Transcript The Mississippi Conference The United Methodist Church

The Alabama-West Florida
Conference
CORE TEAM RETREAT
“Thankful for your partnership in the
gospel from the first day until now”
Philippians 1:5
We are the people of
The United Methodist
Church
We believe in – making disciples
of Jesus Christ for the
transformation of the world
We live by two kinds of
holiness
Personal and Social
We follow three simple
rules
Do
no harm
Do good
Stay in love with God
We work in four area of focus
Developing Leaders
Creating places for
new people
Eliminating poverty
Improving health
globally
Acts 11:19-30; 13:1-3
 What
like?
does a New Testament Church look
The “Signs” of A Great Church:

Frontier

Generous

Evangelistic

Worshiping

Fruitful

Fasting

Disciplined-Teaching

Missionary
We have forgotten that our major work
as a church isn’t increased attendance
figures, dynamic programs, growing
budgets, paying apportionments and
expanded facilities – it’s spiritual
formation. That is what the Great
Commission is all about – making
disciples.
Let’s Assume This is What God
Desires for The Church
Then a vision begins to emerge:
Every congregation can be an obedient,
healthy, missional, evanglistic
congregation, regardless of size!
The specifics of this are listed in Acts 11-13
The Face of Ministry
Video Clip of how ministry often
looks
This New Testament Church
Becomes
 The
Target Toward Which We Move
 The Goal We Aim To Achieve
 The Picture We Hold Before Our Churches
 As Conference Leaders how do we affirm
this?
 This
is not the “Love Boat,”
This is an “Ice Breaker.”
Think of our Conference as a
“Ship” - we could not turn the ship
90 degrees without doing a lot of
damage.
As long as we are turning the ship
toward the goal, we remain faithful
and know eventually we will obtain
the goal.
We need to develop more sensitivity
to what the Spirit is leading us to be
and do.
You’ve heard this before, but
sometimes we need to be reminded
of the basics. We need to be
reminded of God’s original intent for
his church.
If we look at research and
what is working elsewhere,
we can find useful clues to
guide our conference,
district and congregational
planning.
Planning Is Important
All planning must be done under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit and instruction
of the Word.
Even when we use models of ministry
suggested by research, we must learn to
be more dependent upon God and more
open to direction from the Spirit.
The Alban Institute’s Study of
Lutheran Churches

Study looked at
churches and asked
why some were
effective and others
not effective.
 Spent One Million
Dollars on the study
 About 85% were not
considered effective

Of the 15%
considered effective
there was one
consistent theme:
 They took the Great
Commission seriously
 They had answered
the simple question:
Is Jesus Lord and
Head of the church,
or are the members?
The UnStoppable Force:
“The church became a refuge from the world
rather than a force in the world. The
cultural environment became comfortable,
and the gospel shifted from a church ‘on
mission’ to a church that supported
missions.” p.30
Death By Meeting
 What
did you like about the book?
 Did anything strike you as pertinent to their
context and to ours?
 How would you define the different types of
meetings as used in this book?
Meetings
 Good
meetings provide opportunities to
improve execution by accelerating
decision making and eliminating the need
to revisit issues again and again. p.250
 Basic challenges are not providing enough
time, attempting to tackle too many items
at one time, and failure to prepare. P.244
There are some basic needs if a
team is to work effeciently
 Providing
time and communication for
basic information, allowing everyone to
understand priorities and needed action.
 Time to allow everyone to focus on
practical issues and immediate concerns.
 Time to analyze, debate and decide all
that will address the fundamental mission.
 Time to evaluate and adjust decisions.
Death By Meeting

We can transform what is now painful and
tedious into something productive, compelling,
and even energizing. P.viii
 What






doesn’t work:
Trying to eliminate meetings
Avoiding conflict
Failure to shift from tactical to strategic issues
Thinking communication alone is sufficient
Duplicating the work of other teams
Failure to evaluate progress
Some Familiar Quotes:


“The group patiently and
dispassionately discussed
expense reports, expense
policies, and anything else
that had to do with the
administration of
expenses.” p.33
“I’m sorry, but these
meetings are amazing.
You guys spend more
time getting less done and
avoiding anything
remotely interesting.”
p.85

“We get so off track we
don’t really come to any
conclusions about what
we should be doing next.”
p.160
 “Meetings are the
activity at the center of
every organization. We
will have to fundamentally
rethink much of the way
we perceive and manage
meetings.” p.221
Here’s A Clue:
 Do
we throw every type of issue that
needs to be discussed into the same
meeting?
 Or do we recognize there are different
meetings for different purposes – each of
which serves a valid function?
What does our Conference
Expect?
 Do
we expect leaders to keep the “trains
on the track?” Meaning to keep things
running smoothly, as we have done in the
past?
 Do we expect leaders to lay new track?
To take us in directions and places that
are new, yet, fulfill the mission to make
disciples of Jesus Christ?
Remember:
 Conference
Leaders are Spiritual
Consultants and Interventionists
 The interventions come at points of
“disobedience” and are used to help
others leave their “Egypt”
 They take the word of God to the gentiles
for the first time.
 As Spiritual Leaders, we model the way
JOYFUL OBEDIENCE
McManus, “When those who hold positions
of leadership in the church of Jesus Christ
stand opposed to the very heart of God
and refuse to submit their lives to his
Word, it is the death of the life of that
church.” p.35
God does not appear nor bless us where
there is disobedience.
The Biblical Roadmap
 Jesus’
invitation to deny self and follow
Him is the same invitation to our
conference. It is the place we start.
 We are a conference who first and
foremost deny ourselves and follow Jesus.
 Genuine change and “turnaround” comes
when we learn to exchange a selfcentered world for one where Christ and
kingdom values are prioritized.
Do We Believe:
Every congregation, and conference, can be
an obedient, vital, missional, evangelistic
congregation regardless of size?
Congregational vitality is not about getting
people to show up, it is insuring that God
shows up?
As Conference Leaders, what are we doing
to make this a reality?
Question

When congregational
leaders and ministers
look at us, do they
see Spiritual Leaders
who model the way?
 Or do they see
someone who has
been given a “job”
and is “in charge?”

