DBMIM April 13, 2011

--  LOGIN LEADERSHIP: Paying the Rent, by Tom Hanover.

--  Healing the Split Between Spirit and Work in Your Church's Life, by Celia A. Hahn and Richard Chiola.

--  Using Social Media for Pastors:  Managing Privacy, by Jonathan Hanover.

--  Book Review, "True North", by Bill George with Peter Sims, reviewed by Tom Hanover.

--   Book Review, "Your Church in Rhythm", by Bruce Miller, reviewed by Teena Stewart.

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Login Leadership:  Paying the Rent

By Tom Hanover

 

         Twirling, twirling, fingers in constant motion, the glass blower patiently and carefully shapes the hot glowing glass on the end of his pole. He places it in the kiln to heat the glass, and then cools and shapes it with the hand tools of an expert craftsman.

            I am fascinated by these gifted artisans who can take bits and pieces of stuff I usually throw away and create art – beautiful, eye-catching, breath-taking, images of life.  Cathy, my wife, and I were watching these artists at work for hours on end, when a lady walked through and interrupted their work.  She handed envelopes to each of them, chatted a few minutes, and left by way of the observation room where we were watching.  She asked if we had any questions, and I asked, “Payday?”  She smiled neither denying nor confirming my guess.  “Even artists like to get paid, don’t they? I said.”  She smiled again.

            Ministry leadership is an art form, too.  There are no simple steps or magic formulas that fit every situation.  If it were easy, anyone could do it.  But it has its breathtaking moments of inspiration as well.

            What makes a ministry leader effective is paying attention to the routine everyday things that undergird the possibilities for inspiration, like paying the rent.  My father who was also a pastor often talked about paying the rent.  The metaphor was a person renting an apartment.  As long as the tenant paid the rent regularly and faithfully, the landlord would not care what the tenant ate for breakfast or watched on TV. 

            In every ministry there are certain tasks that are basically paying the rent.  Ignoring or neglecting these tasks will generally lead to lost opportunities for the more inspirational and artistic moments that all of us treasure.

            Depending upon your ministry setting, different tasks may fit into “paying the rent.”  Here are a few general examples. 

First is the task of attending to the administrative responsibilities of an organization. 

            A colleague phoned me to ask for a personal reference for someone who had applied for a position on his staff.  I shared positive, affirming comments for the candidate.  And knowing this colleague had just begun this lead pastor position, I asked how he was doing.  He grumbled about all these responsibilities of administration he did not anticipate.  It was ironic, because I had heard he campaigned quite hard to be considered for the lead pastor position in a larger church. 

            Administrative responsibilities include articulating vision, overseeing the funding, supervising staff, caring for the building and property, facilitating systems for leadership recruitment and development, aligning programs and ministries to the vision, etc.  Some people thrive in these kinds of tasks.  Others wither.  And some tasks can be shared.  Perhaps a few can be delegated.  But the rent must be paid.  Neglecting these administrative tasks will weaken the organization that sustains the ministry.

            A second example for paying the rent is developing healthy, sustainable relationships.  In a smaller church averaging 75 or less in weekly worship attendance, the leader is likely to have a personal relationship with nearly everyone in the church.  In a church of 200, that circle is likely to include all the active leaders in the church.  In a church of 500, that circle is likely to focus on staff and key leaders.  In a church of 1,000, the focus is on lead staff and specific key leaders. 

            In a ministry like Jeff and Teena Stewart’s Java Journey, I would imagine their relationships focus on their governing board, faithful patrons, and perhaps some ministry partners.  In every ministry leadership position there are strategically important relationships that need to be nurtured and sustained.  Some of these are for the accountability of the leader.  Some of these are to train and coach other leaders.  Some of these are just to keep the leader in connection with the real world.

