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CHANGING CHURCH: A GUIDE TO CONGREGATIONAL
TRANSFORMATION
THE G.E.T. WITH IT TOOLBOX BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE
GOSPEL, ECUMENISM, AND THEOLOGY COMMITTEE
OF HALIFAX PRESBYTERY
THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
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COPYRIGHT NOTICE
This booklet copyright © 2012
Chris Binns and Halifax Presbytery (The United Church of Canada)
Permission is freely granted to duplicate or circulate this resource .
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INTRODUCTION
This toolbox and the accompanying DVD entitled “Church in the Gospel” can be utilized in a variety of ways:
Portions can be used as the basis of a workshop or series of workshops.
Together, or as stand-‐alone items, they could be used to stimulate meaningful conversations on transforming church.
The resource list at the end of this document provides a guide that is related to the transformation process.
Or, follow the full step-by-step sequence suggested in this booklet.
If you are reading this, you likely have come to a realization that you wish to make some changes in the way you “do church”. Try a Google search for “How to do Church” and you will get 200 million+ results in about 0.18 seconds.
Where to start? … Somewhat daunting you say? Fear not. This booklet has been designed to help you work through the process of making change. At first this may seem challenging, but bear with it . . . the path to creating a new future for your congregation if worth the effort.
We will not tell you what your congregation should look like or be doing. That is for you and God to decide. Rather we will give you the tools to get the job done.
You will need to bring others on board to help with the task. Ultimately, the whole congregation will be involved in the process.
In Getting to Maybe: How the World is Changed, Westley, Zimmerman, and Patton write, “This book is for those who are not happy with the way things are and would like to make a difference. This book is for ordinary people who want to make connections that will create extraordinary outcomes. This is a book about making the impossible happen.”
So now it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get to work!
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SOME BASIC THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
“When the old way of being in the world, of interacting with each other and with the realm of nature doesn’t work anymore, when survival is threatened by seemingly insurmountable problems, an individual life-form – or a species – will either die or become extinct or rise above the limitations of its condition through an evolutionary leap.” – Eckhart Tolle
A
Change is not something to be afraid of. In fact, change is healthy. Failure to change is part of why churches decline. A congregation is like a living organism and its failure to adapt to its surroundings can result in death. Funny how we tend to want to cling to the old way of doing things at all costs!
In 2004, Lyle Schaller wrote, “There seems to be a growing amount of evidence that next year is going to be 2005. If that’s true, we’ve got problems. If it were going to be 1955, we might know what to do.” The lesson? When we run into problems and need to institute changes, we often rely on techniques that were designed for a different environment. No wonder we see the same old results! We continue to do things the same old way.
Trying to anticipate the future and being ready for it is like trying to time the stock market . . . very few are successful at this game. Therefore, don’t try to anticipate your future. Rather, go out and create your own future! You will have a much better chance for success.
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B
There is no magic “one way of doing church” that will solve all problems. Each congregation is unique and needs to find its own solution to being successful in the context within which it must operate. A very helpful book that provides insight into the dynamics of leadership and programming within four different sizes of congregations is Arlin J. Rothauge’s Sizing Up A Congregation For New Member Ministry. Take a few minutes to read it. While it may be somewhat dated it accurately describes the dynamics of many of today’s congregations.
C Don’t be in a rush to make change. It has probably taken quite some time to get
to where you currently find yourself. So why be in a hurry to try to fix the problem? For instance, a typical reaction to declining membership is to rush out and hire a specialist minister. Chances are there will be an expectation that this individual will lead a youth program or do some pastoral care and home visitations to reconnect people with the church.
This is doomed from the start! Even if you got lucky and found the perfect individual, are the tasks expected of him/her appropriate for the context in which the congregation is living? So let’s reinforce the point: “don’t be in a big hurry to try and fix things … take time now to get it right.” You can be assured that this will pay big dividends later on. Churches that have gone through a transition/transformation find that it takes about 2 – 5 years to complete the process, and sometimes more. But they also find it’s worth the investment of time and energy.
D
You are about to enter into a period of intensive planning, so it might be helpful to get a perspective on some different types of planning processes. For our purposes three levels of planning will suffice.
First there is simple Problem Solving. This is the kind of stuff you intuitively use on a daily basis. The light bulb burns out so you replace it with a new one. Nothing too dramatic here! You use problem solving when you want to keep going on the same route and need to fix something so you can carry on.
