MIM Ezine, July 4, 2007

-- Book Review: "360-Degree Leadership: Preaching to Transform Congregations", by Michael J. Quicke, 2006, Baker Books,reviewed by Tom Hanover.

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Teena Stewart is currently on vacation and will return for the next issue. Her next Purpose-filled Ministry Column will be a three-part series on Attracting, Retaining and Returning those we reach via church ministry.

In this issue we introduce a new writer, Rev. Dr. David Chivington, District Superintendent Assistant for the United Methodist Church in West Ohio. "Chiv" holds degrees from Taylor University, United Theological Seminary (Dayton), and Perkins School of Theology (SMU). He and his wife, Roxie, have four children and four grandchildren.

By giving attention to small things, leaders can create changes in systems and in public perceptions. The idea, first called the “broken window” theory in a magazine article by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling (Atlantic Monthly, March 1982), was first used to bring focus on the criminal justice system. The theory was later used by New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani in his efforts to revitalize America’s largest city and to respond to the tragic attack on the World Trade Centers. Giuliani lists the theory as one of fourteen leadership skills in his book, Leadership (Miramax Books, 2002). Michael Levine offers the theory as a way to care for consumers and manage employees in his book, Broken Windows/ Broken Business: How the Smallest Remedies Reap the Biggest Rewards (Warner Books, 2006).

In short, this simple idea has a variety of implications in a number of critical areas for a leader. Let’s examine the small stuff in order to make a significant change, especially in the church.

Let me first put some flesh on the bones of the “broken window theory,” which is so named because in the beginning it was about how fixing broken windows can be used to reduce crime. The theory holds that “seemingly minor things, like broken windows in abandoned buildings leads directly to a more serious deterioration of neighborhoods. Someone who wouldn’t normally throw a rock at an intact building is less reluctant to break a second window in a building that already has one broken window. And someone emboldened by all the second broken windows may do even worse damage if he senses that no one is around to prevent lawlessness.” (Guiliani, p 47)

In practice, Mayor Giuliani used the idea and focused on small things to improve New York City. Convinced that paying attention to minor things would, in fact, bring big results, Giuliani began his reforms for the city by removing graffiti, arresting the “squeegee men” that terrorized motorists, cutting taxes on hotel rooms, buying city workers updated equipment, and permitting cars on the Staten Island ferries. None of these changes made a significant difference in and of themselves, but these changes impacted two of Giuliani’s significant goals.

The first goal was to get people to feel safer in New York. The other was to send a signal that no one was going to be left out. By caring for these small details, Giuliani sent very clear messages to the communities, staff, and city workers that he expected results and that no detail was too small for him. Giuliani’s success as a mayor in New York speaks loudly in favor of the importance of the broken window theory.

The citizens of New York perceived that these small changes made them safer and that impressed Levine about the importance of the broken windows. In business, he argues, perception can make or break one’s future. In business, broken windows tell consumers that nobody cares.

“Certainly, the perception of the average consumer is a vital part of every business, and if a retailer, service provider, or corporation is sending out signals that its approach is lackadaisical, its method is halfhearted, and its execution indifferent, the business in question could suffer severe- and in some cases, irreparable-losses.” (Levine, p xiv)

For Levine, the small things that are broken windows to a business are pealing paint, greeters or receptionists that do not smile, tech support that does not care if they solve the problem, and employees that do not care if the consumer gets what he/she wants.

“Consumers are looking for businesses that anticipate and fulfill their needs and do so in a way that makes clear the business understands the consumers’ needs or wants and is doing its best to see them satisfied.” (Levine, p. xviii)

The idea seems simple. Positive change is all about taking care of broken windows. Leadership means giving attention to the small details that reveal what is important to the organization. It also means that often the most significant changes leaders can make both in a system (like a church) and individually, are through attention to small details.

I call this part “broken stained glass windows.” If businesses have a need for good public perception, certainly the church does as well. In this respect we are in the consumer business. We compete to get people’s attendance, attention, and resources. If we do not meet people’s needs, they will move on to other things. We may even have a distinct disadvantage because the consumer has such high expectations for the body of Christ.

Most people know enough about the church to have great expectations of the church. After all, they have a right to expect what we proclaim: the good news of the Gospel.

The church is powerful and wonderful when it is working well, but it does not always work well. There is no church without flaws and problems. However, the appearance of broken stained glass windows sends a message to the world that the church does not care. The leader who is trying to attract participants obligated to not only see and fix broken stained glass windows him/herself, but is also obligated to train others in the church to become aware of the need to fix broken stained glass windows.

(Editor’s note: Check in next month when Dr. Chivington continues his analysis of “Broken Stained Glass Windows.”)

