Middle Class Attitude Down

"Americans feel stuck in their tracks. A majority of survey respondents say that in the past five years, they either haven't moved forward in life (25%) or have fallen backward (31%). This is the most downbeat assessment of personal progress in nearly a half century of polling by the Pew Research Center and the Gallop organization." -- Report: Inside the Middle Class

Distressed times make for distressed people. As the U.S. economy falters, look for the sentiment of the population in general to move to guarded self-concern. In this state of despair, the church will have a window of ministry opportunity to provide financial counseling, marriage mentoring and career guidance.

Special attention should be paid to congregational disconnect as concerns drive parishioners inward and less willing to be a part of community. Those churches who set up support groups and confidential lines of communication for community use will capture this down time as a spiritual time of growth and connectivity in their community.

To better understand the middle class views of your congregation, this 169 page free report is an excellent composite of their current attitudes.

Scenario Planning Engages Lay Leadership

Scenario planning can be an effective tool for churches to develop ministry opportunities and infrastructures. A future based scenario plan involves incorporating future trend data and projections into a "what if" planning process. A group is assembled comprised of church leadership who plan as if the event or condition is the current state. For example, a disaster scenario much like the hurricane that devastated New Orleans, can be used to organize emergency response teams as well as developing a process for the collection of emergency resources.

The scenario planning process is a beneficial tool to teach church leaders to engage and plan cooperatively. A church may also choose to engage other churches or organization in their planning which is very helpful in broadening the ministry network for your community. By engaging in the planning process, a church will often discover other more immediate opportunities for them to minister to the community. Whether the condition actualizes or not, the process is the beneficial outcome of the approach. Moving lay leaders and pastoral staff toward more effective planning and execution is a important benefit of this fun exercise.

If you would like to develop a scenario planning effort at your church, the following steps will help you get started.

1. Determine a scenario around which you will plan. Appoint an individual or small group to write a scenario for the group to consider. Use a computer search engine to accumulate data from which they will write a 2 to 3 page scenario description that includes the cause and effect of the scenario. Do not include a solution or response to the scenario. Simply describe what happened in the present tense and the nature of the impact to your community or your targeted community. If you need suggestions search for "future trends" and select a scenario such as world wide flu epidemic, severe shortage of water, or large elderly population without healthcare insurance.

2. Distribute the scenario to your scenario planning team giving them a couple of weeks to study and contemplate possible solutions.

3. Come together as a team to brainstorm solutions. Get everything on the table. Don't allow the group to get too far into detailed solutions until you have discussed each broader solution.

4. Decide upon 3 possible solutions and divide your group into teams to further develop the details of the 3 possible solutions. Don't spend more than a couple of hours on this effort.

5. Bring the groups back together and have the 3 groups present their initial thoughts. As a group, then decide which among the 3 proposed solutions (or a hybrid of the 3) will be the selected solution. As an entire planning group, further develop the chosen solution to include specific actions, resources needed and persons accountable for the effort.

After developing the above plan, step back (perhaps at a later meeting) to see what lessons can be learned from the process and whether there are some immediate ministry opportunities that the group can pursue. Generally, lay leaders will become more involved in the ministry planning process and will often discover a passion they have for a ministry through the process.

By using a scenario planning methodology, pastors and lay leaders become more familiar with their community, their talents and their calling.

If you would like to schedule a Convergence led scenario planning event at your church, contact Casey Cease for details.

Expanded Prison Ministry Opportunities

In their newly published report Life After Lockup, the Urban Institute provides an exhaustive look at the prison population in city and county jails. An opportunity for church based prison ministries exists in expanding their focus from State or Federal Penitentiaries to local jails. Local inmates experience a very high return to criminal behavior, have more immediate family needs and lack a support mechanism upon release to help them overcome the offending issues.

Local churches are well suited to provide much needed support to the inmate as well as their family during these relatively brief times of incarceration. A more expanded localized jail ministry is an excellent opportunity for church laity to organize around and serve this need that impacts the community at large.

Church Size and Pastor Availability

“Among Protestant churches, 27 percent of the clergy are part-time. A church typically needs two hundred members to afford a full-time minister, and many obviously fall short. The remarkable variation in sizes of churches, in fact, bedevils modern ministry as much as anything.