            A third example of paying the rent for church pastors is Sunday morning worship.  It is likely the one place where the leader is in contact with the congregation in a regular and meaningful pattern of collaboration.  Creating inspirational and significant moments of worship is important to the health and vitality of the ministry.  While this includes a well-prepared and well-delivered sermon, it also includes preparing moments for prayer and praise.  Does the service flow?  Do each of the components contribute the theme of the day?  Does the pace of the service drain energy or arouse energy?  Does the visual appearance of the worship setting encourage an encounter with God?

            One of the glassworkers was melting the ends of two glass rods together in a flame from a burner.  He was watching a sports program on TV and regularly pressing his cell phone as though he was checking his email.  Then he yawned.

            Even ministry work can require tedious and tiresome tasks, but it is faithfulness to paying the rent that makes those inspirational encounters possible.  What regular tasks in your ministry setting are like paying the rent?  Which ones do you enjoy?  Which ones wear you out?  Which ones are strategic to the vision and mission?

Tom Hanover is Editor of MIM ezine.  He has served in a variety of pastoral leadership roles for more than 35 years, including seven as a District Superintendent supervising the ministries of more than 100 pastors and churches in southern Ohio.  He is currently lead pastor of a multistaff, multisite ministry in Dayton, Ohio.  He has a BA (cum laude) from Taylor University, and the MDIV and DMIN degrees from United Theological Seminary in Dayton.  You can contact Tom at hanover@dbmim.net.

 

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Healing the Split Between Spirit and Work in Your Church’s Life

by Celia A. Hahn, D.D. and Richard Chiola

 

               For the last two decades, sociologists of religion have been studying congregations to discover how they can more effectively attract members and operate their programs.  Celia Allison Hahn and Father Richard Chiola wanted something more out of parish research.  They wanted to uncover the unique spirit that is incarnate in a parish’s life and ministries, the parish’s spiritual center.  Celia is the Alban Institute’s former editor-in-chief as well as the director of Alban’s Congregational Spirituality Project.   Her most recent book is Uncovering Your Church’s Hidden Spirit (2001).

               Over a three year period Hahn conducted the Alban Institute Congregational Spirituality research project with five varied Episcopal parishes in the Washington, DC area to discover their stories of congregational spirituality.  She chose an ecumenical group of advisors, including a Roman Catholic priest, Richard Chiola, who was teaching pastoral theology at Yale Divinity School.  He pointed out that there are two ways of developing parish life. One is pragmatic and functionalist.  Bring people together and aim them at specific organizational needs.  The other way is Eucharistic and transformational, helping people become one loaf sent out as pieces in their own diverse settings where they are equipped to be leaven in the dough of the world.  This later way does not concentrate solely on parochial needs.  Rather, it nurtures people to be where they need to be as Christians in the midst of the world by making the parish, as a Eucharistic community, the source and summit of their spiritual life. 

               Celia Hahn was inspired by a woman sitting next to her at church who said with feeling, "I don't want just to believe in God; I want to know God."  Four out of five churchgoers who answered one typical survey said that what they most needed from their church was food for their spiritual hunger.  But many parishes and clergy are not sure how "parish" and "spirituality" fit together.  Most spiritual guidance focuses on individuals, while parishes concentrate on problems like resolving conflict, wrestling with budgets, and planning.  Many clergy learned little in seminary about how to support their parish in spiritual formation beyond educational programs or sacraments.  What isn’t so clear is “How can we do spiritual formation as a parish community?” 

            Chuck Olsen (1995, Transforming Church Boards) found, that although Presbyterians volunteered for church boards hoping to enhance their spiritual growth, they experienced disappointment at the secular business mentality. Pastors know that the Mary/Martha split between a personal spiritual search and the parish’s daily business has existed for centuries, not only for parishioners but for clergy as well. It is becoming clear, however, that unless parishes can make room in their busyness to rediscover their spiritual center, they will keep losing energy and relevance in our own time.  Many attempts have been made to meet this need.  What needs to happen now is for the parish as a whole system to rediscover its hidden spirit.

