| | | | | | | | | | | | PRACTICAL WISDOM FOR LEADING CONGREGATIONS |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | For more than 200 years, ever since John Wesley appointed Thomas Coke bishop of America, Methodists have been consecrating bishops, setting them aside for the particular work of oversight. In the summer of 2012, I joined those ranks, when the United Methodist Church, through its Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference, asked me to serve as a bishop.
The promises that I made to those who attended the consecration service were clear. I pledged "to guard the faith, to seek the unity and to exercise the discipline of the whole church." But what wasn't so clear, then or now, is what this calling means in our particular moment in history.
What does it mean to be a denominational bishop in a post-denominational culture?It doesn't take a committed churchgoer to know the status of mainline (and evangelical) Christianity in the United States today. Even atheists know the cultural context in which the church now finds itself: loss of membership, aging congregations, decreasing influence and marginalization of spiritual practices.
Twenty-five years ago, Will Willimon and Stanley Hauerwas wrote "Resident Aliens." Considered boldly prophetic at the time, their insights into the relationship between church and world are now the accepted wisdom about where we find ourselves.
But beyond the broad relationship of church and culture, a parallel conversation is now occurring within the church, one with particular relevance for my own role as a bishop and the pledge I made about faith, unity and discipline.
Read more from Bishop Ken Carter » |
One challenge facing a denominational or judicatory leader is navigating a complicated and regularly shifting environment of expectations, assumptions, desires, requests and demands. How can a leader pursue that difficult, healthy and holy balance between meeting the needs of individual congregations and their leaders and, at the same time, serving the larger church and its mission priorities?
These pressures are increasing as denominations and judicatories continue to adjust to the realities of a changed and changing church -- of reduced budgets, smaller staffs and rising ecclesial anxiety. Many congregations and their leaders are experiencing similar realities in their own contexts as well, and so are increasingly asking their denominational leaders, "What have you done for me lately?"
Denominational leaders, in many places, must learn to do more, for more, with less.
In recent trips to three different regions of the country, I have heard creative and provocative responses to this contemporary pressure. In each place, I heard leaders articulate a greater clarity about what it means to be a denominational leader and equip the saints for ministry.
One senior denominational staff person told me, "We now only feed the birds that have their mouths open." His judicatory staff is focusing its time, effort and energy on congregations and congregational leaders that are seeking to be and to lead the faithful church of the future. Congregations held hostage by nostalgia, apathy or intractable conflict are simply no longer priorities for judicatory staff. Some other congregational matters, including clergy misconduct, will still demand denominational attention, but this leader's staff is trying to streamline processes to minimize the energy spent on these situations. The focus is on the future.
Read more from Nathan Kirkpatrick » |
| | UPCOMING DENOMINATIONAL LEADER RETREAT |
Serving the Church as a Middle Judicatory Executive presented by the Church of the Brethren Council of District Executives and Alban at Duke Divinity School November 4-6, 2019 Kenbrook Retreat Center Lebanon, PA
This three-day retreat will provide continuing professional development for those serving the church in middle judicatory executive leadership roles. Elements of the time together will include plenary and small group discussion about leading the church in a time of change and transition, understanding your leadership gifts and limits (including a 360 review process), wicked problems and responding with integrative thinking and 'traditioned innovation' and spiritual self-care.
This retreat is an opportunity for the ongoing development of middle judicatory leaders, whatever denomination the leader serves. It is especially useful to those who are in the early years (less than five years) of their service to the church in this role, but this gathering can also be a good opportunity for renewal for those with longer tenure.
Leading the gathering will be Nathan Kirkpatrick, managing director of Alban at Duke Divinity School, and Maria Teresa Gaston, managing director of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity School.
For more information or to enroll, email the Rev. Russ Matteson or Nancy Heishman. |
| | FROM OUR 2010 ARCHIVE: WHAT'S THE FUTURE OF DENOMINATIONS? |
A major figure in the then-emerging church movement talks about what's good about denominations, the challenges the organizations face and some "wild ideas" for the future.
Read more from Brian D. McLaren » |
The senior pastor of Ray of Hope Christian Church says the future and power of the Disciples of Christ lies in the local congregation, in the people who move out in ministry and witness as the whole church.
Read more from Cynthia Hale » |
A professor at Vancouver School of Theology asks what would happen if denominations went away, which inevitably raises the question what are denominations good for?
Read more from Jason Byassee » |
Doing the Math of Mission: Fruits, Faithfulness and Metrics by Gil Rendle
Over the past ten years, the North American mission field has experienced dramatic changes, which in turn have required congregations, middle judicatories, and denominations to adapt. Among these adaptations is an expectation for clear goals and quantified progress towards those goals. Church leaders who have never needed to measure their goals and progress with metrics may find this change daunting. The use of metrics-denominational and middle judicatory dashboards, and the tracking of congregational trends-has become an uncomfortable and misunderstood practice in this search for accountability.
Doing the Math of Mission offers theory, models, and new tools for using metrics in ministry. This book also shows where metrics and accountability fit into the discernment, goal setting, and strategies of ministry.
While there are resources for research on congregations, tools on congregational studies, and books on program evaluation, there is a gap when it comes to actual tools and resources for church leaders. This book is intended to help fill that gap, giving leaders a toolbox they can use in their own setting to clarify their purpose and guide their steps.
Learn more and order the book » |
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