In America today, just 10 percent of clergy serve “large” churches with 350 members or more, and the result is that one tenth of all clergy preach to one half of all churchgoers. The lopsided corollary is just as remarkable. Half of all clergy do the preaching to just 11 percent of churchgoers. These churchgoers belong to congregations with fewer than one hundred members.” From the book Who Shall Lead Them? By Larry A. Witham

As the economies of church existence continue to grow increasingly difficult with rising mortgage costs and the potential for dwindling giving as the boomers age, look for many creative approaches to “filling the pulpit” in years to come.

Southern Baptist report that over 40% of their churches already employ “bi-vocational” ministers; those ministers who primarily preach on Sundays with reduced pastoral responsibilities during the week while holding another full-time job. Bi-vocational positions will become more attractive to pastors who have been unable to balance their “calling” with lower salaries that did not provide adequate income to support their family. Look also for a newly called supply of pastor's for bi-vocational positions to come from retired or semi-retired laity desiring a more dedicated impact in ministry.

In some regards, look for bi-vocational churches to experience an increase in ministry effectiveness as church members are required to participate more directly in the day-to-day affairs of the church. The experience felt by larger churches of membership disconnect and raised expectations of the full-time or "fully funded" pastoral team to fulfill daily ministry can be minimized under a bi-vocational format.

It is likely, that smaller churches will begin to join forces integrating multiple congregations under one church to increase the affordability of hiring a full-time staff. Look for bible churches and denominations of similar belief to be the first to integrate.

An entrepreneur approach to church will continue to increase as those called to full-time service organize and control their own church start-up with a closely held board and governing documents that prevent their termination for control issues. Their “success” in terms of church growth will fuel the capacity to remain “employed” at above market salary rates. Look also for an extension of the traditional church model to include external non-profit efforts centered at a church that have an international ministry emphasis.

Bi-vocational training programs, many web-based, will likely spring up providing “bi-vo” pastors resources, training and access to a network of those in similar circumstances.

Courtesy of Trend Ping

Vocabulary is Important

“Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit -- you decide.” Proverbs 18:21, The Message

Vocabulary is important. However, we are so surrounded with words that we minimize their impact on our own well-being and that of others.

Tribal Leadership authors Logan, King and Fischer-Wright use one’s language to place individuals and their collective organization in various stages of development. They point to “a specific fingerprint made up of language that people use” to understand the person’s outlook on life including their work. Their premise is that when we change our vocabulary, we change our beliefs which in turn reinforces our new perspective and communication style.

Words have long been known to build up or tear down a child’s self-esteem and life-perspective. That impact appears to have a similar affect on adults. I have been surprised through my 25 years of leadership to find past employees who still remember a compliment I gave or kept a thank you note I sent many years ago. We hold to the admiration given to us by our leaders. That admiration reinforces a leader’s ability to “endear” those who follow to his or her leadership; which I believe is the strongest organizational connection to which a leader can aspire.

Words, of course, cannot be mere hollow scripts. Compliments and encouragement must be heart felt. Inquiries into a team member’s well-being must be genuine. Transparency on the part of the leader must be real. Words are a reflection of our inner-beliefs. While they can be used to manipulate on occasion, over time, they will always bear out deeper convictions.

The Proverbs teach at length about the incredible power of words. Words are the means by which others will interpret our values, follow our encouraging vision, and learn of unknown capabilities. We are cautioned to guard our words. We are told that our words convey wisdom and cultivate honesty. They are not merely words -- they are elements of teaching, healing and direction. They are to be used wisely.

If you find some under your leadership who lack confidence, consider what your words have done to put them in that diminished state. Have you thoughtlessly dismissed their thoughts with a quick dismissal of their ideas and a statement of your own thoughts?

Consider how your words have stripped them of motivation. Have you removed their accountability and responsibility by speaking to them as children?

If you find they are self-focused at the expense of the team, have your words conveyed your efforts are all about me, my or I? Our team will mimic our words and therefore adopt our beliefs.
Vocabulary is important. Proverbs 16:10 instructs that “A good leader motivates, doesn’t mislead, doesn’t exploit.” Your words will determine your standing against that promise.

