Tiger's Achilles Heel

            Sometimes what a leader sees as a strength is really a weakness that needs change.

Actually, as it turns out, Tiger Woods’ Achilles heel is not his heel, but his knee.  He has had four surgeries to repair damage done to his left knee because at impact in his 120 mile an hour swing, he violently kicks his left knee strait.  This means his left knee has to absorb the full impact of his champion swing.  What does all this have to say about congregational leadership?  It says a lot if you stay with me.

In Tiger’s own book on the golf swing, he describes this “violent kick” as a distinctive part of his way of doing things.  Of course, today sports physiologists shake their heads at what he does and the damage it has caused him, but my point is that he told us 10 years ago his rationalization for doing so.  It is a unique characteristic of his swing.  Despite three well publicized coaching changes, he still repeats this action.  As Lee Trevino said recently, “Either he will stop doing this, or his career is over.” 

Often, I have found clergy leaders, even very outstanding leaders, who have a unique habit (dare I say flaw?) that they justify as simply part of their individual style.  In other words, they view, what is really a fault, as strength.  For example, I remember a Bishop with a notoriously bad temper who explained to me that “When I am mad at one of my clergy, I sure let them know it.  It clears the air, and afterward it is over and done as far as I am concerned.”  Of course, it wasn’t over and done as far as many of the clergy persons on the receptive side of the interchange were concerned, but my main point is that this leader saw such behavior as a unique part of his own style that was beneficial in some way. 

I also remember a vestry person in my first congregation that would regularly tell me her frank opinion about most church issues.  She would fire off a broadside followed by her comment that “You may not like it, but you always know where I stand.”  I can tell you that her husband, her children, and her employees also always knew where she stood, and most had long since stopped caring. 

In the long run, such justifications are just that, justifications.  They are used to rationalize behavior that one should change, but many leaders use their strengths to justify such things as a virtuous part of their personal style.  I know that I have done this.  I am a mild introvert on the Myers-Briggs personality index.  One day a clergy friend pointed out to me (painfully, I might add) that I sometimes used this as an excuse for not more positively emotionally engaging people on Sunday mornings.  At first, I thought my friend was unkind for saying so, and that he did not really “understand me.”  After time, I came to realize that I was using my introversion as a justification for not carrying out one of my primary jobs of a leader, namely, showing people that I genuinely care about them.  I cannot say it was easy to change this behavior.  I would say that realizing that it was a problem, and that I needed to address it, rather than justify it as a part of who I was, became an important step in learning to be a more effective leader.

Let’s face it, personal insight and commitment to change is hard.  God grant it to us, and God give us also truthful friends who care enough to give us such feedback.  Recently, a colleague shared with me a remarkable book about just such issues.  It is Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership: How to become an Effective Leader by Confronting Potential Failures by Gary McIntosh and Samuel Rima.  If you are a leader committed to growing as a leader, you may want make this part of your summer reading.  

Good and Bad News for TEC

Statistically there is good news and bad news for the Episcopal Church for the first decade of the 21^st Century.  It should help us as leaders focus on the challenge for the future.

This past week, I attended the national TENS Conference (The Episcopal Network for Stewardship) at Camp Allen.  It was a very good event with keynote speakers and lots of workshops.  I came away with a number of good ideas.  If you are not familiar with TENS, visit their website www.tens.org and check out the resources.

I also attended the pre-conference for diocesan folks (figured that I qualified as Dean) and heard some very good presentations there too.  One of these was by Kirk Hadaway who is the congregational resource person for 815 who keeps up with all those statistics from our parochial reports.  I have known Kirk for many years and I have always found his work helpful.

He shared three pieces of information that specifically relate to our work as parish clergy that I want to share this with you.  The first has to do with the overall health of TEC.  For the first decade of the 21^st Century, we have lost 20% of our pledging units.  This nearly matches the 19.5% loss of attendance during this same period.  What this says is that it is not primarily the economy that is the source of recent financial woes, but the loss of people. 

The second significant number is good news.  About 30% of our congregations show a 10% growth in membership at this time.  This number is up from a few years ago.  Unfortunately, this does not off-set the nearly 50% of our congregations that are showing a 10% decline.  Kirk added, “Many in significant decline,” to underscore his point. 

Kirk, like me, is also concerned about the significant number of Pastoral Size churches that have now declined to Family Size.  Remember that Pastoral Size congregations usually have full time clergy while Family Size ones do not.  This has a number of significant implications for our community as a whole, but this is a matter for future blogs. 