 

               In her research project's first year, Hahn interviewed laity and clergy to learn what enhances a parish’s spiritual life. In the second year, she brought the learnings back to each parish, naming the gifts discovered through the interviews. Her ultimate goal was to help each parish discern, "What are we called to be and do now?"  She functioned as a companion and resource, something of a congregational spiritual guide, in constant communication with the members of her advisory board.  In the third year, Hahn wrote a book to share the learnings with all denominations.  The book is Uncovering Your Church’s Hidden Spirit.

               Among the many useful findings in the book are: l) that parishes as whole systems "are strong at the broken places," 2) diversity has always been and remains the corporate spiritual gift of parish life and the means by which the Holy Spirit creates unity, and 3) a parish is an Incarnational model of social transformation--a way of not just doing but of being social change.  These are just some of the ways in which the hidden spirit of a parish can begin to reveal itself.  Here are some of the ways the Congregational Spirituality Project found that this can happen.

            Ponder the meaning of your church’s history (including the hard times) for hints about where God is leading you, where your story meets The Story, the Gospel.  Listen especially through your liturgy for patterns that match your parish’s life cycles.  Call upon your church’s lay leaders to conduct in-depth interviews of members, guided by questions designed to uncover ways in which parishioners have grown spiritually by involvement in parish life.  Learn to reflect prayerfully on your congregation’s spirit by using scripture to discern parallel themes.  Discern your congregation’s unique gifts and needs, possibly as in Revelation by describing the “angel” of your church.  Consider which ministries are rooted in your parish’s unique way of being a parish?  But no less importantly, how do you nurture people to be where they need to be in the midst of the world?     

            Uncovering Your Church’s Hidden Spirit can provide helpful guidance as you discover how to carry out those discernment tasks, but you may also want to consider engaging a parish spiritual guide or companion to walk with you as you get to know God more truly by discovering your parish’s unique spirit.

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Celia Allison Hahn is also author of Growing in Authority, Relinquishing Control (published by The Alban Institute: 1-800-486-1318, ext. 2.), and may be contacted at cahahn@erols.com.  Father Richard Chiola, Ph.D., may be contacted at St. Augustine Church, Ashland, IL.

  

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Using Social Media for Pastors:  Managing Privacy

by Jonathan Hanover

            Social media use is becoming more and more common in our churches.  And, according to a recent USA Today article, its use is just as common in smaller churches as in larger ones.  The vast field of social media can create connections, encourage communication, and produce opportunities for a church to interact with people it typically would not usually be able to reach.  However, any pastor who wants to use this method of outreach has to consider a very serious question before starting:  how will he/she balance the personal appeal of social media versus the public position of a pastor?

            Allow me to share a couple examples I have seen of the erroneous application of social media by pastors.  After a recent election, a pastor I knew shared frustration with voters over the results.  Another pastor, who disagreed with his political views asked, “Is this how we are to represent God to our congregation?” 

Allow me to share another.  A spouse of a pastor recently wrote on Facebook that her husband had spoken to his district superintendent and they expected to move to a new church this summer.  The repercussions could be significant if members of the current congregation saw that announcement before it was formalized.

Although tools like Facebook and Twitter allow greater opportunities for us to  share personal events in our lives, we have to consider our role as pastors and be aware of how our thoughts, comments, and insights affect the churches we serve.  This has always been true, but it becomes especially important in the world of social media, where what is written can never truly be deleted.

            So how do you reach out to members of your current congregation through the social media?  How do you share with members when you move to another church?  Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to establish a “middle ground” by giving yourself room for privacy outside of your role as pastor while connecting to members of your congregation through the social media.  You need to choose one or the other. You have either a social media presence separate from your life as a pastor, or you have an open social media presence. This can be a difficult choice.

Here are three suggestions for managing your personal and professional social media activity.  These suggestions focus on the two most popular sites:  Facebook and Twitter; although the same principles apply to other sites as well.

