Wednesday, May 2, 2018

the Lewis Center for Church Leadership at The Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., United States for Wednesday, 2 May 2018 - Leading Ideas: "Unsticking a 'Stuck' Institution" "5 Ways to Know if Your Church Needs A Strategic Plan"

the Lewis Center for Church Leadership at The Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., United States for Wednesday, 2 May 2018 - Leading Ideas: "Unsticking a 'Stuck' Institution"  "5 Ways to Know if Your Church Needs A Strategic Plan"
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Unsticking a "Stuck" Institution by Amy Butler
Four years ago, Amy Butler stepped into the pulpit of The Riverside Church in Manhattan, a church well known for its public witness and prominent pastoral leaders. She shares advice on taking the helm of a well-established congregation and leading change within a historic institution.Those of us called to lead institutions with long and prominent histories have a big task on our hands. It can be excruciatingly difficult to move a “stuck” institution. It requires sophisticated leadership — leadership that involves politics, management, and other professional skills not generally taught in seminary. And the challenge is greater today than it was in the 1950s, because it’s harder to get people in the doors of the church. Fear and a sense of scarcity come more readily to the surface in this era of institutional decline. It can be harder to live into the risky discipleship God requires of us.
One of the challenges of leading a well-established church is that many people have already formed a perception of the church that can be hard to shake.
Theology
Leaders in well-established institutional settings know all too well the challenge of hearing, day in and day out, “But we’ve always done it that way,” or being followed around by people carrying highlighted, dog-eared copies of the bylaws. It takes a strong leader with a very clear theological framework who is willing to experience and live through this challenge in order to teach a theological framework and to create a community that will allow the discomforting winds of God’s Spirit. Institutional change requires an ability to pivot with the winds of God’s Spirit.
Relationships
I have learned that the only way things change is through relationship. I spent a large part of my first three years at Riverside building relationships with the congregation. I did that by being in the pulpit as much as I could, by standing at the door in the back as people left worship, by keeping four appointments a week on my schedule for any member of the congregation who wanted to come and talk. I started The Pastor’s Table, breakfast meetings twice a month at my home with diverse groups of ten members of the congregation. This type of intentional relationship building formed a level of trust that allowed us to hold one another’s hands through some of the tough transitions.
Fresh perceptions
One of the challenges of leading a well-established church is that many people have already formed a perception of the church that can be hard to shake. An important part of transformational leadership is creating a new vision of who you want to be — not something that is inauthentic or untrue, but something you can live into. When I came to The Riverside Church, its reputation was holding fairly strong, but it was a bit dusty. My job was to brush it off, shine it up, and project to the world who we are growing to be. Social media has been a powerful tool for us to project who we are and who we hope to become.
We also started changing the way things looked around the building. Riverside is a big stone cathedral that can make some feel as if they are walking into a torture chamber. We wanted to project a more positive, welcoming image to the many people who stream through our building each day, going to the nursery school, classes, or various events. We changed the light bulbs to make spaces brighter and more welcoming. We put up pictures around the building that reflect the life of our community and an image of who we want to be together. These may seem like minor things, but their impact can’t be discounted.
Changing times, changing measures of success
We are at a very interesting moment in the history of the church that requires experimentation — thinking about how we evangelize through social media and how we build community in a virtual space. If we try to measure our success by traditional metrics, we will fail because the church is no longer a popular social institution. It’s no longer just a matter of what people give or how many come to worship, but how many times we touch another person’s life either virtually or in person. We must ask ourselves how many lives are changed through community programming and online engagement, whether there is a spirit of love and kindness in this place, and if we treat one another with respect.
I’ve made a lot of mistakes. But learning by trial and error is part of the process. The exciting thing is discovering the tremendous potential of reaching people through livestream, social media, and other means we wouldn’t have even thought of a few years ago.
Related Resources:
Leading Ideas Talks PodcastLeading Ideas Talks Podcast: "Leading a Historic Congregation"
How do you balance tradition and innovation? In this episode, Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe, Jr., speaks with Rev. Amy Butler of The Riverside Church in New York City. They discuss insights for leading a historic church.
Listen now.
5 Ways to Know if Your Church Needs A Strategic Plan by Christopher Bennett On May 2, 2018
Chris Bennett, a Virginia pastor who helps other congregations develop strategic plans, outlines a set of questions that can help your church decide if a strategic planning process is what’s needed to gain clarity around your next steps and develop positive momentum.