Do others see us as
someone whom they
can call on to
resource their
ministry?
 Or do they see us as
another group whom
they are supporting
through the
apportionments?
Your Opinion
 What
is the best thing we can do to build a
bridge between the Annual Conference
and the Local Church?
Your Opinion
 What
is the primary conversation we
should be having this quadrennium?
Your Opinion
 If
you could offer me any personal advice,
what would it be?
As Spiritual Leaders We Must Ask:

What would God have us do?

Does the work of ministry really have the
significance we attach to it?

What is more important, the political power that
openly rules the world, or the kingdom of God
that secretly consecrates it? (Richard Lischer)
The Primary Question:
 The
primary question is not whether we
will provide spiritual leadership – it is
whether it will be done well or poorly!
In Humility and Obedience, let us
strive for excellence:
“If then there is any encouragement in Christ,
any consolation from love, any sharing in the
Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my
joy complete: be of the same mind, having the
same love, being in full accord and of one mind.”
 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but
in humility regard others as better than
yourselves.”
 Let each of you look not to your own interests,
but to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2)

What is our Expectation?
 Resurrecting
Excellence, Greg Jones &
Keven Armstrong, have pointed out:
 “The clergy are not expected to be Christ,
but they are expected to exercise
leadership in a manner consistent with
Christ.” p.98
 “Ministry both calls forth and demands the
very best we can provide; it calls for
excellence in all that we are and do.” p.20
Excellence in Ministry
 Excellence
in ministry is not a yardstick
placed before us to “measure up.”
 Excellence
is an attitude. It is a matter of
the heart to willingly give ourselves to the
One we love - to do our best – always.
This Is The First Intervention
 Obedience
to God.
 This means letting go of our personal
preferences
 This means embracing a commitment to
Christ’s missional agenda
 We invite God to take control and reign
among us
Working As A Team
 Offers
the Power of Encouragement
 Offers a Place of Accountability
 Creates broader base of Influence
 Generates Creativity
 Models Christian Community
Five Dysfunctions of a TEAM
Inattention
to Results
Avoidance of
Accountability
Lack of Commitment
Fear of Conflict
Absence of Trust
As Conference Leaders We Are
 Developing
SPIRITUAL LEADERS who model
Christian community that learns and leads
together
 Creating ENVIRONMENTS that foster
transformation
 Establishing PROCESSES that produce fruit
Casting The Vision
 The
Vision will not come to the entire
conference at once.
 Vision is often perceived by one person
and then shared with others whose hearts
resonate with the vision.
 A Vision encourages the entire conference
with an urgent passion for the hurting and
the lost.
Strategy and Vision
Video Clip on how strategy and
vision are implemented
Some Characteristics of Vision
It’s like “good
preaching” – you
know it when you
hear it
 Often lacks all the
details on how it may
be accomplished; it
builds the bridge
while we walk on it
 It touches the heart


It has a sense of
God’s heart
 It offers hope
 Creates a “picture” of
the “not yet”
 Fulfills the church’s
mission to “invite,
grow and send.”
Strengthening Ministry
Paul Tillich, “To carry the “Living Water” of the
first century in twenty-first century buckets
 As a CORE TEAM we balance both the tactical
needs of our conference with the strategic needs
of our mission
 Develop a “Gift-based” Ministry through Lay
Mobilization

CORE VALUES







The Church is the Body of Christ
The Work we are doing is the work of God
We make every effort to place our best people
and resources in the places of greatest
opportunity
We do not reward mediocrity
The needs of the Local Church are a priority
Dreaming, planning and evaluating are Critical
It is better to make “no” recommendation for new
and emerging ministries than to make the
“wrong” recommendations
A Possibility
 Recreate
the CORE TEAM to lead our
conference into new and emerging
ministries that keep faith with our mission.
 To evaluate and reflect on our work
regularly for the purpose of readjusting the
“steering wheel”.
 Align our resources and make realistic
recommendations for financial assistance
to embrace our ministry
It Might Look Like This:
A
STRATEGIC Meeting, focusing only on
the direction and purpose of our ministry.
We would give priority to Vision, Mission
and Values.
 A Planning Meeting, focusing only on the
new and emerging ministries needing to
be implemented to reach our goals.
It Might Look Like This:
 An
EVALUATIVE Meeting, focusing on
reflection, evaluation and adjustments
related to existing ministries (those that
have already been launched).
 A BUDGET Meeting, focusing only on
making recommendations for financial
resources needed to be placed before our
conference to both sustain existing
ministries and launch new ones.
Conference Year Cycle
• Dreaming of
the Where and
the Why
• Reflecting on
what has been
done
• New &
Emerging
Ministries
Strategic
Tactical
Evaluative
Financial
• Recommending
budgetary
needs
Additional Words:
 Rebekah
 Rabbi
 E.
Hillael
Stanley Jones