1.)   Keep your social media accounts for personal use only.  On Facebook, you can manage your privacy settings to allow only your “friends” to see anything you post or do.  This can be done by clicking the “Account” tab in the top right corner of your Facebook page, then clicking the “Privacy Settings” option.  On Twitter, you can click on your screen name in the top right corner, and click on the “Settings” option.  This will take you to your settings page, and on the bottom of the page is an option to “Protect My Tweets.”  This will allow only people you approve to see your tweets.  Once your privacy settings are set, you can simply deny the requests of anyone in your congregation or community to “friend” or “follow” you on Facebook or Twitter.

            The advantage of this option is it gives you complete personal freedom in social media.  You can say or do whatever you would like.  On the other hand, there may be people in your congregation who are offended if their requests to “friend” or “follow” you are denied.  They may not understand the need to separate your personal and professional life.

2.)  Manage your friends into groups (this is available only on Facebook. Twitter does not allow this option).  Once you accept a “friend” request from someone in your congregation, you can place this person into a special group, and then manage the privacy settings only for that group.  From your Facebook page, click on the “Account” tab in the top right corner, then click on the “Edit Friends” option.  This will take you to a new page, where you can click “Create a List” to create a new group.  You can manage the privacy settings specifically for this group, so that your “normal” friends can see what you post, but your “congregation” will not be able to see those posts.  This may be a good option if you change churches, and want a way to politely separate members of a previous congregation.

            This option also allows for personal freedom, but may also offend some people if discovered.  If you updated your Facebook status every two or three days, and then moved to a new church, and a member of your congregation did not see your post again for months, it might reveal what you are doing.

3.)  Do not separate between personal and professional when you use social media.  You can still use Facebook or Twitter to wish someone a happy birthday, or ask how their vacation was without crossing any boundary that would violate your role as pastor.  However, it does limit how much you can comment on politics or complain about your current church.  This might be the best option.  A former ethics officer for a Fortune 500 company once told me, “Never say anything you wouldn’t want to be the headline in tomorrow’s newspaper.”  This still allows you to make personal connections to people through social media, but does not put you in a situation where you have to actively manage who sees what.  Feel free to share personal information, but nothing you would not share with someone who stopped you on the street and asked how you were.

            These are just a few suggestions on how to handle the personal versus professional conflict that social media can intensify.  If you want to see how some other pastors handle this, check out Mark Driscoll (@PastorMark on Twitter), Rob Bell (@realrobbell), or Rick Warren (@RickWarren).  All three manage both Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Jonathan Hanover is a licensed pastor and seminary student in northwestern Ohio.  Jonathan spent several years in the financial services industry before becoming a pastor.  You may e-mail him at jonathanhanover@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter @jonathanhanover, but please put “MIM” in the request.  Jonathan may not deny requests from congregants, but still denies requests from people selling cheap iPads.

  

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True North, by Bill George with Peter Sims, (2007, Jossey-Bass, 219 pages, ISBN – 13: 978-0-7879-8751-0)

Reviewed by Tom Hanover

 

            In the years before satellites and GPS units, travelers would navigate by the North Star.  They calculated their position based on a fixed point in the sky while standing on a spinning planet.

            Bill George uses that imagery to unpack the qualities of authentic leadership; leadership that grows out of the internal direction and purpose of an individual.  This leadership is effective today because it is integrated from within an individual’s own experience of life.  It is not someone trying to imitate someone else or counterfeit traits and habits one does not own. 

            Bill George was chief executive of Medtronic, the world’s leading medical technology company, until 2001.  He is currently professor of management practice at Harvard Business School.  He also authored Authentic Leadership:  Rediscovering the Secrets of Creating Lasting Value (Jossey-Bass, 2003).  At times, he suggests True North is a sequel to Authentic Leadership.

            Peter Sims helped found the London office of Summit Partners, a leading global investment firm, and established “Leadership Perspectives,” a course at Stanford Graduate School of Business. 