The third piece of statistical information is that after 20 years of increase in pledges by households running ahead of inflation, the past four years show an alarming trend of decline in financial support by current members. 

What does this mean for our congregations?  One thing is for sure.  We will all have to work a lot harder at stewardship in the days ahead.  This is where TENS can be of tangible help to many of us. 

Here is the great quote of the week that I got from another staff member from 815.  It is from Gus Speth, scientist, environmentalist, and former head of the Yale School of forestry and environmental studies.  It was directed to faith leaders.

“I used to think the top environmental problems facing the world were global warming, environmental degradation and eco-system collapse, and that we scientists could fix those problems with enough science. But I was wrong. The real problem is not those three items, but greed, selfishness and apathy. And for that we need a spiritual and cultural transformation. And we scientists don't know how to do that. We need your help."

As we say in my occupation, “That will preach!”

The Movement Now

As a follow up to my last blog on movements, I want to share a few thoughts on what I see as the most significant movement in North American Christianity at this time. 

First, you might be surprised to find that I do not think it is the “Emergent Church.”  I do think that the Emergent Church may be a part of it, or a spin off from the main, but largely, I think the Emergent business is way too small to call it a movement.

For the past 20 years, I believe the movement has been The Discipleship Movement.  I would describe the movement this way.  As Christendom continues to crash, and the Protestant consensus that dominated American Church life until the 60’s ebbs, many church leaders have discovered the need to return to disciple making.  I would further describe this as a movement away from Church membership and toward discipleship. 

Discipleship is more than bible study or small groups, but it incorporates these tools.  This movement is the realization that one of the reasons Christianity is failing here in the U.S. is because nominal Christianity is detrimental to the spread of Christianity and nominal Christianity is the inevitable outcome of Christendom and its implied membership. 

All of this was foreshadowed by Bonheoffer’s “The Cost of Discipleship” and many of the leaders of this movement have been affected by his pivotal work.  The question behind the movement is “How can we help seekers and un-churched in our world move toward wholehearted following after Jesus as his disciples.  In addition, the Post-denominational moment in which we live, allows churches of many different traditions to contribute to discipleship formation across old divisions.

I would define a disciple as a person who has heard the good news of Jesus Christ and has accepted him as savior who has decided to follow him in a discipline way.  Of course, in Lutheran, Anglican and Roman circles, this is often described with the term “Christian Formation.” 

All of this recognizes the need for Christ’s people to go deeper and more fully live out a life of witness “by word and deed” that is counter-cultural to modern secular consumer driven society.

The key question for the local congregation is to think through how we help form people beyond mere membership questions into this deeper relationship.  I like to say that each congregation needs a clear path to discipleship. 

Not everyone who is seeking or even who is attracted to the church is ready for this deeper relationship, but we should continually invite them to it while living out the values of God’s kingdom. 

How will your congregation meet the challenge of moving beyond membership and toward discipleship?  

What is a Movement?

This was the challenging question put to me by the Reverend Clay Lein when he asked me to be the first guest preacher in a series of sermons asking his members to consider the challenge of being a “Movement not a Mega-church.”  Clay is the Rector of St. Philip’s, Frisco, one our largest and fastest growing Episcopal Churches.  In my sermon, I asked the congregation to consider the early church as The Jesus Movement and what that meant for them and means for each of us.

In addition, all this got me to thinking about various movements that have affected my life, and thinking about how these movements have both challenged the Church and brought new life at the same time.  My American Church History professor at Yale used to point out that we could not tell the history of the church in North America by denominational history, as you can in Germany, France and England, but rather you had to tell it by movements and people.  Historically, he could point to the several Great Awakenings, the Sunday School Movement, and The Social Gospel Movement for clear examples. 

Many of these Movements have had an impact on the way we do church, so I think this a fit topic for Kevin on Congregations, and I am asking you to consider this too, and to stimulate your thinking, I am listing the movements that came to my mind. 

The Oxford Movement: as an un-churched person who became a Christian in a new planted congregation of the Diocese of Dallas, I can start with this movement which has consequently changed the whole nature of The Episcopal Church.  I jokingly like to say that I had to go to seminary to discover that I was a high church person.

The Civil Rights Movement:  I was raised in Texas in a segregated school system.  As I came to adulthood in the 60s, I was profoundly touched by the struggle for equal rights. 

The Women’s Movement:  I can say the same regarding this too.  My seminary class at Berkeley/Yale was the first to have a women D.Min student.   

