Coaching Churches
Back Story
In the mid 70’s, as a kid, I experienced church for the first time. A small bunch of people meeting in a house. I was 8. It wasn’t until much later, after I had left home at age 17 that I actually experienced church in a more traditional, in a church building, type setting. Since then I’ve worked in partnership in a wide variety of contexts with just about every conceivable church tradition, network or denomination that exists on this planet. Mainly through the 20 years of working in a missional rock band, designing and using many different ways to help churches reach younger people in their communities through music and creative arts.
This 20 years, coupled with another 10 years working with large faith based organisations committed to helping churches reach young people and many years immersed in all aspects of church life and leadership has given me a beautiful first hand understanding of the diversity and breadth of expression that exists within the church globally and how this is a truly powerful and dynamic thing.
It doesn’t have to be the thing that divides us, instead it is the thing that enriches us and broadens our understanding of how a creative God who fashioned the ever expanding universe with it’s billion trillion stars is very ok with a bit of diversity.
My reflections on my journey reminded me that God is very big and we are very small. It reminded me that God is really interested in us, people, his creation. In fact it’s what He is interested above all else. You! How crazy is that, hard to fathom, but true. You really matter to God.
The church is people, community, family. Whatever your theology and tradition we know for sure that God is building His church and that church is made up of people, whatever it looks like it’s always living breathing people.
I think God is more interested in you than in what your are doing for Him.
My Approach
1. VISION
Vision / Strategy Alignment
2. GROWTH
Structured for growth.
3. LEADERSHIP
Leadership culture.
4. RECRUIT
Recruit > Equip > Release
1. VISION
Vision / Strategy Alignment
2. GROWTH
Structured for growth.
3. LEADERSHIP
Leadership culture.
4. RECRUIT
Recruit > Equip > Release
My approach to working with you, working with your church will be more rooted in relationship and moving forward together than it will be about taking you through my 5 step program. I don’t have one! I could write one but that’s not what I do. If you need that there are plenty out there. If you decide to work with me we will be walking together, learning together and moving forwards together. I will help you lead your people well, making sure everyone is together, same vision, same goals, all of their God given talents, abilities and gifting being valued and used.
I will be all about providing you with support and encouragement. I’ll be in your corner. You are the one God has called, I’ll be helping you see through the haze and find the way forward. You have everything you need, I’m going to help you discover all of those God given resources.
Sure, guidance if you need it, advice when you need it, insight and the benefit of my experience, all that I gladly give but I’m going to help you find the answers from what already exists within you. You are doing what you are doing because God called you to it. I’ll be your Aaron, your Hur, holding up your arms when you need it and cheering you on always.
I can almost guarantee that any realignment that could help propel you forward will be rooted in one of these 4 areas.
This is where I can really help you. This is where we can work together to bring about breakthrough, realise potential and see lasting change.
I’ve written down a few brief introductions on these 4 key areas to help us as we look to potentially begin working together.
In the Uk alone there are over 50,000 worshipping communities and over 40,000 church buildings, Churches still outnumber pubs! There’s only 39,000 of those.
like pretty much everything else the church landscape is constantly changing. Every year a new trend, fad, success story, method for success etc etc. Nothing wrong with that. We want to celebrate the good things that are happening and learn what we can from others experience.
What we should’t do is expect someone else’s breakthrough to be our golden ticket for the success train! It could be, but probably not. What’s working in Minnesota may not be right for Milton Keynes. There are however, certain foundational components to our churches DNA, culture, vision and strategy that need to be healthy in order for us to move forward. These fundamentals supersede cultural nuance and relevance. They are just important. Always. Get these right and you will be purring like a well tuned v8 engine ( or fully charged electric vehicle if you want to be all pc! ) This is where I can help!
These are just introductions and a way to help you decide wether we would be a good fit and could work together well.
Hopefully they are helpful.
Tim
1. Vision/Strategy Alignment
An article I recently read in the Harvard business review talked about the importance of strategic alignment. How corporate business leaders were agreeing that strategic alignment was high on the list of priorities. How well does your strategy support and serve your vision?
Vision is what you are trying to achieve, Strategy is how you will achieve it. Your church vision won’t change, your strategies sometimes will, and they need to.