            George and Sims interviewed 125 leaders in many arenas to discern the connection between effective leadership and personal character.  Their subjects ranged in age from 23 to 93.  They have distinguished themselves in corporate life, as entrepreneurs, as social innovators, or in political life.  The book is a result of these interviews.  Comments and experiences of these many leaders are sprinkled throughout the book in the observations of George and Sims.

            At the end of each part is a reference to an appendix in the back of the book for further exercises.  These could be used individually or as part of a group study.

            This connects with ministry leaders who are attentive to matters of character and calling.  One’s True North is a compass setting for purpose and direction in one’s life.  Identifying those personal experiences that form our deepest and most personal convictions signals the opportunities for God to use individuals in effective leadership in the future. 

            This is a book well worth reading for the ministry leader who wants to further develop the authenticity and character of his or her own leadership.  While George and Sims are not overtly Christian, their concepts beg adapting to a Christian’s understanding of character and calling.

    

 

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Your Church in Rhythm

by Bruce Miller (2011, Zondervan, Jossey-Bass, 178 pages, ISBN #978-0-470-59887-0)

Reviewed by Teena M. Stewart

            Is it any wonder that ministry leaders often feel stretched to the max? Bruce Miller, the founding pastor as well as the senior pastor of Christ Fellowship Church near Dallas, Texas, believes it is because pastors and church leaders make the mistake of trying to strike a balance in their ministries and churches.      Balance is based on recognition of a frozen moment in time. Since time is not static but continually changing, it is impossible to achieve for long periods of time.

            Often church leaders may force certain goals or changes based on “how to” books they have read that tell how to grow successful churches. Or they may see what other churches are doing successfully and attempt to apply them to their own ministries when their churches may not be at the same developmental stage as others. And sometimes leaders don’t understand why programs fail and why they themselves become disheartened, even burned out. They are overlooking a crucial element and would do well to acknowledge the concept of rhythm in their churches which is explained in Miller’s book.

            In his previous book, Your Life in Rhythm, he applies the same basic principles to establishing rhythm in one’s life as he does in church ministry in Your Church in Rhythm. He suggests that rhythm is ever-present, but is often ignored resulting in wasted time and resources, and creating unnatural and unhealthy goals and circumstances for churches.

            What needs further attention is the natural rhythm of life and cycles that churches go through. Time is referred to in two forms, Chronos (calendar time or a span of time) and Kairos (which has more to do with decisive moments).

Drawing from this theory of church life-cycles, Miller applies these two concepts of time to the stage of development in ministry for a church. He presents a good argument that demonstrates to the reader how to make wise decisions and make the most of the time frame in which a church exists.  For instance, he indicates that if a church is a recent plant, they will be expected to operate much differently than another church that is further along in the organizational stage. Pastors will wear multiple hats when they are just starting out in ministry; therefore, they should not have unrealistic expectations by comparing the programs they offer to those of more established churches. They should also take time to cherish the smaller, more intimate way of doing ministry because it is just a matter of time before their church will grow out of that particular phase.

            Or perhaps the church has reached the prime of ministry. They need to be aware that they must prepare for the maturity stage where growth will level off. However, they must avoid practices that will move the church back to the growth stage, otherwise decline and eventual death is inevitable. 

            Each chapter in the book provides case studies of the cycles in which churches and leaders find themselves and suggestions as to the best approach for these leaders to deal with their circumstances. There are also exercises at the end of the chapters as well as a list of discussion questions that can be found at the end of the book.

            No matter where your church is in the church life-cycle, Miller’s book can provide insight for improving how you are planning and coping with your present ministry.

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Teena Stewart is a published author and artist. She and her husband, Jeff, operate Java Journey a Christian coffee shop ministry (http://www.javajourney.org.)  Her most recent book is Successful Small Groups from Concept to Practice.  For more info about Teena visit  http://www.teenastewart.com. You are welcome to email her with questions or comments at smartwords@embarqmail.