Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Lewis Center for Church Leadership - The Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., United States for Wednesday, 21 June 2017 - Leading Ideas: Sources of Authority for Pastoral Leadership | Stories - 8Your Website's Secret Sauce

Lewis Center for Church Leadership - The Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., United States for Wednesday, 21 June 2017 - Leading Ideas: Sources of Authority for Pastoral Leadership | Stories - 8Your Website's Secret Sauce

The Right Question | Quotable Leadership | Engaging Local Schools | Church Offering | Congregational Giving Profile | Email Change
 
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., explains that while people may give pastors a leadership position, the true authority needed to lead must be worked out among the people with whom they serve. One's authority in ministry is rooted not just in one's calling from God, but in multiple callings, including the calling from the church and the calling of the particular context in which one serves.  
What is the source of pastoral authority? From what source does one draw the power needed for effective ministry? Some might answer, “From God. God has called me to ordained ministry and from that call I draw my mission.” Others might respond, “From the church. I took very seriously the words of my bishop at my ordination, ‘Take thou authority.’ ” Still others might say, “From the local church I serve. My local church is the arena of my ministry and thus the source of any authority and power I might have.” Is the first, second, or third response correct? In good Wesleyan form, the answer may well be “yes.” There are, indeed, multiple sources of pastoral authority and power for pastoral leadership.
For Christian leaders, authority and calling cannot be separated. Indeed, there are multiple callings that comprise a spiritual leader’s authority — theological, ecclesial, and contextual.
Suspicion of Authority
The subject of authority for pastoral leadership often is difficult to raise. Pastoral leaders sometimes are suspicious of “authority.” They may have experienced the abuse of authority. Others stay away from the subject because they have seen enormous energy misspent in disagreements around matters of standing and prerogative among clergy, staff, and laity in congregations. These pastors are correct to be wary of authority when connected with power over others. However, there is an authority essential to the effective fulfillment of one’s calling to ministry. Without understanding and claiming this authority, many pastors will be reticent to exercise the authority given to them. By not exercising an appropriate authority, leaders may be denying their calling.
Sources of Authority
For Christian leaders, authority and calling cannot be separated. Indeed, there are multiple callings that comprise a spiritual leader’s authority. One might think of the sources of authority as the theological, ecclesial, and contextual.
Calling from God
The first source of authority is our calling from God. Jesus taught as one having authority, and not as the scribes. The scribes had positional authority, but that did not mean they had the authority that comes from an inner conviction of God’s calling.
Our calling from God represents the essence of our spiritual identity. It is who we are before God. It embodies our mission in life. While we continue to seek greater clarity about God’s call on our lives, we will always take with us into any ministry setting the call of God that claims and guides our lives.
Christian leaders must see all leadership rooted in what God has called them to be and do. But more is needed. If we were to be spiritual entrepreneurs or private practitioners, then our own conviction might be sufficient. But Christian leaders always function within a community of faith that must confirm God’s call.
Calling from the Church
The second source of authority is our calling from the church. Jackson Carroll speaks of authority as “legitimate power.” A key part of that legitimizing comes from the larger community of faith that not only confirms our call from God, but also calls us to various roles of leadership. These “assignments,” as Jürgen Moltmann refers to them, are to be fulfilled on behalf of the whole church. The leadership roles never become private possessions to be guarded and protected. Leadership is about service, not prerogative.
Our callings from the church will change from time to time. For example, at one point our calling may be as a pastor or associate pastor. The next calling may be as youth minister, music director, or in educational ministries.
Calling of the Context
The third source of a leader’s authority comes from the calling of the context. Leadership is finally about real people in actual circumstances. Proverbs says that “when the righteous are in authority, the people flourish.” Paul speaks of authority being used for “building up” and not for “tearing down.”
People may give us a leadership position, but the authority needed to lead must be worked out among the people with whom we serve. An essential element of authority comes from the credibility a leader establishes with the people the leader works with most closely.
James Kouzes speaks of credibility as “credit-ability.” People analyze our credibility all the time just as a bank might assess our credit worthiness. Indeed, credibility is the working capital of the leader. A leader draws from the account of credibility to make change possible.

