Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Leading Through Transition

I have a certain way I like to travel to and from work which I think is the most time efficient way. In the short amount of time I have travelled this road it has become familiar and comfortable to me. Just recently the local council has started roadworks on one of the major roads I take. I know in my head that these road works will improve the road. A smoother road may mean a slightly quicker time for me to travel to and from work. I know I will enjoy the road once the roadworks are complete. So, I would say that I'm in favour of the roadworks. I see the goal and the vision and I can appreciate the change that a new, smoother road will bring. However, we haven't arrived at the change stage yet. We are in transition. I've decided I like change but I really don't enjoy transition. During this time of transition I have to drive very slowly on a very bumpy road. I have to take detours. I can't predict how long it's going to take me to get to and from work. I see the police who discipline drivers who aren't sticking to the speed limit and it makes me check my speedometer several times and I feel a little anxious at times. I don't know how long the roadworks are going to take and I feel very much out of control of the situation. Can you see why I don't like transition? You can plan change but you can't plan transition!

Leading through transition was the theme of our leaders night recently. I read Jeff Manion's book "The Land Between" and found there was much to be said for the Israelites who were wanting change, wanting to leave Egypt and reach the goal of the Promised Land but instead found themselves wandering the desert, for much longer than they anticipated, in a time of transition.

Obviously in our lives we go through many transitions. Change of work, school, family situations, places to live, you can add plenty to that list. Currently our family is going through all those transitions as well as transitioning to a new church and the church is transitioning to new leadership. I suppose the bad news is, we will always be in transition. Our lives are never static, there is always change in our lives whether something small or something major. The good news is we have a choice on how we respond to change and how we respond to transition.

Change is strategic, in that you plan for change, you can write out the steps, you can get your team on board, you have a goal. Transition is emotional, there's a lot of unknown, you aren't in control, it takes time and trust. As a response to transition we can choose to fight it and harden our hearts or we can choose to trust in transition and find moments of joy and encourage others also going through the transition. Transition is hard and grumbling and complaining is often an easy option, sometimes you need to be intentional on finding joy and to be encouraging in times of transition.

In churches we need to be working together as a team through transition. This way everyone can support and encourage each other. Transition is rough but it's also a time where we can be formed and grow if we trust God. It's where we can be shaped for the next step that God has planned for us. It's much harder to do this if we spend the transition time grumbling instead of trusting God.

I think there are some things we can do to help the time of transition move easier.
- We need to trust others/trust leadership/be trustworthy.
- We need be open and honest in our discussions - People will know if we are genuine and sincere with them.
- We need to have good communication with our team - Explain what's happening and keep people in the loop.
- Listen to people without waiting to jump in with a "Yes but...."
- Acknowledge the past - The past isn't erased because of change, it's still part of your history and there is grief with letting go of the past.
- Show respect to people who are leading the change. Also show respect to those who are finding it hard in transition.
- Let go of control - trust God - Don't put a time frame on transition.
- Have patience - patience with God, patience with others, patience with getting to the goal.
- Keep heading in the right direction - Transition can be a time where people forget the goal and start to wander. Don't lose focus in transition.
- Confront problems - Transition is emotional so leaving problems instead of dealing with them will cause more problems - Deal with problems quickly.
- Choose your reaction - you can choose to fight transition or choose to grow through transition. You have a choice.

So whatever transition you may be in at the moment I hope that you are able to see joy, be encouraged and encourage others and trust God!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Beyond Sunday

I have been in my placement for just over three months. I am aware that it's not a good idea to make too many changes in the first year, let alone the first three months. It has been interesting to hear people in the congregation say changes have happened just because my style of leadership is different to the previous Minister. Of course those changes I haven't really been aware of as I wasn't in the church when the previous Minister was there. However, I am conscious there are changes that I know have happened that I have either started or been part of, not out of deliberately changing things but as part of what I think, is a natural flow.

One of those changes is the segment in our order of service which we have named "Beyond Sunday". (Which is also the inspiration for the name of this blog :-))It started out as part of our Mission Month focus where we heard from people each week who had either recently been on a mission trip, about to go on a Mission trip or who were part of a local mission experience. We then heard from someone who talked about mission in their work place, and there was such a positive response to hearing what someone was doing in their every day life that we felt it was important that others were also able to tell their own experiences. This is a way we can encourage people in our congregation and acknowledge that people don't have to go overseas to be in mission. Mission can happen wherever we are.It is also an opportunity to encourage people as they seek to be missional in their own work/family/school context.

Beyond Sunday has also proven to be a good communication tool. Our weekly groups, such as playgroups, small groups, fellowship groups have the opportunity to share with the wider congregation what they are doing and encourage others to join in or support what is happening during the week. It's much more exciting hearing someone tell their experiences than reading a snippet in the Sunday newsletter.

Having a Beyond Sunday spot also encourages people to see our Sunday service as a celebration of what God has been doing the rest of the week. As a Minister of a church it is easy to make Sunday the focus as many hours are spent preparing for Sunday. There's a sermon to prepare, there are meetings with coordinators of the teams that are involved in the Sunday service, and Sunday is the one chance a whole week where Minister's have the opportunity to remind the congregation of the church's vision, so energy is put into making sure that is communicated well. Meanwhile, the rest of the congregation are busy being the church during the week and focused on what is happening Monday to Saturday. As a church we can celebrate together the fact that God is with us all the time and not just on Sunday, in church.

