It is the time of year most United Methodist pastors look forward to with about the same anticipation as a root canal. The dreaded charge conference will come up next month, and we have to have several committee meetings to nominate leaders, pass budgets, and suggest pastor’s salary before then. The archaic and beauroctratic administrative structure means a lot of effort is taken away from ministry to focus on administrivia.
Over the years we have created and embellished a church system that makes it seem we relish making decisions over the work of making disciples. There is great emphasis on committees, procedures, and voting. We have huge administrative committees and little emphasis on ministry. Of the three ministry areas we are supposed to address, most of the effort centers on nuture (ministry to our selves) and almost no attention is given to outreach and witness (ministry to others).
What if we could organize the church’s work around its mission instead of its paperwork? What if we emphasized ministry instead of maintenance? What if we focused on making disciples instead of making decisions? More to the point, what if we simplified the administrative part and placed a premium on doing what Jesus told us to do?
Two great books have stimulated my thinking. The first is Bill Easum’s Sacred Cows Make Gourmet Burgers. The subtitle says it all: “ministry anytime, anywhere, by anyone.” Easum’s premise is simple but profound. Let people who sense a prompting of God do ministry. Together. In ad-hoc teams that organize for a purpose, do a ministry task, and then disband where people go on to something else. He pounds the point that the decision-making process should be simplified and permission-giving. The sacred cows of “the way we’ve always done it” should be turned into gourmet burgers. Hear! Hear!
John Edmund Kaiser gives more nuts and bolts for organizing congregations to succeed in mission. Winning on Purpose uses athletic metaphor to describe organizing and training a sports team to be successful on the playing field. He gives a great plan for paring down the decision-making part, letting people do their jobs unhindered by administrivia and tradition, and emphasizing mission and training people to do the works of ministry. The whole thing sounds like what Paul described in Ephesians chapter 4! Less voting, more ministry.
With these two concepts in mind, here’s my thought. What if we began to see ourselves as not the object or purpose of ministry (consumers) but actually ministers on the front lines ourselves? To facilitate that, what if we provided a basic structure where the pastor leads, the council governs, a paid and unpaid staff manages, and the congregation ministers? Wouldn’t we come closer to our mission of making disciples? Wouldn’t we actually come closer to doing what Jesus wants us to do? My plan is two fold:
Decision-making
Administration is necessary but it need not demand all our attention. I think a leadership team (church council, etc.) of 11 members could do the job and fulfil the requirements of our Discipline. Five would be ex-officio members, required by the Discipline, including the chair, lay leader, annual conference delegate, secretary, and treasurer. These would be joined by six at-large members each serving three years in staggering terms arranged so that two are replaced every year.
The administrative functions required by the Discipline would be handled by this team, with different persons designated to facilitate conversation on each function. It would meet quarterly with the pastor to hear and sign on to the pastor’s vision, set goals for ministry and authorize action for ministry, set budgets, and hold the pastor accountable for agreed-upon objectives.
Disciple-making
Disciple-making becomes the focus of ministry, seeking to draw the unchurched into committed learning relationships and encouraging them in growth and maturity in Christ. The entire effort is facilitated through networking.
The pastor would lead a “staff” (paid or unpaid) in the three areas of ministry our Discipline requires: nurture, outreach, and witness. My tag for this team is the NOW team, an acronym from the three areas. These people are accountable to the pastor and work in their respective areas. But they must work in a collaborative way to involve the congregation in a balance of the three. They are facilitators and equippers of small group leadership.
Disciple-making is actually carried out through a network of small groups organized around interest, need, and relationships. They can be long-term or task-specific. Every month the pastor and NOW team gather leaders for training, encouragement, and fellowship.
The model for group function is inspired by Paul Borden’s Direct Hit:
Prayer. A small group of people who pray regularly for the church, the pastor, and its leadership, specifically for ministry and disciple-making.
CARE. Another small group of people who work to discover needs in the community and think of ways to address them in accountable disciple-making. They are meeting with local officials, driving through the community, and talking to people outside the church. CARE is an acronym for community awareness research and evaluation.
Dare. The network of small groups comprised of the members of the congregation who dare to do something that brings the kingdom into the community with bold ministry. God’s touch in the world. These folks are informed by Prayer and CARE. They are inspired and led by the pastor and NOW team. They are empowered by the leadership team with money and permission to do hard things, to fail and to try again.