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_What_s Your Story__ pennant
 
Stories of transformation inspire people to engage in matters of faith. But people rarely hear these stories unless they're already sitting in the pews. Will Rice suggests featuring stories of transformation on your church website will help potential visitors understand the point of going to church in the first place.
Vital churches have long known the power of stories of transformation to inspire engagement, but few are using the power of narrative to inspire people to take the first step of visiting a church.
As I visit great church websites, I see significant effort put into exceptional hospitality. Great websites make it clear that guests are welcome and reduce barriers to visiting by clearly displaying worship times, offering clear directions, offering guidance as to what to expect, and answering frequently asked questions. However, that is only useful to someone who already feels some inspiration to visit a church. Stories have the power to fuel such inspiration.
People are looking for meaning, hope, purpose, direction, and salvation. Fortunately, the church offers those things. Your website can tell the stories of real people whose lives have been transformed through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Why go to church?
Why should I go to church in the first place? We know that church attendance is seen as an obligation by many, so why should people come? And, if people do feel the tug of the Spirit to engage in a faith community, why should they come to your church?
The answer to that question should be, “Because, at our Church, Jesus transforms lives.” Therefore, we need to ask, “Are lives transformed at our church?” If your church can’t offer a response to that question, you have some soul-searching to do. Either the Holy Spirit is not presently at work in your congregation or, more likely, you aren’t looking in the right places.
Tell stories of lives transformed.
One church group thought they did not know of stories of transformation. Finally, someone told about a new family who was struggling when they came to the church. Their son found a place to belong in the church’s special needs program. Their daughter connected to new friends in the youth program. The adults found help through counseling and a small group. They even got a new financial footing through Financial Peace University classes. All this happened before any of them had joined the church. Then one Sunday the entire family was baptized and joined. That is life change!
If we want to convert website visitors to church visitors, we need to give them a taste of the transformative power of God. Of course, we want to be careful and sensitive with people’s stories. We always need to ask permission and make sure people are comfortable sharing the intimate details of their faith journey. However, I find that when peoples’ lives are changed by Jesus, they are more than willing to share.
The essential elements of a church website cover some important things: When do you gather? Where do you gather? What will it be like if I visit? What else do I need to know? How do I get in contact with you? As important as those things are, they may not address what people are most seeking. They are looking for meaning, hope, purpose, direction, and salvation. Fortunately, we offer those things.
Your website can answer those questions through stories — stories of real people whose lives have been transformed through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Those can be written stories or they can be video vignettes. The stories will move people from being a website visitor to a church visitor.
If you want to know how God is transforming lives, just ask.
It is common for churches not to notice wonderful things that God is doing. When we don’t notice, we don’t know, and we have no stories to tell. So how do we start looking? Ask.
If you want to know how God is transforming lives at your church, you need to start asking the right questions. What if, at every meeting and gathering, someone asked, “Where have you witnessed God transforming someone’s life?” Don’t feel like you have failed if people just sit and stare. Just ask again at the next meeting or class. Also ask that person who drops by the church office to complain about the temperature in the sanctuary. Don’t be discouraged if no one answers. But ask again and again. Eventually, they will realize you are not going to stop asking, and they will start looking around. When they do, they might find something. Don’t worry if those first stories aren’t great. Praise people for looking and keep asking. Eventually, they will get it. And, once they get it, they will love to share so they will keep looking.
It is very important always to ask permission to share stories. Some of the best stories will never be shared outside of the privacy of the space you first hear them. But you will find some who are happy to share their stories. We can be glad somebody took some notes when Jesus was changing lives around Galilee, Judea, and Samaria, or our New Testament would be rather dull.

Will Rice blogs on issues related to helping local congregations reach their communities at pastorwill.net. This article is adapted from that blog and used by permission.
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Leaders do not need answers. Leaders must have the right questions. 
Security for children's areas in the church is receiving increasing attention. Greg Atkinson visits many churches to help them see things as an outsider that the churches may be overlooking. Some of the questions he asks as he reviews children's space include these related to safety.
  • How easy is it to get to the nursery, classrooms, or child bathrooms?
  • Is there a proper ratio of children's workers to children?
  • Do the children get escorted out of the classroom and to the bathroom?
  • Is there a back exit or entrance where children can go outside? Is it secure?