It’s now officially summertime and I know this because I’m feeling the primordial tug to lose weight. It’s not that I’m trying to be more attractive, because I’m already married and therefore don’t really have to look good anymore.

Since I initially received this revelation, I’ve embarked upon a year-long pursuit of slovenly behavior and physical neglect that has led me to the point at which I now am — that of not being able to button up my pants. Thus, I am implementing the following weight-loss regimen:

2. Doing something called “exercise,” which I’ve come to learn is a fancy way of saying “manual labor.”

Why is it that a guy will pay good money to have someone to do his yard work for him and then turn around and fork over more cash for a health club membership?

Want a workout program? Here’s an idea. Join Charles’ Fitness Club! I have advanced exercise machines that you can push around my yard while benefiting from a thorough aerobic workout. Don’t worry about buying any expensive workout togs either. Just wear some old worn-out clothes like the kind you’d wear, say, to do yard work.

How much weight am I trying to lose? About one glub. The word “glub” is derived from the Latin word “glubus” which, when translated, literally means “disgusting roll of fat.” It is that portion of your belly that you grab when you look in the mirror and say, “Sheesh, I need to lose weight.”

If you need both hands to grab it, that’s what you call two glubs. If you have your wife come in and grab the third glub, that’s what you call a strange relationship that is in need of professional counseling.

Forget about pounds and inches. What we all want to lose is our glubs. Why not just say it?

Sometimes people scoff when I tell them I’m trying to lose weight because they think I’m too skinny to have to worry about it. They believe this because I don’t advertise my glubs. Glubs should never, and I mean never, be seen. They should be locked away like The Idiot’s Guide to Nuclear Bomb Construction.

But I’ve noticed that glubs aren’t the only thing we hide from each other, are they? In this country of “I’m fine. How’re you?” we routinely mask our insecurities and weaknesses so that people will think the best of us.

The downside is if we never share the deep undercurrents of our lives, then our relationships are only ankle deep. Let’s be honest. Everyone has difficult times in their relationships and finances. Everyone struggles with sin. Why can’t we share these difficulties with each other?

In John 14:6b, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life...” It seems to me that truth does appear to be an integral part of the gospel, doesn’t it? As Christians, we aren’t called to present a facade of perfection to the world but to proclaim a God who is present and relative in a world of turmoil. In short, in order to communicate a real God, we might have to start getting real ourselves.

So how are my glub-reducing efforts going? Thus far, my attempts have been typical, by which I mean I’ve gained about five or six pounds, or one-half glub.

Which reminds me — I am now accepting applications for my fitness club. I’ll have your exercise equipment standing by.

This book is a follow up to Quicke’s previous work, 360-Degree Preaching: Hearing, Speaking, and Living the Word,(2003). Quicke is the C.W. Koller Professor of Preaching and Communication at Northern Seminary in Lombard, Illinois, and travels around the world to preach and lecture.

Quicke’s premise is that effective leadership comes through effective preaching. Preachers who only teach the Bible miss God’s calling to transform lives, transform churches, and transform communities through preaching.

Quicke’s assertion that preaching can lead to transformation grows out of his conviction that God empowers it. Preachers who lead out of God’s calling and vision will recover a prophetic voice that leads the whole church into hearing God’s word for God’s mission.

In his book, 360-Degree Preaching, Quicke forged an image of preaching that “involves preachers and hearers in a vortex of hearing, speaking, and living out God’s Word together.” (p. 51) Contrast this with a 180-degree model which focuses on one direction, which is the preacher communicating to the hearers on the other side. In a 360-degree model there is a circle of continuing interaction among the preacher, hearers, scripture, the Holy Spirit, and the Word. This vortex of interaction leads to preaching, revealing, listening, living, and more.

In this book, Quicke applies that approach to the larger context of leadership. “Rather than sleepwalking through a text, plodding through exegesis, interpretation and design, preachers should immerse themselves in Scripture’s dynamic that continuously leads people forward…. Preachers do not have to import leadership notions into the text but rather to respond to God’s leadership power already within the text.” (p. 55)

Quicke’s writing reveals that he is not only an experienced practitioner of the art of preaching, but an excellent teacher. The book is filled with diagrams and metaphors to explain his points. In addition, he networks insights from a variety of other authors. These connections enlighten and illustrate the principles of effective preaching and leadership.

I have been a pastor and preacher for 33 years and I have supervised other pastors for the last 6 years. I sometimes read books to write quick reviews, but this is one I studied with a yellow highlighter. I recommend it to any preacher who wants to lead a transformation in his or her church.

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DBMIM Ezine- July 4, 2007