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So what if you know the destination but need to build a bridge to get there? Well this is what we like to call Developmental Planning. This type of planning is useful when you are working on a process of transition (see part E, below).
Finally, there are times when you are not sure of your destination. The planning process that you need to invoke now is what is called Strategic Planning. It is very important that you utilize a good process for what you wish to achieve or much of your effort could be wasted. Gil Rendle and Alice Mann have co-‐authored a fabulous book, Holy Conversations: Strategic Planning as a Spiritual Practice for Congregations. Take some time out and read this now.
E There are two terms that need to be clearly understood as we move forward:
• Transition. This is a linear type of process. We use it to mean simply incremental change in the congregation, like renovating a big storeroom into a youth group lounge, or using blue instead of green paint on the walls.
• Transformation. This is the process of discerning what God is asking us to become and do. It represents profound change, like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly.
A journey of transformation is what we are about to embark upon.
**WHAT YOU NEED TO REMEMBER** Change is healthy.
Find your own unique way of doing church.
Don’t be in a rush…take the time to get it right.
Create your own future.
Make sure you use an effective method of planning.
God is calling us to Transformation, not Transition.
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THE TRANSFORMATION PROCESS
“If you don’t know where you’re going,
you’ll probably end up somewhere else.”
-‐ Yogi Berra
Ok! Time to cut to the quick.
Here is the process in five easy to remember steps:
1. PRECIPITATING EVENT
2. DISCERN/WAIT/LISTEN
3. EMPOWERMENT
4. LEARNING AND PREPARATION
5. GOING FORTH
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In Holy Conversations, Gil Rendle and Alice Mann strongly recommend that as congregations move through the transformation process they find the Bible story that they are currently living. This is a very important part of the process and is a powerful way of keeping the congregation and the planning team inspired.
So let’s start with a Bible story that relates to where we currently are. We will help you with this one. In fact it is recommended that you use this as part of a workshop for your leaders and any interested members of the congregation. We will say more about the workshop later, but for now let’s look at the Bible story, “The Conversion of Saul.”
Read Acts 9, verses 3 – 20. The task is to identify each of the five transformation steps, listed on page 7 (above), in this story. Maybe look at a few different versions of the Bible when looking for your story.
**STOP HERE AND READ ACTS 9:3-‐20**
Were you able to match the appropriate verses to each of the five steps?
Here is the solution:
Step 1 Precipitating Event verses 3 -‐ 6
Step 2 Discern/Wait/Listen verses 8 -‐ 9
Step 3 Empowerment verses 17 -‐ 18
Step 4 Learning and Preparation verses 18 – 19
Step 5 Going Forth verse 20
It is worth noting that conversion means to go in a completely new direction, just as transformation means to make a complete change.
NOW LET’S LOOK AT EACH STEP IN A LITTLE MORE DETAIL
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STEP 1 – PRECIPITATING EVENT Pull together some people in the congregation to take time to carefully identify
the precipitating event that is prompting you to seek change for your congregation. It is often easy to get this step wrong. The cause we think we perceive us often just a symptom of something deeper.
For example, declining attendance at worship is not normally a precipitating event. More likely, the decline was caused by something else. Perhaps all the pews were full for Sunday morning services for a period of time. Then attendance started to dwindle. When 80% of your prime seating is full then it is time to consider expanding capacity or starting another service. Research has shown if you do nothing when you reach this level of attendance, there will be a decline in those attending worship. Properly identifying the precipitating event will let you tackle the cause and not the symptom.
Is there a tool that can be used to help with this? One method is to chart the significant events in the life of your congregation. To do this, make a long strip out of flip chart paper. 12-‐16 feet long and one sheet wide should do it. Draw a line down the middle of the chart. At about the three-‐quarter point, mark today’s date.
Now invite people to come forth armed with a marker and put in the major events that have impacted the congregation, the good and the bad, both past and present in the life of the congregation. This will help to identify key issues and focus in on the precipitating event.
Earlier we mentioned a workshop. Now is the time to organize your first one. DON’T PANIC! You will probably need about 2-‐3 hours for this first gathering, so a weekend morning with coffee might work nicely.
Start by inviting your leaders and anyone in the congregation who is interested. If you need help with whom to invite, read page 63 of Holy Conversations before proceeding. Now extend your invitations. A nice way of doing this is by a written formal invitation followed up with a phone call. Don’t forget to ask for an RSVP so you can take care of the administrative details.
