When working with a ministry team, a shared vision is very important. When there is no shared vision, the team falls apart or does not work well together. The last two years of my 20 plus years of ministry, I have been trying a different approach to this issue. I could not find a chairperson for the children's ministry team so I decided to chair it myself for a year. I decided to begin each meeting with check-in time like it was a small group and then spend 20-30 minutes in bible talk. I use the mutual invitation method created by Eric Law so that everyone gets a chance to speak and everyone is invited for the check in and the bible talk.
For the bible talk, I use part of the gospel text for Sunday. I begin by reading the bible text and then asking "What word, phrase or idea stood out for you when this passage was read?" We all share on that, even the children that are on the team. Then I read it again and ask, "What is God calling you to do, be or change through this passage?" Sometimes I do not use the second question if the group is bigger than six or there is a lot of conversation around the first question.
To my amazement, we still get all out work done, we are laughing a lot more, and the team has really gelled. Through the check in time and the bible talk, the team members seem to have a better sense of what is important to each of us and where we want to see our ministry go. Decisions are made quicker and more people volunteer for the tasks to be done. We only meet for 90 minutes and spend 30 minutes doing the opening conversations but yet all the work is getting done.
I think that we are learning what values we hold in common, what passions and skills we bring to the table, and how to work together. This has caused a large shift in my understanding of how a team works.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Inspiring a shared vision
I read this article on leadership a couple of days ago. I was from a newletter called "Tomorrow's Professor" that I get free from Standford University. This most current newsletter talked about leadership. I thought that I would share it with you.
In the church we often talk about developing a shared vision. We spend a lot of time creating mission statements. This except from the longer article looks at creating a shared vision in an classroom but I think it would work for any committee in a congregation.
"Promoting and directing a group to clearly identify its mission and purpose is an important responsibility of a leader. Kouzes and Posner (2002) referred to this as inspiring a shared vision. For example, when a teacher begins a class discussion period, the first question could be, “When you leave this class period, what would you like to have accomplished?” It is not sufficient for a leader to impose a goal on the rest of the group members. Successful leaders engage followers in a manner that elicits the personal commitment and energy of each member toward some shared ends, The goals of all members need not necessarily be the same, but there must be a mutual acceptance that all can benefit from the interaction and cooperation of the group activity.
Checklist for Determining Group Commitment to an Idea
•Value or principle-The idea is important to a core belief group membership.
•Credibility-The idea is grounded in evidence of its worth. There is a rational, justifiabie basis for pursuing the idea.
•Inclusiveness: The idea is shared so that all members can be a part of the vision.
•Clarity—The idea is communicated with enough illustration to be vivid in the minds of the group members. Clarity provides a common certainty For the context, including purpose, action, and outcome.
•Positive Perspective—The idea is stated in an affirmative way that communicates the hopes and anticipations of members.
•Passion—The idea taps the emotions and the hearts of group members, providing a driving force for accomplishing the vision. Passion can be the zest and enthusiasm that keeps members engaged and prevents apathy and indifference."
Reference: Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. (2002). The Leadership Challenge (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Taken from TOMORROW'S PROFESSOR(sm) eMAIL NEWSLETTER
http://cgi.stanford.edu/~dept-ctl/cgi-bin/tomprof/postings.php
Archives of all past postings can be found at:
http://cgi.stanford.edu/~dept-ctl/cgi-bin/tomprof/postings.php
In the church we often talk about developing a shared vision. We spend a lot of time creating mission statements. This except from the longer article looks at creating a shared vision in an classroom but I think it would work for any committee in a congregation.
"Promoting and directing a group to clearly identify its mission and purpose is an important responsibility of a leader. Kouzes and Posner (2002) referred to this as inspiring a shared vision. For example, when a teacher begins a class discussion period, the first question could be, “When you leave this class period, what would you like to have accomplished?” It is not sufficient for a leader to impose a goal on the rest of the group members. Successful leaders engage followers in a manner that elicits the personal commitment and energy of each member toward some shared ends, The goals of all members need not necessarily be the same, but there must be a mutual acceptance that all can benefit from the interaction and cooperation of the group activity.
Checklist for Determining Group Commitment to an Idea
•Value or principle-The idea is important to a core belief group membership.
•Credibility-The idea is grounded in evidence of its worth. There is a rational, justifiabie basis for pursuing the idea.
•Inclusiveness: The idea is shared so that all members can be a part of the vision.
•Clarity—The idea is communicated with enough illustration to be vivid in the minds of the group members. Clarity provides a common certainty For the context, including purpose, action, and outcome.
•Positive Perspective—The idea is stated in an affirmative way that communicates the hopes and anticipations of members.
•Passion—The idea taps the emotions and the hearts of group members, providing a driving force for accomplishing the vision. Passion can be the zest and enthusiasm that keeps members engaged and prevents apathy and indifference."
Reference: Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. (2002). The Leadership Challenge (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Taken from TOMORROW'S PROFESSOR(sm) eMAIL NEWSLETTER
http://cgi.stanford.edu/~dept-ctl/cgi-bin/tomprof/postings.php
Archives of all past postings can be found at:
http://cgi.stanford.edu/~dept-ctl/cgi-bin/tomprof/postings.php
Monday, March 21, 2011
Why this blog
I have been thinking about leadership in various forms since early in the 1990's when I stumbled across a book in the library by Warren Bennis titled, "On Becoming a Leader." (1989, Addison Wesley) Since first reading the book by Bennis, I have collected many books on leadership, articles and gotten a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN.
Warren Bennis stimulated my thinking about leadership in many ways. He say that leaders are different than managers. Managers seek training but leaders seek education.
This is one of the quotes from his book that I have often pondered: "It is one of the paradoxes of life that good leaders rise to the top in spite of their weakness while bad leaders rise because of their weakness." (p.47)
So follow me as I explore through a blog what leadership looks like in a congregation from the perspective of a female lay person who is commissioned as an Associate in MInistry in the ELCA and who sees herself as a leader, an educator and a faithful follower of Jesus Christ.
Warren Bennis stimulated my thinking about leadership in many ways. He say that leaders are different than managers. Managers seek training but leaders seek education.
This is one of the quotes from his book that I have often pondered: "It is one of the paradoxes of life that good leaders rise to the top in spite of their weakness while bad leaders rise because of their weakness." (p.47)
So follow me as I explore through a blog what leadership looks like in a congregation from the perspective of a female lay person who is commissioned as an Associate in MInistry in the ELCA and who sees herself as a leader, an educator and a faithful follower of Jesus Christ.
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