrate. Start with Genesis 1, not Genesis 3 and sin. Surfers don't plan a wave, they ride it. Too often we sit around and try to plan the wave. But the wave comes from God and we need to be ready to go where God is going. The zoo video was powerful. People being caged in the church rather than out in society, being who God created them to be. back to top Our Purpose on Earth is to "Win One More for Jesus" I disagree with Rick Warren that our purpose on earth is to "win one more for Jesus." As Reformed Christians we understand our purpose to be even broader: "to glorify God and enjoy him forever." There are lots of ways God calls us to glorify him. Did Bach miss his purpose on earth because he composed music rather than winning one more for Jesus? This doesn't mean we're not missional. It means that evangelism is not the only way God calls us to minister in the community. back to top Ministry Teams That's what we now call our committees, but most of the team members wouldn't be able to say how they are different from committees. Stan Ott says a key difference is that ministry teams are koinonia. They are both people-focused and task-focused, while committees are just task-focused. Teams also expand the leadership/loving base of a ministry. From Ephesians 4:16 "the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." The ligaments are relationships. Ott suggested seven threads of the covenant relationship between members of a ministry team, examples being spiritual disciplines of personal devotional life, a shared meal quarterly, prayer partners within the group and an annual group retreat. What a difference that would make for our teams. Suggestions for the transition to ministry teams:
Setting Vision People don't want to die for your vision. Do you trust God enough to give them the freedom to dream? Do you believe God will give them dreams that dovetail with yours? This is easy with certain leaders. But we've been burned too many times by people who push their own agendas. Ideally, team ministry would counter those tendencies, but team members aren't always strong enough to speak up in the presence of some of these folks. Matthew: Jesus in the storm. If you don't get out of the boat, there is a guarantee you'll never walk on water. Who failed in the scene with Peter on the water? Not Peter, but the other disciples, who didn't get out of the boat. What are we assimilating people into—a random potpourri of ministry opportunities or into the body of Christ? We need to be strategic to connect them to the larger body back to top Transition from Doers to Equippers Are you a doer because you have to be in control? Instead, be a doer/unleasher. Doers often make decisions in secret to avoid the influence of others. They resist change because the cost might be too high. Doers live by philosophy of scarcity, not abundance. Doers have difficulty trusting others. Transition from doers to equippers takes 2 years. back to top What Does Success Look Like? We need to redefine success as a process—not the end result. Willing to step out of the boat. We can't plan how something will look (much like we can't predict what answered prayer will look like). People in love with the risen Christ and showing His love to one another and to the world. We need to listen differently and lead differently. To learn to be a body that's discerning enough to challenge and move into ministry those who are ready. To give grace for those who aren't ready—to whom success would look like healing or maybe just getting in the door. Not punishing or shaming those who can't or don't move into ministry. back to top Are We Afraid of Numbers? Will we keep a program going with small numbers? Where is the line? Numbers give you a sense of whether you are on target; otherwise the measure of whether the program is working is your own subjective evaluation. Numbers are not the goal, but an important measure. We can't dismiss them. We often wait to kill something until its past time. At what point do we rage against the night and keep something going, giving it every possible chance to succeed? Ortberg said that like Jacob wrestling with God, for some reason, God prizes us when we will hang in there with Him in hopeless situations. We're coming home with so many ideas. It's tempting to just add them on top of what we do. But as a team, we must analyze what fits, where we need paradigm shifts. What else must go to move in these new ways? back to top Ken Blanchard and Sue Mallory This is a window of opportunity for the Church, which may be short term. The window can close. It is the job of all of us to be the Church. Not only are all gifted, but all are called to serve God. Lay ministry staffs are the stewards of people's gifts, needs, talents and time. Implementing change is more about managing the journey than announcing the destination. What does it take to manage the journey? A servant’s heart—are you called or driven? Driven people are self-serving. back to top How Did Jesus Manage the Journey with His Disciples? In situational leadership, four stations are needed.
2. Coaching: When they were disillusioned learners, not independent yet. 3. Supporting: When people are capable performers, but cautious 4. Delegating: When people are self-directed achievers. Jesus delegated, but he didn't dump. He said he would return. Don't be a "seagull manager" who flies in, dumps on people, makes lots of noise, and flies out again. Helping People Discern Their Passion When you are doing whatever is your passion, you lose track of time. If money and time was no object, what would you be doing differently in your life? What melts your butter? People are waiting to be invited to serve, especially older adults. Back to NCNC2 Journals |
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