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Here is a recommended timetable for your workshop:
ITEM TIME
Welcome and Introductions. 10 min
Worship or prayer 10 min
Sharing – Part 1 40 min
Define Transition (Basic Stuff E, above)
Review Rothauge’s “four levels of church” (see suggested readings) and have attendees identify which depicts your current situation
Review Congregation Life Cycle (page 26 of Holy Conversations) and have attendees identify where you are in the cycle
BREAK 20 min
Sharing – Part 2 40 min
Define Transformation (Basic Stuff E, above)
Introduce the Five Transformational Steps
Have attendees read Acts 9:3-‐20 and do the “Conversion of Saul” exercise (see above, p.8). Identify together where you are in the process
Identify the Precipitating Event using the Significant Events Chart (see above, p.9)
Warp-‐up 10-‐15 min
• Review the key points learned in the workshop
• Ask for feedback about the process
Closing Prayer 5 min
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The workshop outline above is “bare bones.” You can tailor something to meet your specific needs. If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed at this point, don’t be afraid to ask for help from good leaders and group-‐process people in your community, Presbytery, or Conference.
Following the workshop, remember to send a quick note to the attendees thanking them for their participation and valuable input.
MORE BASIC STUFF
Invariably as you get further into your journey, the topic of “governance” will
arise. Right up front, let’s make something very clear:
Any system of governance will work.
That is worth repeating…ANY SYSTEM OF GOVERNANCE WILL WORK. Got it?
ANY SYSTEM… ! OK, you got it!
What really needs to change is how we do business, not the operating structure. We are used to systems that are hierarchical in nature. Why not? These structures have served us well for many years. A hierarchical structure sees the centralization of authority as an efficient means of doing business. There is a down side to this, however: centralized authority can kill initiative and creativity. It also likes to rob individuals of the ownership of their ideas.
What you really need is to turn the power pyramid upside down. Push the authority “down” to make things happen to the lowest level you can. Then sit back and watch creativity blossom.
Oh, by the way, don’t overestimate your responsibility. If it doesn’t work, or something goes wrong, don’t look to assign blame. Just try again.
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If you think this is a bit of an exaggeration, take a few minutes and turn to page 110 of Tom Bandy’s book, Kicking Habits: Welcome Relief for Addicted Churches. Follow the journey of a creative idea in a typical hierarchical structured church: from YES to NO in 10 weeks, after 115 lay people spend 275 hours getting to a decision.
Later in your transformational trip, you may see a need to make some changes in the governance structure of your church. Wait until later in the process to make changes so that they are well thought out, needed, and appropriate.
STEP 2 – DISCERN/WAIT/LISTEN “Some faith communities have traditionally used the term discernment to describe the process by which we notice, ponder, and interpret our experience in the light of faith. In spiritual discernment, we perceive sacred significance in the current moment and in the winding path by which we have arrived. We listen for the still small voice that beckons us onward, quietly revealing what we are here on earth to do and to become.” -‐ Rendle and Mann, Holy Conversations
** Step 2 is the most important of all. **
Earlier, we advised you not to be in a rush. We cannot put it any better than the words of Gil Rendle and Alice Mann (above). In a nutshell, this is the step where we discern what God is calling us to become and to do.
There is a wonderful Greek word for transformation: metanoia. We don’t have
an English equivalent. The best definition we have heard is that metanoia is the profound change that occurs when we come face to face with God. Clarence Jordan, in The Substance of the Faith and Other Cotton Patch Sermons, states, “metanoia is the most joyful thing that you will ever do.” We need to be patient and listen for that small voice within that leads us to a wonderful new future in which we transcend our collective and individual desires and then truly reflect God’s desire for us.
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This doesn’t mean that we sit idle during this step waiting for the sudden flash of inspiration. There are some things that can be done to help the process. However, we should never lose sight of the fact that our transformational journey is not merely a walk through secularity. It must follow a spiritual path!
It is strongly recommended that you now take the time to read Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the Speed of Imagination by Jane Magruder Watkins and Bernard J. Mohr. While you are at it, here is a bit more homework: read The World Café: Shaping Our Futures Through Conversations That Matter by Juanita Brown and David Isaacs. Both books will give you a solid background to help you through the discernment phase.
Here are some things you might want to try during this phase of the journey.