Courtesy of RodBrace.com

Mobile Access Strategy

According to a Pew Internet and American Life Project report "62% of all Americans are part of a wireless, mobile population that participates in digital activities away from home and work." With Hispanics leading this usage trend, joined by teenagers and Afro-Americans, the move toward anywhere connectivity is quickly becoming an important point of connection.
As commercial applications of this connectivity are further deployed (following Japanese commercial applications), the consumerism channels that are developed for hand-held access will open up additional avenues for the American church to access a population in search of information and inspiration.

Look for tech oriented church strategies to reformat web sites to include formats suitable for mobile access as well as daily content for education and inspiration. As PDAs and phones develop more user friendly screens, watch for sermon text to be download-able prior to and after the sermon to be followed during the delivery or contemplated after-wards. Links to supporting material and scripture links should be provided.

Connecting church memberships digitally will be more common as churches adopt intra-net technology to provide real time texting and contact information among members via phone or PDA. This technology will allow contact groups to be formed and dialog to continue 24/7 via these intra-net contact folders increasing the connectivity of cell groups within the church and providing a higher level of Monday through Friday interaction.

Weekday interactions between pastoral staff and members will also be greatly enhanced as hand-held devices become the mainstay of communication. Pastors should adopt texting methodologies now to begin use of this real time digital connection with their membership.

Courtesy of Trend Ping

Non-negotiable Statements

We all have those momentary regrets when we wish we hadn’t committed to something. You know the feeling, as your energy sinks sitting there over dinner with a new grad from the selling you anything program. You knew it was coming when the invitation came your way and you were a little surprised that your brain agreed to the proposal without question even though it was the same night as your child’s soccer game.

The trick to staying out of these situations is being very disciplined about your list of non-negotiables. Having a list, which is the first step, allows you to depend on predetermined life rules that you follow without having to think or even feel bad about evoking the rule. In this example your list would include: (1) I will attend all of my child’s soccer games and (2) I believe that pyramid sales arrangements are detrimental to relationships so I won’t participate in them or purchase from them. (Don’t mean to offend anyone, this is just one of mine.)

Your list should be no more than 10 or so really important pre-made decision points that you’ve given great thought to before you place them on the list making it far easier to make a quick decision when the occasion arises. It’s also instructive, when time permits, to tell someone who has asked you to violate your list, what a non-negotiable list is and how you use it to better define and manage your life.

Non-negotiable will vary wildly from person to person but they all follow certain parameters. Items on the list should be those circumstances that are more subtle than expected moral guides. For example a non-negotiable list would not include prohibition from dating others when you are married or destroying your neighbors garden. These are expected norms and you really shouldn’t have to think about whether they are right or wrong. Your non-negotiable list will include pre-made decisions that you have likely not followed in the past to your disappointment.

Non-negotiable statements should cover decisions that you have been called on in the past to quickly respond to -- such as “I won’t agree to a private lunch with someone of the opposite sex unless I inform my spouse of the “when and where” ahead of time. (One of my own.) Your list helps set parameters to situations that could be a problem, mis-interpreted or something that you just don‘t want to do.

Non-negotiable lists can also be developed for your office or family, creating a rule set that all will know the importance of and will use as a pre-made decision that develops a cultural norm for the environment.

Let your non-negotiable list serve as your protection system to maintain your integrity, productivity and energy.

Here are a few suggested non-negotiable statements to stimulate your thinking:

I won’t schedule any meetings before 8 a.m.
I will always be home for dinner with my family.
I won’t let my car gas tank get below a quarter tank.
I won’t be on the computer while in bed.
I will only use a debit card or cash for my purchases.
I will close my office door and I am not to be disturbed on Tuesdays.
I will not give my email address to people I do not know.
I will have breakfast with my best friend every third Saturday of the month.
I will have a time of meditation from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. daily.
I will clean my closet every second Saturday of the month.
I will leave work everyday with my inbox empty.
I will not text message while driving.
I will stand up when someone enters my office to shorten the conversation.
I will return voice messages at 3 p.m. daily.
I will not meet with Bill unless he makes an appointment.

Pastor Turnover

"The increasing conflicts in congregations has ... added to the dramatic turnover in ministry. The Southern Baptists have been fairly open about this, reporting in 1988 a peak of roughly 1,400 “forced terminations” — or firings — of pastors in one year. Subsequent surveys, conducted out of pastoral concerns for clergy themselves, found the number settling to under one thousand in 2000.

It was found that fired pastors had served, on average, for just three months. The primary cause has been “control issues regarding who will run the church,” reported the LifeWay ministry of the convention. Other factors included “poor people skills of the pastor” and a “pastoral leadership style perceived as too strong.”