You may have heard the saying, “Let go and let God.” While it’s not a direct biblical quote, it was inspired by scripture, such as, “Be anxious for nothing …” (Phil 4:6) and “But seek first the kingdom of God …” (Mt 6:33). The scriptures encourage us to keep our hearts open and walk by faith, not sit idle, relinquishing all planning and action. St. Paul writes in Ephesians 4 and 1 Corinthians 12 about the practical gifts each person is given for building up the kingdom. Building up is not passive. It’s work! As any good builder knows, it requires a blueprint — a vision of the end product and a plan to get there. Here I am reminded of the parable of the talents. Are you, as a church, burying your resources or investing them?
The process of developing a strategic plan can help move a church forward by inspiring ideas and mapping out ways to achieve them.
Here are five questions that will help your congregation decide.
1. Do you feel stuck?
Does ministry feel like riding an exercise bike? Are you working really hard, breaking a good sweat, but never seeming to make much progress? First, know you are not alone. So many times, as leaders in the church, we feel sort of stuck — stuck in the routine, Sunday to Sunday, budget to budget, just existing from one liturgical season to the next. The process of developing a strategic plan can help move a church forward by inspiring ideas and mapping out ways to achieve them. Planning a strategic way forward can focus church priorities, enabling it to be a good steward of gifts of time, talent, and money. In the end, the church will have clarity on who it is and how God is calling it to engage the community and world and positioning it to make a greater impact for the gospel.
2. Are you struggling to figure out the next steps for the church?
Sometimes there are so many great ministry opportunities in our community we start to feel overwhelmed. This generally plays out in one of two ways — either we do nothing while we wait for our committees to make decisions, or, more often, we try to do it all, spreading our resources too thin, making very little effective impact.
A strategic planning process helps clarify who we are and who God is calling us to be in our communities. This allows us to confidently focus our ministry and outreach in ways that make the most impact for the gospel in our community. Working together as a team to discern and invest in a long-term vision of the church fosters confidence and unity as the church moves forward.
3. Has your attendance or participation plateaued or is it declining?
“Facts are our friends.” This is a phrase a friend of mine uses over and over. Leaders in the church often avoid looking at the facts, the numbers, because we are afraid of what they might say about us. However, evaluating the key measurements of the church (worship attendance, giving, small group participation, etc.) provides an opportunity for change, growth, and survival. Like high cholesterol, if you just keep eating the same things, refuse to get tested, and never get medication, what is going to happen to you? Ignoring the signs and avoiding the results will not prevent the problems. But, if we monitor our current condition and treat the symptoms, we will be able to make shifts and changes as necessary and begin a new healthy growth phase in the life of the church.
4. Do you have positive momentum going?
Of course your church doesn’t need to wait for a plateau or decline to engage in a forward thinking strategic plan. When you are experiencing healthy momentum in ministry, it’s a great time to make sure that your team is prepared for what’s ahead and that your church has a unified vision for the future. Strategic preparation for future growth and long-term direction instills confidence and encourages a greater impact in the community.
5. Are you comfortable?
Ministry is hard, and, in many ways, it should be. When we, as the church, find ourselves in a comfortable routine, it can feel like sabbath time. Sabbath is a biblical value — for one day a week. As long as we are doing the work of the church here on earth, we are not to remain in a Sabbath mentality. Instead we are called to engage in both Sabbath and meaningful work. Comfort can lead to complacency. Brené Brown said it well: “We can choose courage or we can choose comfort, but we can’t have both.” The gospel calls us to courageously live out our discipleship in the community of the church.
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, it might be a good time to consider investing in a strategic plan.
This article originally appeared as a blog post on thesparkmill.com. Used by permission.
Related Resources:
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The Right Question
Leaders do not need answers. Leaders must have the right questions.
Traditions can be good so long as they do not become barriers to what God wants us to do next. Tony Morgan suggests two questions to ask about traditions.
  • Is it sacred or is it familiar?
  • Is it holy or is it comfortable?
Want more Right Questions? Read Right Questions for Church Leaders.
What Next Faithful Step is God Calling Your Church to Take?
Discovering God's Future for Your Church is a turn-key tool kit to help your congregation discern and implement God's vision for its future. The resource guides your church in discovering clues to your vision in your history and culture, your current congregational strengths and weaknesses, and the needs of your surrounding community. The tool kit features videos, leader's guides, discussion exercises, planning tools, handouts, diagrams, worksheets, and more.