1) Very early in this part of the journey we recommend that you hold one or two special worship services. In these services you replace the traditional sermon with guest speakers. At the first service invite your local politicians. One representative from each level of government will suffice. Ask each of them to give a five to seven minute presentation of what they deem to be the unmet needs of the community. This is important: but do not ask them what your congregation should be doing. This is an unfair question, since it is not their job to discern your tasks. You might then want to try another special service a few weeks later with other prominent community leaders such as the police chief, school principals, etc. Make sure that somebody takes notes about what is said and who said it, so that you have a record for later use.
2) The next two possible events are nice to do as part of a special time of the year for your congregation, such as a significant milestone like an anniversary, or as part of Advent or Lent. Again you will need to plan two special worship services. These services are really unique in that they blend worship with Appreciative Inquiry (Watkins and Mohr). It is possible to complete the whole process in about one hour and fifteen minutes. Experience has shown that the members of the congregation get highly involved, so people usually don’t complain about a long service.
The Appreciative Inquiry process covers four “D’s” – Discover, Dream, Design, and Deliver. The two worship services that we are proposing cover the Discover and Dream parts of Appreciative Inquiry. You will also want to keep a record of the conversations, so have a pre-‐prepared note sheet for each person. Since there will be regrouping of people throughout the service, you might want to consider holding worship in a location other than the sanctuary, if movement is difficult or likely to cause a problem.
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The mechanics of the first Appreciative Inquiry service are as follows: a. Call to worship and opening prayer b. Singing c. Scripture reading d. A brief overview of the “four-‐D” Appreciative Inquiry process e. Transition as children leave for Sunday School f. Have people find a partner, preferably someone they do not know. Each person gets five minutes to tell the other person about a specific time when they felt most involved and excited about their involvement with the church. One person acts as interviewer/note taker. Then reverse roles. Next have the existing pairs join two other pairs to form groups of six.
There will now be two ten-‐minute conversations on these questions: “What is it that you most value about our church?” “What is it that makes our church alive?” Have each group complete one collective response sheet
and identify one or two main themes emerging from their conversation. Then in a couple of words put these themes on large sticky notes.
g. While all of the activity in (f) is taking place, have the Sunday School teachers do a simplified version of the above process with the children. Have the children tell stories about the best times that they have experienced in church. These events should be distilled into a couple of words and put on large sticky notes.
h. Singing while congregation re-‐gathers, including children. i. Have a large sheet of paper on a wall or on the floor. Now have a representative from each group come forward one at a time. Have them state the theme and place the sticky note on the sheet. Continue until all notes, including the children’s, are on the sheet. Where similar themes start to appear, group the notes together. j. Have the leader of the service summarize the major themes. k. Offering l. Final songs and blessing
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As soon as possible after this service, make a poster summarizing the themes that emerged. If you had someone take photos during the service, these help to make a very effective poster. Place the poster in a very prominent place in the church where everyone can see it.
The next special service will cover the second “D” of the Appreciative Inquiry process – Dream. Allow about a month to pass between the Discover and the Dream services.
Feel free to use the same outline as the Discover service. One change to try is to keep all but the very youngest of the Sunday School children involved in the main service.
Have the congregation gather in groups of six to eight people. One person in each group is designated as the host and note taker. After each question, the host remains and the rest of the people move to new groups. The host then takes a couple of minutes to explain what the conversation is about in that group, then the discussion moves onto the next question. Allow 15 minutes for each round.
Here are the questions:
What is the community/world calling this congregation to be?
What is God calling us to be in this community, in the world?
What are the most enlivening or exciting possibilities for us? The final round of the conversation is a little different. This time rather than talking, ask everyone to draw a picture. Each group should have a sheet of flip chart paper and markers. Here is the task: Create an image of what our church might look like in the future.
Then put a date on when you see this happening. Have the completed drawings put up on the walls of wherever you hold this service.
Now invite all to slowly do a gallery walk around the room to see the drawings. Some music is nice at this time.
Here’s the cool part: the themes that you have extracted from the congregation are in effect the “core values” of the congregation. These are the things that your church family holds near and dear and that you should carry forward with you on your transformational journey.
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After the walk ask the members of the congregation to identify the key elements of the vision that is emerging. Track these on a flip chart. Allow about ten minutes for this.
Again, after the service, create a poster and place it next to the one you made for the Discover service.
In the next few weeks, your conversation/reflection group from Step 1 should review all the information on the note sheets and posters from all the services you decided to do in Step 2. A clear statement of Vision, Mission, and Core Values for your future church should emerge.
If you want some really good advice on how to craft these statements read Chapter 6 of Power Surge: Six marks of Discipleship for a Changing Church (Michael W. Foss).
