COME TO THE EDGE: I. The Storm-tossed Sea © Bishop Mike Lowry June 2, 2011

Source: Library of CongressEuropean Map of the Word, pre 1492

Map by Henry the Navigator, taken from

Waldenseemueller Map, 1507

The Storm-tossed Sea  We are – “caught in transition from a Christendom mentality to a missional reality.” Dr. Dana Robert, Boston School of Theology  What evidence do you see for the truth of Dr. Robert’s statement? What leads you to disagree?

Our Mission …. “To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” How do you understand this mission? What does it mean to “make disciples?”

The Storm-tossed Sea: The Call to Action An important review.

Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world The Call to Action Overview Association of Directors of Connectional Ministries

General Conference (¶501) The General Conference has full legislative power over all matters distinctively connectional. It has no executive or administrative power.

Council of Bishops (¶427.3) The Council of Bishops is charged with the oversight of the spiritual and temporal affairs of the whole Church, to be executed in regularized consultation and cooperation with other councils and service agencies of the Church.

Connectional Table (¶904) The purpose of the Connectional Table is for the discernment and articulation of the vision for the church and the stewardship of the mission, ministries, and resources of The United Methodist Church as determined by the actions of the General Conference and in consultation with the Council of Bishops.

Our Scriptural Mission Great Commandment “You shall love the Lord your God... You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Mk 12:30-31 Great Commission “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...” Mt. 28:19

Our UMC Mission is... to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world!

Background Mission and Identity Clarified –Mission Statement –Four Areas of Focus (Seven Vision Pathways) –The United Methodist Way (Formation) Re-Ordering for Mission –Look at current reality and vision –Several GC Study Committees & Other Groups –Call to Action Report requested

UMC STUDY GROUP REPORTS Reported to Fall 2010 Connectional Table meeting

Study Groups 1.Apportionment Structure Study 2.Church Systems Task Force 3.Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters 4.Sustainability Advisory Group 5.Study Committee on Worldwide Nature of UMC 6.Committee on Faith and Order 7.Ministry Study 8.Call to Action Report

CALL TO ACTION REPORT Initiative for Change

Beginnings - November 2009 Council of Bishops & Connectional Table creates a Call to Action Steering Team to… –Gather data and conduct an objective Operational Assessment –Share findings and recommendations that will lead to a reordering of the life of the church for greater effectiveness in making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Starting Point Confession that as a Church we have pursued self-interests and allowed institutional inertia to bind us in ways that constrain our witness and dilute our mission. We have been preoccupied more with defending treasured assumptions and theories, protecting our respective turf and prerogatives and maintaining the status quo for beloved institutions.

Starting Point Unflinching recognition of decades of declines in membership and attendance, less engagement and influence in communities than desired, aging constituencies and leaders and financial strains. Emphasizing that any “reordering” should be predicated upon sound and accurate understandings of how to best direct leadership, time, talent and money to cultivating more vital congregations.

Starting Point Commitment to work from a foundation of facts rather than opinions by commissioning research based on extensive data-mining and objective methods for identifying relevant trends, behaviors and issues.

Initiated Two Research Projects

VITAL CONGREGATIONS Research by Towers Watson Data Mining of 32,000 Congregations in the USA

Research Model What is desired state? What indicates that the desired state has been achieved? What are the factors that directly impact the desired state? Vital Congregations Indicators of Vitality Drivers

What makes Churches Vital? High vitality churches consistently share common factors that work together regardless of size: Inspirational preaching Multiple small groups and programs for children and youth Mix of traditional and contemporary music services High percentage of spiritually engaged laity who assume leadership roles

16 “Drivers” in Four Key Areas Small groups and Programs 1. Number of small groups 2. Number of programs for children 3. Number of programs for youth

16 “Drivers” in Four Key Areas Pastor 4. Developing, coaching, and mentoring lay leadership to enable laity to carry out ministry 5. Influence the action and accomplishments of others to accomplish changes in the local church 6. Motivating the congregation to set and achieve significant goals through effective leadership 7. Inspiring the congregation through preaching 8. Length of appointment

16 “Drivers” in Four Key Areas Worship 9. Mix of contemporary (newer forms of worship style) and traditional services 10. Using more topical sermon series for preaching in traditional services 11. Using more contemporary music in contemporary services 12. Using more multi-media in contemporary services

16 “Drivers” in Four Key Areas Lay leadership 13. Effectiveness of lay leadership 14. Lay leadership demonstrating vital personal faith 15. Rotating lay leadership 16. Percent of worship attendees serving as leaders in the past five years

OPERATIONAL ASSESSMENT Research by Apex HG, LLC Review and Assessment of Mission, Values, Culture, Resources and Governance

Operational Assessment - Apex Identified a creeping crisis of relevancy that is linked to frailties in the UMC’s culture. Absence of common definitions for the meaning of our mission statement Value autonomy and decentralization with little accountability for results Lack of trust, low levels of mutual respect The frequent absence of civil dialogue

Operational Assessment - Apex Insufficient clarity about the precise roles and responsibilities of leaders Lack of agreed ways to measure success or assure collaboration Confusion of governance functions (legislative vs. operations)

Operational Assessment - Apex Identified the need for: More clarity and understanding about the UMC’s mission, culture, and values Less perceived organizational “distance” between and among the foundational units of the church Better defined leadership roles, responsibilities, and accountability;