The Liturgical Movement:  By being in seminary during the era of the Prayer Book Studies, and the transition to a new Book of Common Prayer, my ministry has been framed by much of this movement.

The Holy Spirit or Charismatic Movement:  My “post-seminary” renewal through the Holy Spirit still marks my understanding of personal faith and ministry.  Of course, there were sub-Movements in this too such as Cursillo and Marriage Encounter, both of which were movements too.

The 12 Step and Recovery Movement:  I have been significantly touched by those in AA and my participation in Al-Anon and in Adult Children’s groups.  So have many others.

The Men’s Movement:  I’ve greatly appreciated the contribution of authors in this tradition.  The most outstanding aspect of this was Promise Keepers, but it was not the only expression.

The Small Group Movement:  No doubt, this one has deeply affected North American Christianity. 

The 2020 Movement:  Anyone who knows me won’t be surprised to see me list this one especially if you have read my distinction between the 2020 Movement and the 2020 legislation of TEC.

In my next blog, I will list what I consider to be the singular most important movement in the North American Church for the past 20 years and discuss why I think this is so. 

The Acts of Love Campaign

As I have coached Congregational leaders about stewardship, a frequent question is; what about time and talents? I always give them a few pieces of advice:

1.       Separated it from the financial appeal. This only diffuses the focus on financial stewardship. Financial support for congregations is difficult enough without diffusing the energy around three different things at one time.

2.       Never offer an area of ministry that is not available or is screened by an uncooperative gatekeeper.   When people fill out a sheet that contains the various ministries of the congregation, and they indicate an area of interest, that area needs to be available.  For example, a smaller congregation list for time and talents lay reader. However, the church already has seven lay readers, and adding more lay readers will only mean less opportunity to read. This de-motivates the leader of the lay readers from adding the person.

3.      Always follow up. This is closely related to the above.  A common complaint from many people is that they volunteered for something and no one followed up.  When a person experiences this, they are less likely to volunteer in the future.

In recent years, I've been challenged by the need to get people to sign up for areas of ministry.  Like many of you, I have put announcements in the bulletin and in the newsletter with little or no response.  Part of this can be explained by the high demand on people's volunteer time.  Recently, I gained some new insights into the difficulty of recruiting people for ministry, especially younger people.

First, I was reminded that for those under 50 years of age, membership in an organization is not a destination.  In the book titles “Bowling Alone” the sociologist author contends that many more people are participating in activities but refusing to join organizations.

Second, the younger people are, the more they want to make a difference, a hands on difference.

The combination of these two insights led me to create for the Cathedral The Acts of Love Campaign. Here are the steps I followed in creating and executing this campaign:

1.       I ask all my leaders to develop a one sentence description of what a person does in their area of ministry.  (It was amazing to see that some leaders were not able to do this.)We prioritized the list to one page. This allowed for 15 to 20 items.

2.      We balanced these between internal ministries (benefiting current members) and external ministries (reaching those outside the congregation.)

3.      We communicated the purpose of the acts of love campaign based on the theology of tithing; giving 10% of one's time and talents.

4.      To the left of each item listed, we had one box that indicated an interest in a new area of ministry, and a second box that indicated continuing in an area of ministry.

5.      I set a goal of having 25 to 50 new commitments. We created a thermometer of new commitments and continuing commitments to place in the entrance to our parish hall.

6.  We mailed the sheet to everyone in the congregation along with a reminder sheet that they could keep for their own benefit.

7.  We followed this for one month reminding people to make their commitments, providing additional sheets to those who needed them, and placing sheets at the front and side entrance to the Cathedral.

8.  We had a staff member follow-up all new commitments by communicating to the leader of that area of ministry the contact information on those who had indicated an interest.

9.  We followed up with leaders to be sure that they had contacted the person and invited them to participate.

The next time I do this campaign, I intend to incorporate short testimonies from volunteers in various areas into our Sunday liturgy. I also plan to track these commitments, particularly the new commitments, to see which areas of ministry are of most interest, and which are not. I hope by doing this to find out something about our people’s passions.

At this time we have had 114 new commitments and 116 continuing ones.  Amazing!

The Long Tenure (part 3)

I want to finish my series on the long term pastorate with some observations about how congregations often make bad decisions due to the emotional attachment to a former Rector.

