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The
role of leaders in facilitating change
In our Adventures In Leadership (AIL) camp for high school
students, one of the inputs we provide the participants is
an introduction to the Albin Institute's Eight Principles
of Effective Leadership (see Diagram). As you look at this
diagram you see that one of the eight functions identified
in this model is the ability to address change with others.
It's been said, "Change is the only constant everyone
agrees upon and the only one everyone resists". The reality
is that every organization is being born, growing, maturing,
declining or dying. It is in the midst of this stream, therefore,
that Godly leadership confronts the realities of what is changing
or needs to change, prays for wisdom and seeks to identify
what is best for the long term health of the group or organization.
In addition, leadership understands that change in organizations
happens only to the extent that it happens in the lives of
the individuals involved- first- in leadership and then in
the rest of the group.
Gene Mims, in his article Leading Your Church Through Change,
provides five considerations in leading our congregations
through change.
1) Never avoid the inevitable. Do not refuse to believe what
is really happening in your church. Every church is in transition.
Change cannot be avoided, but it can be mismanaged. Confront
the realities of what in your church is changing and what
needs to change.
2) Assess your current situation by applying some important
metrics to your church's effectiveness. Numbers are important,
such as attendance, giving, expenses and growth rates over
the last four years, but equally important is your church's
"heart" in reference to Great Commission ministry.
Do your people have a fervor for evangelizing the lost, for
building believers and for mission? Do they love one another,
and do they minister with joy in their community? Do you (and
your staff) and your leaders have a passion at the present
for God's work? Be honest with yourself and your people, and
move toward the changes that must come.
3) Refocus on the kingdom and the Great Commission. Take time
with your leaders to study scriptural teaching on the importance
of the kingdom of God, the Great Commission and the functions
of the church. Look for your present weaknesses and then for
God-sent opportunities. This will make managing change much
easier when everyone knows what is lacking and what is possible.
4) Ask God to reveal a future state. Determine what your congregation
will be like in 5 to 10 years if you followed what God is
showing you.
5) Return to the basics. One of the major reasons churches
must undergo radical change is because they have moved from
the basics—evangelizing lost people, discipling believers,
and multiplying ministries by equipping laypeople to do the
work of the church. Almost every positive change effort means
a return to basics in some measure.
Mims concludes by saying:
"Change is a given, but good change is not. It takes
time (a long time and lots of time), a firm commitment to
do what is best, and prayer for God's wisdom." |
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An
overview of Natural Church Development (NCD)
Jesus also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is
like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether
he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he
does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain--first
the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.
As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because
the harvest has come."
-Mark 4:26-29
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it
grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything,
but only God, who makes things grow.
-I Corinthians 3:6,7
Natural Church Development (NCD) is a strategic planning
process by which a church determines its strengths and weaknesses.
It further assists a church in addressing its greatest needs
with the goal of the implementation of a strategic plan
to improve in areas of need. Particular attention is paid
to what NCD calls "The Eight Key Quality Characteristics."
These characteristics are evaluated in order to identify
the effectiveness of each in the local church setting. The
degree to which these are present and in operation directly
correlate to the health (or lack of it) of the church. The
Key Characteristics are:
1. Empowering Leadership
2. Gift-oriented Ministry
3. Passionate Spirituality
4. Functional Structures
5. Inspiring Worship Service
6. Holistic Small Groups
7. Need-oriented Evangelism
8. Loving Relationships
NCD has been used in 60 countries on six continents. It
has involved thousands of churches and millions of survey
respondents. The creator of NCD is Christian Schwarz from
Germany. He identifies the following as being pivotal points
in the NCD process:
1. All churches are different and therefore must take basic
principles and apply them to each local setting. It is not
particularly effective to try to imitate another church…rather,
it is better to identify the principle behind what is taking
place and contextualize it for each specific place.
2. Churches are organic in nature, not simply organizations.
Therefore, leaders must learn to "tend" to the
church. This involves evaluation and caring interplay between
the various parts, knowing that each part affects the whole.
3. We have a part to play in the health and growth of our
church… God has a part to play. We seek to remove
obstacles to health and growth. We also plant and water…but
God causes the growth!
4. The key concern of NCD is the quality of a church,
rather than simply its numerical growth. Christian Schwarz
does believe however that qualitative growth does tend to
promote quantitative growth in time.
5. The crucial aspect of the Eight Key Characteristics listed
above is the adjectives (i.e. Empowering, Passionate, Inspiring,
etc.).
6. No Quality Characteristic can be missing. If a church
is strong in all of the areas but one, the one area of weakness
(known as the "Minimum Factor") will be the point
of vulnerability and decline. Picture a barrel with each
of the Quality Characteristics being a vertical stave. What
happens if all of the staves are the same length, but one
is significantly shorter? If you pour water into the barrel,
the water will run out at the point of the shortest stave.
This is the idea behind the need of a church to identify
and address its Minimum Factor.
7. NCD is a process that involves hard work. It also takes
time. It is not a magic formula meant to bring instant health
and happiness to churches that are in deep trouble. It is
most effective in churches that have the capacity to adapt
and implement for the sake of future ministry. It does not
solve all of life's problems…rather it seeks to provide
a common language and structure to better facilitate new
direction and purpose.
If you would like to find out more about Natural Church
Development, please contact Mark Stromberg by email at mark@nwc-cov.org
or call the Conference office.
For NCD's Web site, please
click here.
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