Chapters 3 and 4:

Engagement and Ministry Teams

Nita was not just a knitter.  Through her prayer shawl ministry she had become more fully engaged in a significant ministry that deepened her discipleship, ministered to others, and drew her closer to the heart of God.  (page 15)

In these chapters we talked about congregational engagement and ministry teams.  Before we get into that you might want to read Nita's Stories of the Shawls and Annie's story which I promised you on page 15.  It's been an incredible ministry, and Nita knows how I've gotten choked up when I've talked about it in worship, and when I've buried people who have been draped in their prayer shawls.  These shawls have been sent to people all over the United States, and in four foreign countries.  I also have mentioned our CARS ministry, where guys from our congregation receive donated cars, fix them up, and then give them away with lots of festivities.

On page 14 I make reference to our congregation's "Twelve Steps to Starting a Ministry Team" which you can check out at our site under Ministry Resources about half way down the page. It's a pdf file, and has been very helpful for starting ministry teams and organizing our congregation for ministry, rather than control.  Spend some time with it.

More information about the Gallup Summit will become available soon.  Suffice it to say that the Summit on Congregational Engagement was the best summit/conference I've ever attended.  You can check it out at the Gallup Summit site.  George Gallup, Jr. is an evangelical Episcopalian, and is passionate about his faith and work.  I'll tell you more as this site is more fully developed by the beginning of October.

Clearly, Teaming in these chapters is critical, both in terms of sharing ministry and in terms of sharing the Gospel.  Mike Foss has three great books on this which are available on this part of the Augsburg Fortress Store.

On page 17 I mention the "disconnect" between what people say they believe and the way in which they live their lives.  Probably the best resource for making this connection is using the resources available at the Centered Life site at Luther Seminary.  Part of their mission statement is this:

 

It's not living a different life, but living life differently Your calling is your life, it's in the work you do every day—as a parent, child, neighbor, caregiver, volunteer, worker, or however you spend your time.

To know your calling is to know: Meaning and purpose Identity and belonging Freedom and hope Jack Fortin, Director of Centered Life is very interested in connecting Meaning and Purpose with what many of us are doing with Purpose Driven Church and Purpose Driven Life so there a great partnership and connectivity that's developing over the next couple years.  It's all a part of developing a comprehensive structure for mission and ministry, and it's being affirmed in a variety of contexts. On page 22 I mention our wedding policy.  We're updating our wedding booklet, but the old one is available on our website. On page 30 I talk about our structure for ministry, and some of that is described on the 12 Steps to Starting a Ministry Team which is available above.  Our bylaws are also available on the Resources portion of our website, so you can see how we differentiate between committees and ministry teams.  Look carefully at the responsibilities of the Leadership Development Committee in our bylaws, as that's a key committee for any congregation.  It is the Nominating Committee for our congregation.  Note that the senior pastor has both voice and vote on the LDC, and that if there are people that the senior pastor feels are not at the point in their personal lives of faith to serve on the Congregation Board that the senior pastor can quietly suggest that now is not the time for that person to serve.  It might be that the person is struggling with a moral failure or family issue that only the pastor knows about, and without sharing any details with the Nominating Committee, the pastor may know that this might not be the right time for that person to serve on the Board. This, I believe, is critical for moving a congregation forward.  Some congregations don't allow the pastor to have voice and vote on the Nominating Committee.  One congregation I know didn't even tell the senior pastor when the Nominating Committee meetings were, and they consistently put people on the Congregation Board whose main goal was to vote against anything the senior pastor proposed.  Needless to say, that congregation has had a continuing stream of senior pastors, and has continually experienced conflict. Congregations need to call a pastor they can trust, and then they need to trust that pastor.  Leading on purpose means moving the congregation forward in such a way that the spiritual DNA of the congregation gets aligned with God's purpose for the congregation.  That may be the topic of a chat sometime in the future on the Networking page.  Email me your thoughts on that.