I'm about to explain a rather huge concept. It's not all inclusive so things could be different for you in addition to the reality that not all the elements I cover will include your own. It's just a thought provoker so take what you want and leave the rest.
Many churches today have moved to a corporate mindset in order to move forward and expand. They take their cues from business leadership and corporate management. Some parts of the corporate world share commonality with leadership in the Bible and in other ways they are polar opposite. Whether today's modern corporate learning are correctly positioned by your church to help it move forward or conveniently misused in your environment to force the vision is for you to discern and pray about.
When you are in a fast growing corporately morphing church environment there are times when it can be overwhelming and hard to digest. Here are a few unhealthy things that happen individually.
1. Fear
2. Paranoia
3. Confusion
4. Suspicion
5. Abuse
In a nutshell, change is hard. When change is fast and hard people get afraid, feel insecure, worried, and hurt. I have a filter to help peel away layers that are birthed out of my experience and observation. Below is a chart.
In this chart the church itself is the cylinder. The upside funnel (red) is corporate church leadership. The chart starts at the bottom.
Phase 1 Courtship
Leadership encompasses the entire base and spreads its influence through the entire organization. In this phase the leader(s) wants to win as many people over to their preffered end. The end being the vision of the church at its highest efficiency. All church leaders have the same marching orders in the Great Commandment & Great Commission after those orders it is a matter of style, preference, and methodology as to how that order will be executed. In courtship the leader is trying to woo the players into them as a person. Because it is through personality that people create unity and alignment. The corporate church leader wants people to identify themselves with them as a leader. When change begins in the next phase personality gives the leader credits to say, "you've seen me, you know me, now believe me and agree with me." They are completely aware that if they throw everything out there they will be carted off so in order to lay the groundwork it is through their charisma and connections. Those are the chips they will cash in on when they know they need to move forward. Here are some trademarks symptoms of a leader in the courtship phase.
1. Everyone has access to the leader and the leader is proactive in pursuing relationships.
2. Movements and change are very subtle and have low impact.
3. Affirmation is liberally spread across the church as the leader sees those who are engaging their preferred mode of execution.
4. The leader has made no sweeping shifts or made any outlandish guarantees.
5. Everyone is happy, hungry, and buying in to the leaders heart and persona.
What you don't know that can hurt you.
1. Make no mistake as soon as the leader knows where the church needs to be their eyes and mind sift through the aisles and chairs as to who is on the wrong boat, in the wrong seat, or who needs to be elevated or removed.
2. They are thinking of programs and ministries that will need to be overhauled or removed.
3. They are building a following among the key leaders who will help them begin the change process.
What should you do in this phase?
1. Listen. Listen to what is not being said more than what is being said. Take inventory of what the leader is NOT talking about or NOT praising. I promise you this is greater insight into the future and values of that church.
2. Observe. What subtle change have you seen? That is a micro of the macro.
3. Ask. Place yourself before them and ask open ended questions. Why did you get into ministry? What churches out there have your attention? What hurts a church? Repeat # 1 as the leader begins to talk.
4. Make a list of things you value or would be willing to die for. Place that list in a safe place. Make little or no changes and read this list every week. You may or may not need it later.
This phase lasts less than two years. When the next phase comes around it will be very important to your survival that you worked through steps 1-4.
Later on this week we will talk about the Testing Phase.
Soul Revolution: How Imperfect People Become All God Intended
Many churches today have moved to a corporate mindset in order to move forward and expand. They take their cues from business leadership and corporate management. Some parts of the corporate world share commonality with leadership in the Bible and in other ways they are polar opposite. Whether today's modern corporate learning are correctly positioned by your church to help it move forward or conveniently misused in your environment to force the vision is for you to discern and pray about.
When you are in a fast growing corporately morphing church environment there are times when it can be overwhelming and hard to digest. Here are a few unhealthy things that happen individually.
1. Fear
2. Paranoia
3. Confusion
4. Suspicion
5. Abuse
In a nutshell, change is hard. When change is fast and hard people get afraid, feel insecure, worried, and hurt. I have a filter to help peel away layers that are birthed out of my experience and observation. Below is a chart.
In this chart the church itself is the cylinder. The upside funnel (red) is corporate church leadership. The chart starts at the bottom.
Phase 1 Courtship
Leadership encompasses the entire base and spreads its influence through the entire organization. In this phase the leader(s) wants to win as many people over to their preffered end. The end being the vision of the church at its highest efficiency. All church leaders have the same marching orders in the Great Commandment & Great Commission after those orders it is a matter of style, preference, and methodology as to how that order will be executed. In courtship the leader is trying to woo the players into them as a person. Because it is through personality that people create unity and alignment. The corporate church leader wants people to identify themselves with them as a leader. When change begins in the next phase personality gives the leader credits to say, "you've seen me, you know me, now believe me and agree with me." They are completely aware that if they throw everything out there they will be carted off so in order to lay the groundwork it is through their charisma and connections. Those are the chips they will cash in on when they know they need to move forward. Here are some trademarks symptoms of a leader in the courtship phase.
1. Everyone has access to the leader and the leader is proactive in pursuing relationships.
2. Movements and change are very subtle and have low impact.
3. Affirmation is liberally spread across the church as the leader sees those who are engaging their preferred mode of execution.
4. The leader has made no sweeping shifts or made any outlandish guarantees.
5. Everyone is happy, hungry, and buying in to the leaders heart and persona.
What you don't know that can hurt you.
1. Make no mistake as soon as the leader knows where the church needs to be their eyes and mind sift through the aisles and chairs as to who is on the wrong boat, in the wrong seat, or who needs to be elevated or removed.
2. They are thinking of programs and ministries that will need to be overhauled or removed.
3. They are building a following among the key leaders who will help them begin the change process.
What should you do in this phase?
1. Listen. Listen to what is not being said more than what is being said. Take inventory of what the leader is NOT talking about or NOT praising. I promise you this is greater insight into the future and values of that church.
2. Observe. What subtle change have you seen? That is a micro of the macro.
3. Ask. Place yourself before them and ask open ended questions. Why did you get into ministry? What churches out there have your attention? What hurts a church? Repeat # 1 as the leader begins to talk.
4. Make a list of things you value or would be willing to die for. Place that list in a safe place. Make little or no changes and read this list every week. You may or may not need it later.
This phase lasts less than two years. When the next phase comes around it will be very important to your survival that you worked through steps 1-4.
Later on this week we will talk about the Testing Phase.
Soul Revolution: How Imperfect People Become All God Intended
1 comments:
Wow Chad, you know the game. Very impressed. It is funny because I was once vice president of my chapter of a union I belonged to in California and I saw the courting stage first hand.
"They are building a following among the key leaders who will help them begin the change process."
I wrote a post on my blog entitled "Church Cancer: Person Worship" where I addressed this "following".
Very interesting.
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