STEP 3 – EMPOWERMENT
Let’s quickly re-‐cap what you now have determined. You should have a clear statement of your congregation’s vision with a time frame for achieving this. Also, a new mission statement to accompany the vision has been developed. Finally, the core values that you want to carry into your new future should be clearly articulated.
This process of transformation is now the responsibility of the Council or Board. They need to understand that they are the owner of the vision. Also, if it hasn’t taken place already, now would be a good time to have your Vision, Mission, and Core Value statements formally approved by Council.
As you move through this phase of the process, it is important to stay connected and keep in touch with the congregation. Your minister can play a very important role by making your transformational journey and empowerment a focus of several sermons.
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It is time to develop a model of what your future church might look like.
Yes . . . you can now use the DVD!
The purpose of the DVD is to get the creative juices flowing. There is not a preferred solution. It is recommended that you show this to people who are really interested in rolling up their sleeves and helping with the task of designing your new future. Ensure that Council/Board members attend. Once again a formal invitation is recommended. You can also open the meeting up to anyone who is interested, but be a bit more proactive in targeting the core group.
It is probably during this, and any follow up sessions, that you might consider making changes to governance structure, but only if it’s really necessary. Restructuring governance can zap the strength out of everything you’re doing if people get fixated on it.
You know where you are and where you want to go. Now, map out the route or build the bridge to get there.
It is recommended that you actually develop two plans. The first plan spells out your new structure and operating concepts. The second is an Implementation Plan showing how you do the step-‐by-‐step transition from the old to the new.
STEP 4 – LEARNING AND PREPARATION This step requires bringing both the members of the congregation and the
leadership up to speed with the changes that are being proposed. In other words it is all about communicating.
In the earlier steps of the journey ,you crafted new Vision and Mission statements. Even though the Appreciative Inquiry process drew the information from the collective body of the congregation, do not make the error of assuming that everybody understands or “gets” it.
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**You can never over-‐communicate the Vision and Mission.**
Only by continually hearing them will people eventually come to embrace and identify with these changes. Use all possible means to achieve this: sermons, workshops, newsletters, posters, e-‐mail, blogs, etc. In the United Church, most of us are familiar with “The Minute For Mission.” Periodically why not have a “Minute for Our Church?” At this time, have members of the transformation team give short overviews of the changes you are introducing, and progress reports. Keep the presentations fun and informative, brief and frequent.
Take the time at this stage to bring out the spiritual gifts that people have and can bring to your transformation process. There are many different survey and inventory tools available, including free ones on the Internet. Conducting workshops that utilize these tools to match the gifts of the congregation with the roles and activities of your new future is essential.
Remember to find the Bible story that is appropriate to this portion of your journey and share it with all members of the congregation. In Holy Conversations there is a short section on powerful images and discerning the “angel” of your church. It is recommended that you turn to page 148 of this book and read the advice of Rendle and Mann.
While you’re at it, you might as well turn to page 169 of Holy Conversations and read the bulleted list of the “how” of public communications.
***The other main area to be targeted in this step is “attitude change.”
The attitude changes apply mainly to the leadership. You may need to do some workshops on this or even some one-‐on-‐one advising. The first attitude change is related to the earlier suggestion that the power structure of the church needs to be turned on its head. If the old pyramid of power is well entrenched, this can be hard to change. Patience will be required! Eventually, it should become commonplace for the Board or Council to respond to a new suggestion by saying, “What a great idea! How can we help?” In the process, Council needs to get out of the day-‐to-‐day running of the church. The main focus of Council should be:
• Keepers of the vision • Long term strategic planning • Provision and equitable distribution of resources (people and dollars).
In short, Council should leave the daily operation of the church and its programs to the committees and small groups within the congregation.
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This brings us to the next attitude change. It is time to get out of the committee-‐and-‐ endless-‐meeting-‐mode and into one of action teams that get things done.
To the extent possible, get rid of committees and replace them with small group ministries. These ministries exist to achieve a purpose and once that purpose is fulfilled, the ministry dissolves. This will mean that the operating structure of the church is very fluid as ministries come and go. Once this in the ‘new normal,’ you will be amazed at how willing people are at stepping up to meet a need. Nobody these days wants to attend countless committee meetings where nothing is achieved. For a good overview of the difference between committees and small group ministries, read pages 143-‐149 of Power Surge.