While some worry that a third of all Baptist clergy will experience “termination” in their ministry, an outside scholar notes wryly that “Since the relationship between pastor and congregation is said to be God’s will, there is much (deeply ambivalent) laughter about God changing his mind so often.” The LifeWay study also found that 45 percent of the recently fired pastors left Baptist ministry: “We would like to know why so many did not return.” - Who Shall Lead Them? by Larry Whitham

Turnover among pastors has become an organizational barrier to churches for growth, efficiency and effectiveness. As the trend worsens, look for pastoral outsourcing solutions to be offered by larger churches absorbing unsettled churches as a satellite.

For those churches who are "closely held" by a small group of members, default on loans will be a potential failure point as attendance declines along with charitable giving. In some cases, employment agreements and severance packages will be more common as pastors demand on the front end of the employment/calling process financial guarantees that cover moving expenses and the inconvenience of displacing a family and leaving a previous position.

Committee based churches will be faced with the desire of Generation X and younger newly emerging church leaders to operate on loosely organized teams that trade tightly held autocratic rule for more goal oriented cooperation. When faced with conflict in beliefs about leadership, look for this cohort to depart the traditional church for more informal approaches to ministry.

Ultimately, churches who have a strong desire to survive and thrive will see a new breed of lay leaders arise that are more attuned to the difference between governance and management. In this scenario, lay leader board actions will be limited to the financial and fiducial responsibilities required by State and Federal rules that are outside the areas of ministry focus, message and staffing. Pastors will create leadership teams led by key lay leaders who have a focus and responsibility for their area of ministry emphasis.

Courtesy of Trend Ping

Reconnecting After a Conflict

When the Pastor and key leaders are not aligned, the church will not be effective. There will be times in the Pastor's journey where they will say or do something to upset a key leader, director or deacon. It is important that the Pastor, as the leader of the church, reach out to that individual to repair the relationship and bring them back into the purpose of the church.

These instances more often occur when a Pastor has not established strong baseline relationships that withstand these times of conflict and quickly come back into alignment. For that reason, it is crucial that Pastors deepen key relationships. However, there are ways that a Pastor can regain their relationship with the leader and regain organizational momentum.

If given the opportunity, we know the right words to say and have the desire to reconnect, but the opportunity doesn't always exist. The 10 suggestions below may help you access the opportunity or generate other creative ways to reconnect.

1. Catch the leader doing something honorable, creative, helpful and send them a thank you card (if the disconnect is serious) or a phone call.
2. Ask them to ride along with you for support as you make a visit to a church member's home.
3. Tell them a particular book has puzzled you as to how you can apply it or whether you should apply it in your church and would they mind reading it so you all can get together to discuss.
4. Invite them (and spouse) to your home for dinner. Keep is casual. Don't force the topic of dispute.
5. Copy them on an article that you found interesting and ask them to email you their thoughts.
6. Invite them and a friend of theirs to lunch to get their input on an upcoming message series. Having their friend there helps break the ice in conversation.
7. Ask your spouse to have coffee with their spouse and see where the conversation leads.
8. Speak highly of them in front of others. It will get back to them.
9. Send an "I miss your friendship" card and express your desire to meet.
10. Pray daily for them, their ministry and that God would allow you the opportunity to reconnect.

Recruiting Others to a Shared Vision

You likely already have the skill -- and have practiced it quite often -- of recruiting others to a shared vision. If you have been married a couple of years or more you are experienced. Just use that approach with others.

Recruiting others to a shared vision is the same process you use to convince your spouse that you need, really, really need a your own space or the latest “all my friends have one” purchase. By dissecting the approach you take with your spouse, you can use the same method (minus the romance) with others you want to join with you in a shared vision.

Before we approach our spouse with our thinking, we make sure we actually do some thinking. We prepare for the obvious questions:

Why do you want to do this?
What will it accomplish?
Why is it important to you?
What will it cost?
What are other alternatives?
Why do you need to pursue it now?
What is the benefit to you and me?

Once you have thought through your possible questions and have inspiring responses in mind, you now pick the right time to approach the subject. Timing and environment are very important. You make sure that you will be uninterrupted so they have time to ask their questions and discuss at length.