Operational Assessment - Apex Greater clarity about outcomes More standardized management processes and reporting systems Streamlining of connectional structures to achieve effective governance, lowered costs, and higher levels of performance Unsustainable financial model

Call to Action – Report The Vital Congregations and Operational Assessment research provided findings The Call to Action Team presented –Adaptive Challenge –Key Recommendations –Interim Operations Team

The adaptive context is a situation that demands a response outside your current toolkit or repertoire; it consists of a gap between aspirations and operational capacity that cannot be closed by the expertise and procedures currently in place. Ron Heifetz ADAPTIVE CONTEXT

ADAPTIVE CHALLENGE In an area like this the opportunities are ill- defined and discovering those opportunities will require significant changes in the way people do business in many different places in the company. This sort of thing is an adaptive challenge. Ron Heifetz

The Adaptive Challenge “To redirect the flow of attention, energy, and resources to an intense concentration on fostering and sustaining an increase in the number of vital congregations effective in making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” (p. 14)

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS To Council of Bishops and Connectional Table

#1 Increase Vital Congregations “For a minimum of 10 years, starting January , use the drivers of Vital Congregations… …assure that our attention and the flow of resources are directed toward enriching and extending high-quality ministries in and through congregations as the primary arenas for making disciples. (p.20)

#2 Reform Leadership Systems “Dramatically reform the clergy leadership development, deployment, evaluation, and accountability systems.” (p.21)

#3 Church-wide Indicators “Collect, report and review, and act on statistical information that measure progress in key performance areas in uniform and consistent ways across all churches and annual conferences, to learn and adjust our approaches to leadership, policies, and the use of human and financial resources.” (p. 21)

#4 Align Residential Bishops “Reform the Council of Bishops, with the active bishops assuming (1) responsibility and public accountability for improving results in attendance, professions of faith, baptisms, participation in servant/mission ministries, benevolent giving, and in lowering the average age of participants in local church life; and (2) responsibility for establishing a new culture of accountability throughout the church.”(p. 22)

#5 Consolidate, Align Agencies “Consolidate program and administrative agencies, align their work and resources with the priorities of the Church and the decade-long commitment to build vital congregations, and reconstitute them with much smaller competency-based boards of directors in order to overcome current lack of alignment, diffused and redundant activity, and high expense due to independent structures.” (p. 22)

INTERIM OPERATIONS TEAM To Lead and Manage the Change Process For Council of Bishops and Connectional Table

Interim Operations Team Seven members based on competency Executives who are leading large-scale change in complex systems Two-Year process Budget of $375,000 per year

Interim Operations Team To serve the Council of Bishops and Connectional Table in implementing recommendations To guide change management through General Conference and beyond To “coach” and recommend steps, processes and timelines necessary for approved changes To recommend policy to appropriate groups

A Vision for the Future

Vision We must reduce the perceived distance between the general Church (including the general agencies), the annual conferences, and local congregations. We must refashion and strengthen our approaches in leadership development, deployment, and supervision.

Vision We must articulate dramatically higher performance expectations and commit to achieving them—with a much greater emphasis on outputs as contrasted with intentions and activities—in the work of all leaders of the Church. We must invest more resources for the ministries of local churches, including those in the Central Conferences, and reconceive and reform connectional funding practices (including frameworks for apportionments for local churches).

Vision We must refresh expectations and reform procedures of the Council of Bishops. In short, we must change our mind-set so that our primary focus and commitment are on fostering and sustaining congregational vitality to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Our Scriptural Mission Great Commandment “You shall love the Lord your God... You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Mk 12:30-31 Great Commission “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...” Mt. 28:19

A IN-GATHERING OF GOALS FOR GENERAL CONFERENCE Fruits of Ministry

A Call to Action The United Methodist Church is called to be a world leader in developing existing and starting new congregations to be vital so that we make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world

Disciple making and World Transformation Vital congregations are Spirit-filled, forward leaning communities of believers that welcome all people (Galatians 3:28), make disciples of Jesus Christ (Matthews 28:18), and serve like Christ through justice and mercy ministries (Micah 6:8; Luke 4:17-21)

A Vital Congregation has... Inspiring worship Gifted, equipped and inspired clergy leadership Gifted, equipped and empowered lay leadership Small groups and strong children and youth ministry Engaged disciples in mission and outreach

A vital disciple is a changed follower of Jesus Matthew 22: The Great Commandment Disciples worship make new disciples engage in growing their faith engage in mission give to mission

People and Ministry Disciples worship Average worship attendance Disciples make new disciples Number of people who will join by profession of faith Disciples engage in growing their faith Number of small groups, Sunday school classes and Bible studies. Disciples engage in mission Number of people from the congregation engaged in local, national and international mission/outreach activities Disciples give to mission The total amount given by local church to other organizations … includes apportionments paid and support for all UMC organizations… Vital Local Church Goals

Major Consultations Financial Leadership Forum (GBPHB & GCFA) March 1-2, 2011 Ft. Worth, Texas Leadership Summit (COB and CT) April 6, Hour Webcast to Conference Gatherings

A Steep Learning Curve

Facing The Storm-tossed Sea Three Critical Variables to Remember (in reverse order of importance). 1.We’ve been here before. 2.It makes a great difference if we perceive the ship as the Titanic or the Mayflower. 3.“I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.” Matthew 28:20 (CEB)

BREAK