Leadership in the Life Cycle

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Leadership in the Life Cycle

• Source George Bullard
• Lake Hickory Learning Communities

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Congregational Passages

• Congregations have a Life Cycle just like people
  do
• Theology and Reality
• Church vs. church(es)

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Leadership Tasks

• Smart leaders diagnose the congregations place
  in the Life Cycle and lead accordingly

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Life Cycle Diagnostics

• Four things in congregational life to determine
  what is going on
• Vision
• Inclusion (Relationship Experiences)
• Program
• Management

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The Big Four
I
P
V
M
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Visionary Leadership

• The current understanding of Gods spiritual
  strategic direction for a congregation that is
  cast by leadership and owned by the people
  connected with the congregation.

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V -- Vision

• Mission
• Dream
• Energy
• Purpose
• Leadership

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Inclusionary Experiences

• The relationship process by which people are
  brought to faith in God through Jesus Christ,
  become connected to a congregation, are
  assimilated into the fellowship life and care
  ministry of that congregation, have opportunities
  for spiritual growth and leadership development,
  and utilize their gifts and skills through
  Kingdom involvement.

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I -- Inclusion

• Relational structures
• How do people connect with each other and God?
• Celebration/congregation/cell
• Evangelism and Outreach
• Assimilation
• Discipleship

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Programmatic Emphases

• The functional attempts to provide ministries,
  services, activities, and learning experiences
  for people connected with a congregation by
  membership, attendance, fellowship, or staffing.

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P -- Programs

• Ministries
• Services
• Activities
• Training

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Accountable Management

• The administration of the resources of the
  congregation, the decision-making structures of
  the congregation, the formal and informal culture
  of the congregation, and the openness of the
  congregation to transition, change, and
  transformation.

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M -- Management

• Administration
• Policy
• Structure
• Resources
• Decision-making

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Life-Cycle Model - Descriptive
PROGRAMS Ministries Services Activities Training
INCLUSION Relational Structures Evangelism/Outrea
ch Assimilation Discipleship
The relationship process by which people are
brought to faith in God through Jesus Christ,
become connected to a congregation, are
assimilated into the fellowship life and care
ministry of that congregation, have opportunities
for spiritual growth and leadership development,
and utilize their gifts and skills through
Kingdom involvement. (inclusion)
The functional attempts to provide ministries,
services, activities, and learning experiences
for people connected with a congregation by
membership, attendance, fellowship, or staffing.
(program)
MANAGEMENT Administration Policy Structure Resour
ces Decision-making
VISION Mission Dream Energy Purpose Leadership
The administration of the resources of the
congregation, the decision-making structures of
the congregation, the formal and informal culture
of the congregation, and the openness of the
congregation to transition, change, and
transformation. (management)
The current understanding of Gods spiritual
strategic direction for a congregation that is
cast by the leadership and owned by the people
connected with the congregation. (vision)
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The Stages of Congregational Development

• Birth
• Infancy
• Childhood
• Adolescence
• Prime (Adulthood)

• 6. Maturity
• 7. Empty Nest
• 8. Retirement
• 9. Old Age
• 10. Death

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Congregational Life Cycle
Prime (adulthood)
Adolescence
Maturity
Empty nest
Childhood
Retirement
Infancy
Old age
Birth
Death
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Life-Cycle Model
INCLUSION Relational Structures Evangelism/Outrea
ch Assimilation Discipleship
PROGRAMS Ministries Services Activities Training
YOUNG ADULT
MATURE ADULT
EMPTY NEST
ADOLES- CENCE
CHILD- HOOD
RETIRE- MENT
MANAGEMENT Administration Policy Structure Resour
ces Decision-making
VISION Mission Dream Energy Purpose Leadership
INFANCY
OLD AGE
BIRTH
DEATH
LATE GROWTH
EARLY GROWTH
EARLY AGING
LATE AGING
PRIME
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BirthVipm

• Birth is that stage when Vision is dominant, but
  relationships, programs, and management are not.

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Infancy VIpm

• Infancy is when Vision is dominant, and has been
  joined by inclusionary relationships, but
  programs and management are not dominant.

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Childhood ViPm

• In Childhood, Vision is dominant, but instead of
  inclusionary relationships, now Programs are
  dominant. Management remain underdeveloped.

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Adolescence VIPm

• During Adolescence, Vision, Inclusionary
  relationships and Programs are all three
  dominant. Only management is not fully developed.

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Prime VIPM

• The church is at full Kingdom potential
• All four dominant and appropriately aligned.

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Maturity vIPM

• In Maturity, for the first time, Vision is
  diminished. Inclusion, Programs, and Management
  remain fully developed.

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Empty Nest vIpM

• Programs become diminished, joining vision, when
  a congregation enters Empty Nest. Inclusion and
  Management remain as the dominant factors.

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Retirement viPM

• Retirement is organized around the lead roles of
  Programs and Management. Vision and Relationships
  are passive, even wounded.