After introducing the new idea, you give them time to think about it, remind them why it is important to you and convey appreciation for their consideration. (Not your style -- try it. It works.)

If you don’t hear back from them in a reasonable amount of time, you follow up to see if they have additional questions and to gauge their acceptance. When an agreement is made, you routinely keep them posted as to progress to reinforce the wisdom of their decision and a reminder of their commitment to the cause.

This process of engaging others builds trust and experience for future partnership building. As the relationship deepens in trust (just like your marriage) you will grow more comfortable in applying the same loving approach with others on your team. Give it a try!

Learning to Listen Strategically

Let’s face it -- as leaders we like to pontificate the future vision of hope and impact to those gathered at our feet with twinkling eyes of awe and determination. Don’t kid yourself. Those blessed to be in your midst, as you would see it, are really much more interested in having a productive relationship with you and the purpose of your organization. Leadership is about relationships and relationships absolutely require excellent listening skills.

Listening is an art that is rarely taught, often under-appreciated and the missing skill of many bewildered leaders. We don’t receive listening grades in school -- unless of course you were that continual interruption for your third grade teacher who would give you the opportunity to ponder your listening deficit with nose in corner. Listening is the glue that keeps marriages intact, strategies defined and feedback flowing. Listening is crucial to leadership and life.

To listen “strategically” we test ownership of our vision with our team, capture different points of view that may change our approach and strengthen our relationship with the team members. Strategic listening serves as the road map of meaningful conversations.

Strategic listening requires a balance between capturing input (preferably in writing for later processing) and asking leading questions. Push yourself during conversations to follow up on comments that come up to make sure you understand what is being said. Repeat back in your own words what you hear to ensure you are on track. Ask questions that are open ended that allow others to express their ideas and emotions. Avoid indicating their input is something you already thought about or is not helpful. Don’t interrupt. Keep eye contact. Show them you are interested by writing down what they say.

As you listen, expect to learn something. An attitude of expectation will create a more engaging conversation and demonstrate appreciation to others. Strategic listening should not be reserved for only those you believe to be on your side. By showing an attitude of expectation and interest to those who traditionally disagree with your position or have been difficult to engage in the past, you take the first step toward converting them into a partner rather than a barrier to success. The act of listening is a powerful, often avoided, element of converting contrarian views into a highly supportive relationship. Listen very closely to objectors and you will often learn how to improve your plan and address objections.

Leaders who listen endear themselves to those they lead. Strategically apply the art of listening in your organization and see your vision take root in people you once thought would never grow and benefit from those who are fully engaged.

How to Prioritize

Prioritization is a topic that is touted in thousands of books, websites and articles defining the 5 easy steps toward greater productivity; but we still fail to be a people of prioritization. The steps are “easy” but the discipline of doing it is tough to follow. We lack motivation to perform. If that’s you -- that’s the first indication that you are not focused on important work.

Rather than focus on the “how” to prioritize -- make a list, consider the time frame, secure the resources, blah, blah, blah -- it is more productive to focus on the particular “why” of the task ahead. The “why” we want to do something is far more motivational than ranking the various opportunities that face us.

Each project under consideration for the investment of our precious time should be vigorously interrogated as to its benefit to our overall productivity, well-being and purpose. It is very easy to not do something if it really isn’t important to us. Things of importance will naturally rank high on your to-do list.

We prioritize without purpose if we are not in constant view of our goals. By clearly defining in generalities what you want to accomplish at work, home or in life, you take a big step forward toward prioritizing your energy and time. If you don’t know where you are headed, prioritization efforts don’t have a standard to which to measure their importance.

Once you have a clear understanding of your purpose and desired impact, simply record the next step in getting there (GTD basics) in your capture system. If you don’t have a system to capture your next action items, start with index cards. Write a single opportunity for action on each card. Align them on the table in the order you feel best reflects your purpose. Study the order and adjust areas that don’t feel right. Once you have them in an order that makes sense for your goals, number them, pop them in your pocket -- you now have a prioritized list and a system that you can adjust to your own preference of doing work.

The bigger issue is not the order in which you do things -- it is having the discipline of not doing things that are not aligned with your purpose or mission. A mission should be motivating. Prioritization should be simple, focused on the next action item and allow intuition to evaluate your flexible steps. The discipline of following through on your list is the key to growing comfortable and dependent on your prioritization process.