Toolbox For Faith

I get an email newsletter from George Bullard and this morning he sent out a very interesting article about what happens following a major “leave/lose” conflict in a congregation. He discusses healthy steps for moving forward if a pastor is leaving or if a pastor is staying. Obviously, every situation is different, but Bullard offers some good advice for dealing with a very difficult situation. The article is entitled, “Leaving, Staying and Becoming Well Following a Lose/Leave Conflict in a Congregation.”

“How can we have a good Mutual Ministry Committee that works together?” asked the frustrated member of a neighboring congregation as we talked over an accidental meeting at lunch. “I get frustrated each time I attend a meeting because the pastor has one agenda, the chair another. One member of our group works on the personnel committee at his job and feels that we should evaluate the pastor in the same way his company evaluates employees. This upsets another member of the committee who feels our job is totally different. I am left wondering how we can work together and accomplish something. Right now, I am ready to quit.”

I suggested to him this wonderful idea that came from Dr. Phil Whitley, a consultant by occupation and a Godly Leader by the grace of God. After experiencing it, I would recommend it for any Mutual Ministry Committee or Pastor-Parish Relations Committee as it is called in some churches.

Phil’s idea started with the Mutual Ministry Committee he chaired at the church I was serving. He felt that one of the difficulties was the various divergent views evident in the members of the committee about what should be happening at our church in ministry and mission. So he suggested that the committee members read Becoming a Blessed Church by N. Graham Standish, a book Phil had felt was very helpful to him. The book talks about the purpose of a blessed church and what it means in vision for the future. We purchased books for each member of the committee then discussed it in detail at three consecutive meetings. The result was a new understanding by everyone for what had to happen in mission and ministry at our church. In the midst of our book study, we developed a shared overview of what mutual ministry was all about. As one member of the group emailed me, “The book and discussion changed my outlook. I learned from the book but more importantly, I learned from our discussion because we applied the concepts to our church.”

The book study is a delightful and informative way to get a Mutual Ministry Committee/Pastor-Parish Relations Committee on the same page. It made a difference in the way that my church’s Mutual Ministry Committee and I related to each other. Phil had a great idea!