I talk to organisations often about the need to be open and intentional around innovation which leads to necessary re-aligned of strategy and organisational structures. (we will look more at this in section 2 structured for growth.)
I can help you review and critique your current strategy, centrally and within departments where needed. I can help you formulate processes which help you keep strategy hot and always serving the vision.
Vision is what you are trying to achieve,
Strategy is how you will achieve it.
2. Structured for Growth
A lot of what you will read here and hear me talk about will have a theme, a direction of travel that will be consistent. The need to be flexible, sounds so simple….. if only it was!
Structure is, of course, important it’s the ‘who’ and the ‘what ‘as well as the policies, processes and systems. Without structure you create an instant ceiling. However, over-structure will do the exact something, maybe worse! Maybe the ceiling comes crashing down.
So how do we find the balance, the sweet spot?
Organic structure is the key. There, now you know, you can take that to the bank.
If structure has become, or is becoming, the central pillar in your church you are heading towards lot’s of ministry activity for sure but less and less effective, productive and vision focused. The potential for strategic drift increases. More and more bureaucracy, meetings, meetings about upcoming meetings will take up the bandwidth and decrease your ability to see ahead clearly. In fact I remember being in a church meeting and asking what the meeting was for. ‘It’s a meeting to prep for the pre-meeting meeting!’ was the response I got up and walked out. Life is too short!
The balance was wrong. More importantly, we need to be ready and able to adapt and re-structure quickly.
In church we all love our history and tradition, that’s fine until we become enslaved to it.
‘Structure needs to serve the vision, fuel the mission and shape the culture.’
When your strategy remains flexible, fluid, less important than the vision and mission, open to innovation that, in turn,
helps you stay moving forward in the direction of your vision, when you’ve got that all down, then your structure needs to be organic, not bound by tradition but serving the vision.
This is the sweet spot
This keeps us looking and moving forward. We can look in the rear view mirror and be thankful for the road that got us to where we are but looking in that mirror for too long and you are heading for a car wreck.
The vision and mission are always more important than process and procedure. Organic Structure helps you maintain a mission-centred environment.
This is how we are ‘structured for Growth’.
3. Leadership Culture
I’ll be brief here, we can discuss more together. It’s so important, so crucial that your leadership culture is healthy and balanced. It needs real, honesty dialogue.
We need leaders! This is, in fact, something I am extremely passionate about. Leading well, modelled on Christ, helping, supporting and equipping leaders to lead well and enjoy it, yes, enjoy it, with all it’s demands and challenges, to find a deep joy in leading and serving.
Leaders shape teams, teams shape culture, culture is what your church will look like.
Healthy, balanced leadership, leads to, healthy, empowered, equipped, happy and productive teams, leading to a healthy growing church where there is ownership through agency, through openness and earned respect.
I want to support you as a leader. I’ll help you grow and help your leaders grow into their roles. This takes us nicely into section 4
4. Recruit, Equip & Release
If we have great Vision / strategy alignment, organic structure designed for growth and a healthy balanced leadership culture, well, we are really motoring. So, we had better make sure we are intentional about identifying and developing leaders. I can help you develop an effective leadership pipeline, one that if built on these 3 principles, will never dry up. There is much I could say here, but as this is just an introduction I will be brief.
Recruit
There are many ways I can help you with this. Here is just one:
Over many years of leading teams of all shapes and sizes, I have always employed my 80/20 rule. I want my team leaders to spend 80% of their time focused on the job at hand and 20% focused on the future, expansion, development. this will include recruitment of people, many of whom will be future leaders. I’ve had issues with people giving no thought to development and others always racing ahead (I do have a soft spot for these people) causing me double headache, things not getting done and having to give time to the ‘daily idea’ (I still secretly love it-don’t tell anyone!.. )
Equip
Equipping is part of good discipleship, this means growth and maturity.
Also:
- Develops DNA. If you are equipping then you are also imparting. This creates distinctive DNA
- Avoids burn-out. Equip others and release yourself.
Release
Kingdom-kingdom-kingdom. Anyone who knows me knows. Kingdom v Empire. I talk about it, write songs about it, try to model it. It requires sacrifice, generosity and trust. Three great things. Don’t hold people back, even when it is deeply sacrificial. You can’t outgive God. When you release, God releases right back to you and He has a lot more to release. Let Him.