Engaging Local Schools Video Tool Kit
Summer has just begun, but if your congregation is considering a school-focused initiative for fall start planning now with the Engaging Local Schools Tool Kit. Through videos, presentations, and supplemental materials, this resource guides your congregation in considering questions that are critical to the success of a school-focused service initiative.
Cesie Delve Scheuermann writes in her blog "Inspiring Generosity" that one of the ways you can reassure people that your church is worthy of their giving is by telling them that you have established policies for secure handling and counting of weekly offerings. So the question is: Do you have these policies in place? If yes, when was the last time these policies were reviewed? And are you following these policies?

Inspiring Generosity


Best Practices for Handling Your Church Offering
Burying Money: NOT a Good Financial Practice
Note: My Australian cousins are in town! I have been madly cleaning the house and showing them around the beautiful state of Oregon. Since it’s hard to write a blog while hiking (don’t try it, especially on a muddy path…the results are not pretty) I’m doing a “re-post.” This one seems especially relevant almost four years after it was written. I was talking to a clergy friend last Friday who mentioned that he knew of churches who were following (or not following) good financial practices. Insert a grimace right here. So, all the way back from July 2013...G’day!
Not long ago I was talking to a church financial administrator. She told me about a small church whose treasurer took the offering home and counted it every Sunday. Now I am no accountant (which should not come as much of a shock to anyone) but even I know that is a bad, bad practice.
In a recent blog, “Recognizing First Time Givers,” I said that one of the ways you can reassure people that your church is worthy of their giving is by telling them that you “have established policies for secure handling and counting of weekly offerings.”  But, the question is: Do you have these policies in place?  If you do, fantastic!  But then you should ask, “When was the last time these policies were reviewed?” and “Are we following these policies?”
Just in case you don’t have anything in writing yet (because this should instantly become a high priority if you don’t), here are some best practices for receiving your church’s offering – adapted from the suggested policies of the Oregon-Idaho and the Rio Texas United Methodist Annual Conferences:
  • Two unrelated people should always be present to handle the collected offering.  Their relationship should be devoid of any potential conflict of interest or incentives for collusion (as could exist with spouses, employer-employee, business partners, members of the same family, etc.). One person counts while the other observes and the observer recounts while the original counter observes.
  • The same two unrelated people should not count the money every Sunday. There should be rotation among counters.
  • Church funds should not be taken to anyone’s private home.
  • Checks received should be immediately endorsed “For Deposit Only.”
  • The counters should give the offering totals to the financial secretary and treasurer and record the totals in a deposit log that should then be compared to the bank statement.
  • Bank deposits should be prepared by the counters (or church treasurer) and then deposited. A receipt filed with deposit information should then be given to your church financial secretary.
  • The offering should be deposited as soon as possible. If it is not possible to deposit the offerings on the same day, the offering should be kept in a secure (locked) location at the church.
  • Those persons involved with the local church collection and accounting process must be instructed on the importance of keeping any financial information confidential. The counting committee should be made aware of the sensitive role in maintaining confidentiality with regard to the giving levels of various members.
The purpose of these policies is to create confidence in the process and to protect the volunteers who are counting the money. Collecting the offering is a sacred trust. What you do with the money immediately afterwards matters.  Make you sure you put that in writing.
 Cesie Delve Scheuermann (pronounced “CC Delv Sherman,” yes, really) is a consultant in stewardship, development, and grant writing. Over the past fifteen years, while working as a volunteer and part-time consultant, she helped raise over three million dollars for numerous non-profit organizations. And no, she did not grill anything on the barbie for her relatives. She was the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference Lay Leader from 2008-2012. Her position with the Conference is funded through a generous grant from the Collins Foundation. She is available to consult with churches. You can reach her at inspiringgenerosity@gmail.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/inspiringgenerosity.
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Congregational Giving Profile Video Tool Kit
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Lewis Center for Church Leadership
Wesley Theological Seminary
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