http://www.unitycrc.org/ en Copyright 2008 Sun, 20 Nov 2005 10:48:32 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss New Realities that Challenge the Church to New Forms of Leadership New Reality: Faster Lifestyle Pace 1. Many of life’s activities happen at a faster pace than before. 2. Multiple commitments cause us to say “no” more often than “yes” 3. Preparation time for any of these commitments is decreased Challenge to the Church: Decrease in Volunteerism forces Staff Ministry 1. Staff has to become the cornerstone of ministry because volunteers are less available 2. The role of the staff is to “set the table” (do the preparation) for the volunteers to do ministry 3. The tasks of the staff should be to recruit, develop, and deploy the people for ministry New Reality: Relationally Starved Society 1. People are craving authentic relationships 2. don’t have time to develop relationships and still volunteer their time 3. Relationship will be chosen over task in most cases Challenge to the Church: Relationships as Catalysts for Ministry Structure 1. Ministry Teams are developed for and with relationships, as well as getting the work done 2. When seeking to develop ministries, we need to ask groups rather than individuals 3. People are more likely to volunteer because of a person they trust than because of what the task actually is New Reality: Mobile Social Environment 1. People are far more mobile today than ever before 2. Changes in economics have made new opportunities possible 3. Changes in societal values have made the church a much less desirable place for social activities Challenge to the Church: Leadership rather than Administration has to be the primary activity of the Council and leadership 1. Leadership focuses on the big picture. Administration focuses on the details. 2. The Council empowers, equips and holds the staff accountable for intended outcomes 3. Leadership looks ahead to who will fill their roles next – training, equipping, mentoring New Reality: Training Environments 1. Trained to look for a win/win solution where everyone is happy 2. Move toward team orientation 3. Problem-solving mentality leads to focus on tasks Challenge to the Church: Teams need to have specific mandates and power 1. No more committees with generalized tasks 2. Ministry teams need to be given ownership of their work: freedom, decisions, money 3. Part of the team mandate has to be developing leaders for the future New Reality: Choice of Service Options 1. Increasing multiplicity of NPO’s and para-church ministries 2. All of these utilize volunteers 3. Attraction to legacy stories Challenge to the Church: People want to leave a legacy 1. People want to add value, be of value, and be part of something bigger than themselves 2. People want a sense of being valuable 3. Need to cultivate stories of success New Reality: Touch of Technology 1. Everything is changed by it 2. Immediacy, but also distance 3. Mixed emotions toward it Challenge to the Church: Technology must be used to support ministry 1. Cannot replace ministry 2. Should not overshadow ministry 3. A means to achieving an end, not an end itself New Reality: View of Time 1. Time is now a commodity 2. A limited resource that we choose to spend 3. My “gift” of time is valuable Challenge to the Church: Time is a gift from those in the church 1. Need structures to utilize people’s time most effectively 2. Connect the time people spend to God’s blessing on ministry]]> http://www.unitycrc.org/articles/going_to_where/ http://www.unitycrc.org/articles/going_to_where/ Articles Sun, 20 Nov 2005 10:48:32 -0600