Learn more and watch an introductory video now.
Suggestions for Churches with a Clergywoman
If you have a female pastor, the all-purpose question to remember is: "Would you honestly ask (say, criticize) this if the pastor were a man? If so, okay. If not, drop it." Know that a female pastor continues a tradition of women in ministry going back to biblical times. Learn to celebrate her pastoral leadership with "To the Point: Suggestions for Churches with a Clergywoman."
Celebrate your new pastor. Know that your new pastor continues a tradition of women in ministry going back to biblical times. Do all that you typically do to welcome a male pastor, including praying for her daily. Give her a generous opportunity to fulfill her ministry, and let any judgment be by the biblical standard of fruitfulness.
Treat her as your pastor first. Avoid putting gender first in conversations about her. Talk about her as you would a new male pastor. Use the proper title, or ask what she would like to be called. Avoid using terms of affection, and resist language such as “woman pastor” or “lady pastor.” And do not lower compensation due to gender or assumptions of other sources of income or benefits coverage.
She will bring unique gifts for ministry. Learn your pastor’s gifts rather than making gender assumptions. She has both strengths and limitations, just as your male pastors had. Most of your delights and objections will not be gender-based. Respect different types of leadership. Some male pastors are not very good. The same goes for women. If she isn’t serving your church well, it is not because she’s a woman.
Expect some resistance but avoid making very much of it. Expect some push back, especially if this is a new experience for your church. A few may leave, but far more are likely to join. Resist assuming the worst and making too much of it. Clergywomen are common in today’s world. Avoid allowing negative voices to dominate. Ask people to keep an open mind. Most resistance is based on the unknown.
Avoid stereotyping and assumptions. Keep pastoral expectations as before. Don’t assume she will be good with children but not finance. Don’t expect her to bring treats for meetings. Women often have family responsibilities but so do many men. Resist asking about her personal life, relationships, or family plans that you would not ask a male pastor.
Some things may not fit. Be open to repainting the office and replacing the pastor’s chair if it no longer fits the occupant. The pulpit may need adjustment for height, and make sure the sound system works for a female voice, especially if it’s high or soft.
Make sure there is a trusted feedback group. Your new pastor needs regular honest feedback from those committed to her success. Assure that someone is asking your new pastor how things are going and listen. A trusted group that listens makes the pastor more open to receiving feedback she needs to improve.
Avoid references to appearance. Avoid making comments about her size, shape, or appearance. How she dresses or does her hair should not be a topic of conversation. Avoid such comments that would never be made to a male pastor.
I have had more comments about my hair style than I can count, including “I am so glad you cut your hair; your last hair style was distracting when you preached.”
Pay attention to boundary issues. Take seriously any concerns a female pastor expresses about sexual harassment or unwanted actions involving staff, parishioners, or others. All clergywomen encounter such situations at some point. Train church leadership in how to recognize when harassment or sexism is at play. Members need reminding that “If you didn’t say it to a male pastor, don’t say it to a female pastor. If you didn’t kiss your male pastor, don’t do it now.”
I’m the third female pastor, and I have no sense that people still object to having a female pastor, but they do still say inappropriate things!
The all purpose question to remember: “Would you honestly ask (say, criticize) this if the pastor were a man? If so, okay. If not, drop it.”
Clergywomen graduates of Lewis Fellows, a Lewis Center leadership development program for young clergy, provided the content for this resource.
A companion Lewis Center resource is “Why Women Are Clergy.”

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Quotable Leadership
If the church is to live, it must continually be reformed. (Margaret A. Farley)
Adult Education Study: "Religion and Science -- Pathways to Truth"
Is it possible to be a Christian and take science seriously? Must we choose between God and science? The nine lessons in this essential and inspiring course offer a positive alternative: a way to live in today's world as scientifically informed believers. Religion and Science is ideal for your congregation's small groups, adult Bible studies, and Sunday School classes.
Learn more now.
Pastors Moving to New Churches Need the Right Start
Are you a pastor preparing to begin ministry in a new setting? With The Right Start Video Tool Kit, you'll learn how to end your current ministry well, develop a personal transition plan, and make the most of your first days, weeks, and months in your new congregation. The Right Start is available in both Pastor's and Group Training Versions.
Learn more and watch a video preview.
Connect with the Lewis Center:
The Lewis Center for Church Leadership
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