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Old Age vipM

• Only Management remains dominant in the Old Age
  stage. Vision, inclusion, and programs are all
  passive.

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Death vipm

• At Death, only essential structural management is
  even present. Vision, Relationships, and Programs
  are disappeared.

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Life-Cycle Model
INCLUSION Relational Structures Evangelism/Outrea
ch Assimilation Discipleship
PROGRAMS Ministries Services Activities Training
YOUNG ADULT
MATURE ADULT
EMPTY NEST
ADOLES- CENCE
CHILD- HOOD
RETIRE- MENT
MANAGEMENT Administration Policy Structure Resour
ces Decision-making
VISION Mission Dream Energy Purpose Leadership
INFANCY
OLD AGE
BIRTH
DEATH
LATE GROWTH
EARLY GROWTH
EARLY AGING
LATE AGING
PRIME
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Whos Driving?
Prime (adulthood)
I
P
Adolescence
Maturity
Empty nest
V
M
Childhood
Retirement
Infancy
Old age
Birth
Death
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Driving in Post-prime churches
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Driving from Birth to Prime
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The Big Question

• How do I get my congregation from where we are to
  where we want to be?
• How do we get the right ones in the front seat?

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From fix-based to solutions-based

• The first and principal leadership task is to
  replace what was lost last in the congregation
  (V, I, P, M)

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Leadership on Growth Side

• On the growing side of the curve, church growth
  happens through emphasizing the characteristics
  of the next stage
• i.e. teach infants to act like children, children
  to act like adolescents, teens to act like adults

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On the younger half of the curve

• During the birth-infancy stages, the master story
  of the congregation is formed
• A major leadership task on the growth side is
  to help shape and consolidate this story

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Leadership at Prime (adulthood)

• At adulthood, multiple visions surface, and
  leadership is a matter of developing consensus in
  the master story

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Leadership tasks on the right side of the life
cycle

• Principle Deal with what you lost latest
• Principle Determine whether change strategies
  can be continuous, or must be discontinuous or
  even radical
• Principle The further down the curve, the
  longer it will take and less likely it will work

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Leadership at Maturity Revision

• Deal with what you lost latest vision
• From vIPM to VIPM
• Sometimes a simple change of pastors works here
  (though not at other places!)
• Takes 6-18 months to redevelop at this stage
• Continuous (not radical) change works best

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Leadership at Empty Nest - Revitalization

• Deal with what you lost latest P
• Program vitality
• Move from vIpM ? vIPm
• Takes 18-36 months

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Revitalization at Empty Nest

• Stages
• Nostalgia
• Disappointment
• Try harder
• Anger
• If caught at nostalgia, can do incremental
  change
• If at disappointment, anger, or beyond, must
  lead via introducing discontinuous or radical
  change

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Leadership at Retirement Renewal

• From viPM ? vIPM
• Inclusion first, then vision
• Must create lots of new ways for new people (not
  malcontents) to be reached and included in the
  life of the church
• Takes 3-5 years

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Renewal at Retirement

• This is no place to use continuous change
  strategies
• If it is 1st or 2nd leap at trying to redevelop,
  leadership can use discontinuous change
• If 3rd -4th time, leadership must use radical
  change to leap forward to new adolescence

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Leadership task at Old Age - Reinvent

• From vipM ? Vipm
• Very difficult to initiate without 3rd party
• consultant or intentional interim type
• Takes 18-36 months (a shorter time frame but
  violently different)

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Reinventing at Old Age

• This is no place to use continuous change
  strategies
• And it must happen within 18-36 months
• Lets turn the page, begin with a blank, start
  from ground up
• Reinventing, not revising

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Leadership Task at Death Resurrection

• From m ? Vipm
• First V, then I
• 18-36 month time frame
• Relocations, annexations, bequeathings

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What to aim at

• Maturity redevelops toward adulthood
• Empty nest ? adulthood or adolescence
• Retirement ? adolescence or childhood
• Old age ? childhood or infancy
• Death -gt infancy or birth

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Redeveloping Targets
Prime (adulthood)
I
P
Adolescence
Maturity
Empty nest
V
M
Childhood
Retirement
Infancy
Old age
Birth
Death
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What to expect

• Any successful solutions-based leadership
  approach to redevelopment lasts 7-9 years
• After a decade, its time for another
  redevelopment
• Any congregation can be a decade from death!

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The key at all points right of center

• You dont have to have the same dream as before
  what matters that the current congregation owns
  the vision passionately
• At every point of leadership on the right side
  of things, a goal is to diminish the controlling
  aspects of management
• Reducing management increases energy for ministry

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Where to Learn

• From someone who is doing it!
• A practitioner is better than a book or
  conference
• Your Virginia Baptist family can help to connect
  you with
• Learner to leader
• Peer to peer
• Mentor to protégé

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Leadership at the Life Cycle

• Courageous Churches
• Virginia Baptist Mission Board
• John.chandler_at_vbmb.org