How can a congregation, its leadership, and its pastors support some innovative leadership even as it seeks good management?
I think it begins with the pastor(s) and the leadership core of the congregation. The first step is to recognize the challenge before them. It would be good for them to seriously read and discuss together some of the literature now being published with respect to the future challenges of the church. If things are relatively comfortable for a congregation, it is difficult for them to take seriously the need to make significant changes.
It would be helpful for the governing body to help provide some sort of check list of factors to review as a congregation reflects on their life. It may help for a congregation to look at its own statistics and project them 10 years out. It might have such questions as, “What does the trend of both infant and adult baptism suggest for your future?” “What are the challenges presented by the changing nature of the community around the church?” What is the trend of the age range of the congregation?” “If you were to guess, how would you estimate the long term commitment of your last three years of new members?” “What is most attractive in the life and behavior of your congregation to potential new members?” “If your congregation were to seek to diversify its membership in accordance with the trend of your larger community, what might it do to make others feel welcome and what might make them feel uncomfortable?” “What economic trends, both in society and in the recent history of your congregation need to be taken into account.” There are certainly other questions to be developed.
A different, but vitally important area of consideration if a church is going to “manage” some discomfort as they move towards their future, is the understanding of the theological base of who they are as a congregation. “What is God calling us to be or do as a congregation?” It is never easy but it is more a possibility to step into the raging waters of an uncertain future if we have a fairly strong conviction that God is going with us and calls us forward as a congregation. A major challenge for congregations is to recognize that the central issue is not what pleases us or makes us feel good but what God wants of us.
At the same time, the congregation needs to understand what is going on, what the checks and balances are within the leadership process, and how open the leadership is to faithful feedback. While the future is not easy, it can be an exciting adventure.