1.       Most write job descriptions based on “the skills not found in our former Rector.”  For example, Fr. Smith was a beloved pastor who was very good at visiting the sick, making house calls, and giving one-on-one pastoral care.  Unfortunately, Fr. Smith was not a very good preacher or teacher.  In addition, after 22 years, most of his sermon illustrations had been used plenty of times.  So, when the search committee gets together, they focus on needing a good preacher and teacher.  What they really should have done was start by affirming the skills in the former pastor that they wanted to see continued.  In other words, they wanted a new clergy with strong pastoral abilities who could preach well.

 

2.      The longer the pastorate, the more novelty seems like a good idea.  This could include such areas as age, theological perspective, personal characteristics and (as mentioned above) skills.  Using Myers-Briggs topology, an INFP is followed by an ESTJ.  Said in regular English, a creative, introverted intuitive is followed by an organized, extroverted administrator.  This looks good in the beginning, but it is not going to wear well in the long run.  (By the way, the tendency to seek opposites seems to almost always be the case in Episcopal elections.)

3.      The grieving process for a congregation – even when people believe the former Rector has stayed too long – is three to five years.  And, some long-time members may never successfully work through their grief!  This is why I believe the Episcopal Church over-estimates interim clergy.  The truth is that no interim ever stays long enough to work through these issues.  This means that the new clergy person will need to see his or her first few years as part of the grieving process and transition before the new pastorate can really begin.

4.      Lastly, we know from research that 50% of all clergy who follow tenures of longer than 15 years are forcefully removed within five years.  The reason is, of course, all of the above.  I often say that congregations fire the new clergy person in the 3^rd to 5^th year for carrying out the job description given them in the first year. 

While these land mines are predictable, I still remain amazed at what a poor job most dioceses do in helping congregations negotiate these issues.  I am convinced, however, that with careful intervention and guidance a congregation can navigate these issues and, given the chance, will go on to establish a good, long-term relationship with the next Rector.  

The Long Tenure (Continued)

             In my last blog I introduced the strengths and weaknesses of the long tenure in a congregation.  Generally speaking, I am a strong supporter of long tenures. By a long tenure, I mean 7 to 15 years.

There is evidence that tenure longer than 15 years creates problems for the successor. However, these problems can be addressed by both clergy and congregations if leaders are aware of the issues and are proactive in addressing them.

Several years ago, I heard Lyle Schaller say, "When you follow a long time pastor, it is important to ask yourself what role is available to you as the new pastor?" The departure of the former Rector often creates a void that cannot be filled by a new person. The older the age of the former Rector, and the more that person functioned as "patriarch or matriarch," this is true.  No new clergy person can possibly take on the role that has been created by tenure and age. In all probability, this role has now passed to a lay leader in the congregation. Beware if this person is either the senior Warden of the congregation or the chair of the search committee. This might predict a possible conflict in the third our fourth year of the new Rector.

You might think that the departure of the former Rector has created an opening for the new Rector as leader. Unfortunately, the primary role of leader of the congregation has probably been filled by someone else already too. It will take two or three years following the long-term pastorate for a new Rector to establish herself as a leader. I usually find this transition takes place in the third to fourth year, if it takes place and all.

Schaller suggested that the position made vacant by the departure of the long-term Rector is simply the “shaman of the tribe,” or what we Episcopalians would point to as the priest/sacramentalist of the congregation. Especially after a long-term pastorate, a new priest must take the time to build trust and establish relationships. This means showing up to marry the people who need marrying, bury the people who need to be buried, and baptizing those who need baptism.

Unfortunately, the earned esteem, and respect, and emotional attachment that the years provided to the former Rector have little carryover to the new Rector. The new Rector must take the time necessary to make this happen. Many clergy are not willing to take the time to make this happen.

We need to remember that the former Rector has almost always been seen as a person of religious authority "older and more mature then us." For many members of the congregation, the departure of the former Rector and the arrival of the new Rector, who may be one are two generations younger, now reminds the long-term members of how old they have become. And think of this, doesn't the term Rector really mean a person of religious authority older than I am! 

When I have a friend who is considering following a long-term pastorate, I often asked them this question, "How did you feel about your grandparents?" Many people do not have good feelings or regard for their grandparents.  However, if you enjoyed them, and if you enjoyed the stories they would tell, you may be able to handle the emotional issues and memories that follow a long-term pastorate.

Again, remember the landmine, many clergy who follow tenure of 15 years and longer often become unintentional interims. In my next blog, I want to identify some of the poor decisions that Congregational leaders make in the transition from a long-term pastorate to a new Rector.