Vital future

1
Vital future

• Spiritual Leadership
• Healthy Congregations

2
Four Church Environments

Which of the four environments best describe the
current culture of the Wisconsin Annual
Conference?  
HIGH
INTENSITY (PASSION)
CORROSIVE
PRODUCTIVE
RESIGNED
COMFORTABLE
 
LOW
                     
POSITIVE
QUALITY (ENERGY)
NEGATIVE
What is required to align positive energy with
high intensity in the Wisconsin Annual
Conference?
FOCUS NARROW CLEAR
HIGH
INTENSITY OF ENGAGEMENT
CORROSIVE
PRODUCTIVE
CONTROL RESOURCES
HANDS OF FEW SCARCITY
HANDS OF MANY ABUNDANCE
QUALITY OF ENERGY (RELATIONSHIPS)
RESIGNED
COMFORTABLE
FOCUS BROAD FUZZY
LOW
NEGATIVE
POSITIVE
based on a model developed by Heike Bruch
Sumantra Ghoshal, A Bias for Action, 2004.
What are the major factors influencing intensity
in the Wisconsin Annual Conference?  
What are the major factors influencing energy in
the Wisconsin Annual Conference?  
3
Four Church Environments

Which of the four environments best describe the
current culture of the Wisconsin Annual
Conference?  
HIGH
INTENSITY (PASSION)
CORROSIVE
PRODUCTIVE
RESIGNED
COMFORTABLE
 
LOW
                     
POSITIVE
QUALITY (ENERGY)
NEGATIVE
What is required to align positive energy with
high intensity in the Wisconsin Annual
Conference?
WE
FOCUS NARROW CLEAR
HIGH
INTENSITY OF ENGAGEMENT
CORROSIVE
PRODUCTIVE
CONTROL RESOURCES
HANDS OF FEW SCARCITY
HANDS OF MANY ABUNDANCE
QUALITY OF ENERGY (RELATIONSHIPS)
ME (ME CLUSTERS)
RESIGNED
COMFORTABLE
FOCUS BROAD FUZZY
LOW
NEGATIVE
POSITIVE
based on a model developed by Heike Bruch
Sumantra Ghoshal, A Bias for Action, 2004.
What are the major factors influencing intensity
in the Wisconsin Annual Conference?  
What are the major factors influencing energy in
the Wisconsin Annual Conference?  
4
3 SIMPLE RULES(FOR Congregational harmony)

• First, Do No Harm
• Do All the Good you can
• Attend to the Ordinances of God

5
DiscussionBehavioral covenants

1. What potential benefits do behavioral covenants
   offer to a local church?
2. What specific challenges does a congregation face
   to making behavioral covenants effective?
3. How can these challenges be addressed?

6
The BIG 4 Questions

• What is our STORY?
• What is our PURPOSE?
• What is our WITNESS?
• What is our IMPACT?

7
Discussionthe big 4 questions

1. How can we help our churches tell their stories?
   What is the value in having a shared story?
2. How can we help people explore and discover a
   shared sense of purpose? In what ways is this
   important?

8
Discussionthe big 4 questions

• How do we discover what our witness is in the
  congregation as well as the larger community?
• What difference does our local church make
• In individual lives?
• To the congregation?
• To the community at large?
• To the world?

9
Why are these 4 questions important for vitality?

• What do you think are the connections between
  these four questions and congregational vitality?
• Why these 4?
• What do they give a congregation that it needs to
  be healthy and strong?
• What challenges do these questions raise to the
  congregational status quo?
• Where might you meet the greatest resistance to
  discussion around these four questions? How
  might you deal with such resistance?

10
Shifting focus

• What do we want our witness to be?
• What impact do we want to have?