For me personally, Beyond Sunday helps me to get to know people and know what their interests and passions are. It's great to hear people's enthusiasm for what they are doing in the week and hear their stories of how God has lead them to a specific project or mission.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Children in Church

Last Sunday was Pentecost and to celebrate the birthday of The Church we had a party! The theme was red so many people came dressed in red. Our church was decorated (by the children during a song) in red streamers, balloons and paper plates. We had all the delights you would expect at a party; singing, birthday cake, games, presents, speeches, entertainment and lots of fun and laughter. This was one of our childrens services we have throughout the year. (You can see where the inspiration came from here)

It was interesting to see how the congregation responded to having a birthday party as a worship service. The balloons were a huge hit. We have several people from the Aged Care facility nearby join us on Sunday mornings and they had a ball hitting the balloons back and forth with the children. As part of the party games we made paper planes and wrote thank you prayers on them. People were then invited to the front to throw their planes together and see whose planes flew the furthest. Turns out we have quite a few people with a competitive spirit! We had thought it would encourage the pre-teen boys to get involved but people of all ages came to the front to fly their planes and show their plane making skills. Everyone was encouraged to fly their planes together and call out their thank you prayers together. As part of the party entertainment a Sundanese group sang and danced for us adding to the party atmosphere.

The service went over time, there were streamers and balloons and paper planes all over the church, and people did things they wouldn't normally do in a church service. It was one crazy, messy and exciting worship experience!!

It was with this experience still freshly in my mind that I read this article on "Why we don't allow children in our worship service"

I can't help but think how much this church misses out on not having all age worship, by not welcoming children and families to worship with others. I think of the older people in our congregation who got such a thrill by playing with balloons, I would think that's something they don't get many opportunities to do anymore. (I'm already thinking bubbles for our next all age service ;-)) I think of the opportunities the children had through the service to use their gifts and skills and to build confidence in them during the service. I think of adults who had the opportunity to hear the message of Pentecost in a fresh way. I think of the joy I saw on people's faces and the way people relaxed in the service in a way that was different from other Sundays.

In reply to the comments on his article, Bill LaMorey said "If I put in 20 hours of preparation for a message, I am not really excited about having everyone's attention on a crying baby instead of the teaching of God's word. You can call that hubris, but I call it common sense." I understand that a crying baby can be distracting, but how often does that happen? When my oldest child was a baby I was so embarrassed that while I was trying to pat my baby to sleep during the sermon the old ladies behind me were clucking over my baby in whispered tones. I spoke to the Minister afterwards and apologised for my baby being a distraction to the people behind me when they should have been listening to the sermon. His response to me was that maybe my baby was ministering to those women in a way his sermon wasn't able to that day. That response helped me as a Mother but it also helped me realise that we can all minister to each other in different ways no matter how old we are. (it also showed me that the Minister was comfortable enough to allow the Holy Spirit to work and to not need the attention on him as the Minister for a successful worship service) I have found in the churches I have attended where children are encouraged in services that children are more likely to be found dancing to the songs than crying through the sermon.

The article brings up many questions for me and I realise this is the opinion of one church and that they find this way works for them. I can't help but wonder what happens in this church to people who are intellectually disabled, have a mental illness, a condition that means they find it hard to sit still or stay quiet. Are they welcomed into the worship service or are they asked to watch the service in another room? (The article says they have a room where families who want to stay together can sit and watch the service via video)

As a mother I appreciate there are times where I enjoy being in a worship service without having the distractions of my children. I am grateful for our children's ministry volunteers who spend a lot of time preparing great quality children's programs and use their gifts and skills to teach and minister to my children. However, it's a choice and I also like the choice to have my children with me so we can worship together not only as a family but as part of the family of God. After our Pentecost service I asked my 7 year old what she heard in the sermon. She had heard quite a bit of the sermon, in some of her observations she had heard something different to the original context of the sermon but she had heard it in a way her 7 year old mind could understand and apply it to what she knew of God and how to apply it in her life. As she spoke I realised she was ministering to me as I heard the message, that I had given, in a different way.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Women in Leadership in the Church

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have recently started my first placement as an ordained minister in an Evangelical, Uniting Church, in Australia. Although women Ministers are not unusual in the Uniting Church, I am finding it very hard to find blogs or articles written about leadership for women who are Lead Pastors.(Particularly from an Evangelical perspective) I can find plenty of blogs for Pastors wives or women in ministry or women leading women's ministry but I'm finding it difficult to find anything from women who are Lead Pastors, leading a church and other paid Pastors.

If I want to read how the bible says women shouldn't be Lead Pastors, I have plenty of resources. If I want to read how women and men shouldn't work together unsupervised incase women cause men to sin then I know where to look. If I want to read how to be a good wife or mother or friend, I can find some very insightful blogs on those topics.

Where are the books, blogs and articles from women who are Lead Pastors? Who are the women who write about leadership? These are genuine questions :-)

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy reading Hybels and Maxwell and Stanley. I enjoy attending the Global leadership Summit yearly. Locally we have some fantastic male leadership who have supported and encouraged me and other women in leadership. I also saw Nancy Beach when she was in Australia and read her book as well as Susan Scott's "fierce leadership". (Just a sample of the books I have crammed between ministry, study and family) I am not short of reading material.

If you know a woman who blogs or writes from a leadership perspective I'd love to hear about them :-)