Need a Workshop, or More?
As you or your church goes through changes (sought or surprising), I can provide a day-long workshop or a year-plus of Transition Ministry depending on your needs and your diocesan rules/preferences. Here are some of the tools in my kit. The list is not exhaustive, and these can be adapted or combined if we’ve got more than one day.
Appreciative Inquiry: All the rage a decade or two ago, “accentuate the positive” is still great advice if you want to dislodge negative thinking in your church’s leadership. Got a bunch of critics or whiners? Enabling them to see the good things, discern your deeply-rooted values, and begin planning around a purpose-filled future, is something I can lead. This could be a done at a Vestry/Council retreat, multi-evening workshop, or choice during a larger event.
Church Timeline: Family Systems thinking (which I admire and try to practice) notes that patterns really do repeat themselves, generation after generation. Yet often a congregation is largely ignorant of their past. Why do the clergy they selected face the same push-back, or commit the same misconduct, as those of ages past? It’s not a coincidence, friends. If your members are willing to honestly report, discuss and evaluate their history, the congregation’s future will be brighter. Advance planning with leaders, their prep work, and a two-hour church gathering will yield enlightening results.
Conflict Styles: Ever wonder why your leaders can’t seem to fight fair? Some people fill the room with grandstanding or bellowing, while others clam up, even when they contribute equally under calm circumstances. Our personalities include a discernible “conflict style” that becomes our preferred mode when things get tense in the room or at the meeting. Using a couple of instruments, we’ll find what those are and then talk about how you can bring out the best. One hour with prep, two if we do it all together, makes an insightful session at your leadership retreat. I like to blend this with other personality typing, like the Myers-Briggs / Jungian school for which there are lots of instruments and resources.
Gifts Discernment: AI (above) focuses on the congregation’s strengths; Gifts Discernment begins with the individual. The Bible (especially Paul) lists many abilities that build up the Body of Christ. Do you know yours? Have your leaders spent time recognizing theirs? Gifts Discernment helps Christians choose ministries that fit their gifts and temperament, not just because “somebody has to do it.” This workshop needs several hours or several sessions to introduce Spiritual Gifts, test the participants using an online or paper instrument, and discuss the results.
Making Connections: Are you stumped as to how to branch out into the community? Having a connection already is the best chance for success, and you’ll be surprised at how many connections your group has already. I’ll lead “Asset Mapping” to spur brainstorming and dot-connecting among the church’s Vestry/Council or anyone who wants to turn up. An hour can get you started; longer if you’d like my help planning the next steps.