STEP 5 – GOING FORTH The last part of the transformational process focuses on the introduction of new programs to bring your Vision to life.
Time for another reading assignment! The book is Open Space Technology: A User’s Guide by Harrison Owen. This is probably the most powerful tool in your box when it comes to implementing new ideas and having people take ownership of them. Since this is a bottom-‐up rather than top-‐down approach, there will be a lot of creativity. The energy, enthusiasm, and new life that emerge from Open Space Technology meetings are truly amazing. Be prepared for lots of change.
NOW IS THE TIME TO EMBRACE CHANGE AND NOT SHY AWAY FROM IT. If the leadership of your church does not support the new future that is being developed, then the transformation process will be dead in the water. Remember: “If you keep on doing things the same old way, you will keep getting the same old results.”
As new programs are started, you will notice a clear difference in the life of your congregation. Don’t be surprised when people come up with new ideas. Once the word gets out that things are actually achieved without endless rounds of committee meetings, there will be no limit to the imagination and desire of the congregation.
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CLOSING REMARKS
Congratulations on getting through the toolbox!
If you have followed the five steps up to this point, you should be well on your way to a new future.
You should also be proud of the fact that you have mastered cutting edge technologies of organizational development like Appreciative Inquiry and Open Space Technology. These tools and the five-‐step process will always be available to guide you in future. From time to time, don’t be afraid to reach into the toolbox and use one of your newly-‐gained implements to keep you on track.
We are also interested in hearing how you are doing. Any feedback or suggestions for improving this document would be truly appreciated.
One more Bible quote to help guide you:
FORGET THE FORMER THINGS; DO NOT DWELL ON THE PAST.
SEE, I AM NOW DOING A NEW THING! NOW IT SPRINGS UP.
DO YOU NOT PERCEIVE IT? I AM MAKING A WAY IN THE DESERT
AND STREAMS IN THE WASTE LAND. - Isaiah 43:18-19
Thanks be to God.
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SUGGESTED READING TO KEEP DIGGING DEEPER . . .
Bandy, Tom. Kicking Habits: Welcome Relief for Addicted Churches. Abingdon Press,
2001. Brown, Juanita and David Isaacs. The World Café: Shaping our Futures Through
Conversations that Matter. Berrett-‐Koehler Publishers, 2005. Craig, Robert H. and Robert C. Worley. Dry Bones Live: Helping Congregations
Discover New Life. Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993. Foss, Michael W. Power Surge: Six Marks of Discipleship for a Changing Church.
Augsburg Fortress Press, 2000. Hudson, Jill M. When Better Isn’t Enough: Evaluation Tools for the 21st Century
Church. The Alban Institute, 2004. Jordan, Clarence. The Substance of Faith and Other Cotton Patch Sermons, ed. Dallas
Lee. Koinonia Partners/Wipf and Stock, 2005. Mann, Alice. Raising the Roof: The Pastoral-to-Program-Size Transition. The Alban
Institute, 2001. Martin, Kevin. The Myth of the 200 Barrier: How to Lead Through Transitional
Growth. Abingdon Press, 2005. Mead, Loren B. More Than Numbers: The Ways Churches Grow. The Alban Institute,
1993. Mead, Loren B. Transforming Congregations for the Future. The Alban Institute,
1994. Owen, Harrison. Open Space Technology: A User’s Guide, 2nd Edition. Berrett-‐Koehler
Publishers, 1997. Parsons, George and Speed Leas. Understanding Your Congregation as a System: The
Manual. The Alban Institute, 1994. Rendle, Gil and Alice Mann. Holy Conversations: Strategic Planning as a Spiritual
Practice for Congregations. The Alban Institute, 2003. Rothauge, Arlin J. Sizing Up a Congregation for New Member Ministry. The Episcopal
Church Center, 1986.
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Schaeffer, Francis A. The Church at the End of the 20th Century. Crossway Books, 1994.
Schaller, Lyle. 44 Steps Up Off The Plateau. Abingdon Press, 1993. Stoesz, Edgar. Doing Good Better: How to be an Effective Board Member of a
Nonprofit Organization. Good Books, 2001. Watkins, Jane Magruder and Bernard J. Mohr. Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the
Speed of Imagination. Jossey-‐Bass/Pfeiffer, 2001. Westley, Frances, Brenda Zimmerman, and Michael Patton. Getting to Maybe: How
The World is Changed. Random House Canada, 2006. Woods, C. Jeff. Congregational Megatrends. The Alban Institute, 1996.