If we’ll begin to think this way I believe we’ll replace ecclesiastical consumerism (the church is here for me) with ministry (the church is here to make disciples and change lives and I am here to help). We’ll actually be faithful to our mission and do what Jesus has asked us to do.
Over the years we have created and embellished a church system that makes it seem we relish making decisions over the work of making disciples. There is great emphasis on committees, procedures, and voting. We have huge administrative committees and little emphasis on ministry. Of the three ministry areas we are supposed to address, most of the effort centers on nuture (ministry to our selves) and almost no attention is given to outreach and witness (ministry to others).
What if we could organize the church’s work around its mission instead of its paperwork? What if we emphasized ministry instead of maintenance? What if we focused on making disciples instead of making decisions? More to the point, what if we simplified the administrative part and placed a premium on doing what Jesus told us to do?
Two great books have stimulated my thinking. The first is Bill Easum’s Sacred Cows Make Gourmet Burgers. The subtitle says it all: “ministry anytime, anywhere, by anyone.” Easum’s premise is simple but profound. Let people who sense a prompting of God do ministry. Together. In ad-hoc teams that organize for a purpose, do a ministry task, and then disband where people go on to something else. He pounds the point that the decision-making process should be simplified and permission-giving. The sacred cows of “the way we’ve always done it” should be turned into gourmet burgers. Hear! Hear!
John Edmund Kaiser gives more nuts and bolts for organizing congregations to succeed in mission. Winning on Purpose uses athletic metaphor to describe organizing and training a sports team to be successful on the playing field. He gives a great plan for paring down the decision-making part, letting people do their jobs unhindered by administrivia and tradition, and emphasizing mission and training people to do the works of ministry. The whole thing sounds like what Paul described in Ephesians chapter 4! Less voting, more ministry.
With these two concepts in mind, here’s my thought. What if we began to see ourselves as not the object or purpose of ministry (consumers) but actually ministers on the front lines ourselves? To facilitate that, what if we provided a basic structure where the pastor leads, the council governs, a paid and unpaid staff manages, and the congregation ministers? Wouldn’t we come closer to our mission of making disciples? Wouldn’t we actually come closer to doing what Jesus wants us to do? My plan is two fold:
Decision-making
Administration is necessary but it need not demand all our attention. I think a leadership team (church council, etc.) of 11 members could do the job and fulfil the requirements of our Discipline. Five would be ex-officio members, required by the Discipline, including the chair, lay leader, annual conference delegate, secretary, and treasurer. These would be joined by six at-large members each serving three years in staggering terms arranged so that two are replaced every year.
The administrative functions required by the Discipline would be handled by this team, with different persons designated to facilitate conversation on each function. It would meet quarterly with the pastor to hear and sign on to the pastor’s vision, set goals for ministry and authorize action for ministry, set budgets, and hold the pastor accountable for agreed-upon objectives.
Disciple-making
Disciple-making becomes the focus of ministry, seeking to draw the unchurched into committed learning relationships and encouraging them in growth and maturity in Christ. The entire effort is facilitated through networking.
The pastor would lead a “staff” (paid or unpaid) in the three areas of ministry our Discipline requires: nurture, outreach, and witness. My tag for this team is the NOW team, an acronym from the three areas. These people are accountable to the pastor and work in their respective areas. But they must work in a collaborative way to involve the congregation in a balance of the three. They are facilitators and equippers of small group leadership.
Disciple-making is actually carried out through a network of small groups organized around interest, need, and relationships. They can be long-term or task-specific. Every month the pastor and NOW team gather leaders for training, encouragement, and fellowship.
The model for group function is inspired by Paul Borden’s Direct Hit:
Prayer. A small group of people who pray regularly for the church, the pastor, and its leadership, specifically for ministry and disciple-making.
CARE. Another small group of people who work to discover needs in the community and think of ways to address them in accountable disciple-making. They are meeting with local officials, driving through the community, and talking to people outside the church. CARE is an acronym for community awareness research and evaluation.
Dare. The network of small groups comprised of the members of the congregation who dare to do something that brings the kingdom into the community with bold ministry. God’s touch in the world. These folks are informed by Prayer and CARE. They are inspired and led by the pastor and NOW team. They are empowered by the leadership team with money and permission to do hard things, to fail and to try again.
If we’ll begin to think this way I believe we’ll replace ecclesiastical consumerism (the church is here for me) with ministry (the church is here to make disciples and change lives and I am here to help). We’ll actually be faithful to our mission and do what Jesus has asked us to do.
What do you think? Click the comments link below and join the conversation.
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