The Lay Mobilization inSTITUTE

The Lay Mobilization inSTITUTE
LMI Overview

Abiding in Christ: Jn 15:4-6
Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. NRSV

Stories of Hope What if you found yourself leading a church in which…?
What would you do? Ground rules & expectations for Scenario Exercise: Listen – I will ask the first person to respond to the question in the scenario I raise, but I will ask subsequent persons to respond to what the other participants share. When I ask for your response, I would also like for you or someone to articulate from what theoretical framework your response originates. Scenario: What if you found yourself leading a dying church in a declining community? The people in the congregation are aging, they no longer live in the community around the church, and the cultural makeup of the community is very different than those within the church. The church seems to have lost site of its primary mission and lacks vision and has fallen into survival mode. What would you do? What if you are the pastor? What if you are a leadership consultant? To make things more complex, this church is the product of 3 previous mergers of churches. Each of those 3 brought added resources and people for a season but did nothing to change the DNA. After about a decade, what remained each time was a group of divided people about the same size of only 1 of the churches before the mergers. This has all resulted in a membership model of church rather than a discipleship or disciple-making model of church. There is a sense of desperation to do something different but an unwillingness to repeat merger. What would you do? To add another layer of complexity, there is a recognition that many other churches exist in the same community that are dying as well. A vision emerges of bringing churches together but not for survival as before in merger, but instead for missional impact in the community. What would you do? Tell the story of Community of Grace UMC in Huntington, WV. Key Points to Understand: Tension necessary for change (distinction between tension and conflict). Rather than relying on clergy leadership to “save the day,” those facing the adaptive challenge came together and began regular, intentional interaction about how to move forward (increased interaction). Through the increased interaction, they learned together (“aha moments”), which led to new patterns of interaction. Complexity can be intimidating but there are always simple patterns that help in bringing change. What simple patterns show up in this story? Abiding in Christ in covenant is key for fruitfulness Discipleship not membership Team leadership rather than solo leadership External, missional focus rather than internal, survival focus – built intentionally into the systems This moved them from independent and divided to interdependent. At a certain point (tipping point), all of this accumulated to the point of bringing deep change to the people, the church, and the community. The result of this deep change was a whole new reality & DNA (new emergent order).

KeY Question Do you want a self-replicating disciple- making process where members are ministers and pastors have partners?

Our Hope The intent of LMI is to mobilize the entire people of God as disciple- making disciples in ministry and mission within each congregation in order to transform the world around them.

LMI Mind Shifts Programs to Spirit-led Membership model of church
Missional discipleship model of church Solo leadership model (pastor/staff) Team leadership model Programs to Spirit-led

The Real Mona Lisa? Facilitator Notes
This slide invites persons to look at a familiar scene from an unusual angle and try to discern which picture is the “real” Mona Lisa. Ask persons to vote by a show of hands. Then move to the next slide. Stories References Copyright. This slide comes from the design or experience of SLI – © 2010 Spiritual Leadership, Inc.

Not Alike After All Facilitator Notes
The pictures have remained in their original positions, simply turned right side up. How easy it is now to discern the correct original. Why? We are now looking at them from the right perspective, the way they were meant to be viewed. Not to see things from the proper perspective tends to distort them and our sense of what is real. Stories References Copyright. This slide comes from the design or experience of SLI – © 2010 Spiritual Leadership, Inc.

What if our long-established picture of the church is distorted?
Program-Driven Sunday morning events take center stage. Mission is one of the things the church does. Our job is to be doing things (ministries) for God. Our most-asked question is, “What would Jesus do?” We mainly point others to the church and membership. Spirit-Led Center stage is in the midst of lost humanity. Mission is at the heart of everything the church does. Our job is to get on board with what God is doing. Our most asked question is, “What is Jesus doing?” We mainly point others to the Lord Jesus and discipleship. Facilitator Notes Is it possible that our view of the Church is distorted? We tend to think the church is mostly about programs and ministries we design to accomplish a great number of emphases. But what if the Church was never designed to function this way? What if the real purpose of the Church is to be Spirit-led rather than program-driven? Here is a list of possible distortions in the Program-Driven Church as compared to the original design God had in mind when the Church was at its best. Stories References Copyright. This slide comes from the design or experience of SLI – © 2013 Spiritual Leadership, Inc.

Role of Laity Consumers? Disciple-making disciples? Spiritual leaders?

Why LMI? Your context is unique No prescriptive solutions
Questions not answers Environment & Process not programs Coaching not consulting LMI Assumption: Everything that is needed for transformation where you are is already present through God’s grace

Creating an Environment
L3 DNA Loving Learning Leading Creating an Environment Facilitator Notes Spiritual leaders are nurtured and developed by following three phases of instruction called L3 . L1 stands for Loving God and Neighbor. This involves accountability, sharing and worship. L2 stands for Learning in community. Lectures, videos, discussions, and exercises are used to help us discover personal gifts and abilities, investigate the current reality of our context, and reveal God’s direction for the future of our ministries. L3 stands for Leading together. We lead by forming our own teams as well as designing and implementing a Ministry Action Planning system. Stories References © Spiritual Leadership, Inc.

Situation: Much of our work is in an area our audience typically is not familiar with and therefore it often takes 4-8 hours with new ministry leaders to understand our approach to organizational transformation Complication: In short conversations of 1-2 hours in length it is difficult for us to convey what we have learned and how we can add value to our audience Answer: We can all agree that we are driving for better ministry results (First click) However, we believe that in a complex environment you cannot pursue results directly but instead we need to discuss the underlying processes and actions that need to change first before we can expect to achieve different results (Second click) - Directly chasing different results rarely achieves what we are striving for but instead only serve to frustrate and burn people out by simply working harder at the approaches we’ve all demonstrated are not working well in today’s world - More importantly, we believe that there are a number of critical principles that need to be in place before new processes can establish themselves and produce the fruit we all desire, otherwise we will all be trying to go through a set of motions that simply won’t work without the underpinning principles (Third click) - Western Culture has become comfortable shopping for products based upon results only. None of us really want to understand how our phones work and what principles are coming with them. Additionally: We must talk across all 3 levels which ideally we would have lots of time to convey. Shaping behavior and conveying values requires relationship which requires time. Though you will find that our principles match scripture they will often not sound novel in a Results style conversation. We believe our process is novel, and is achieving better results faster than seminars, books, and class room settings. During our time together if you get confused lets stop and make sure that together we know whether we are communicating about results, process or principles

Processes Principles Results Situation:
Much of our work is in an area our audience typically is not familiar with and therefore it often takes 4-8 hours with new ministry leaders to understand our approach to organizational transformation Complication: In short conversations of 1-2 hours in length it is difficult for us to convey what we have learned and how we can add value to our audience Answer: We can all agree that we are driving for better ministry results (First click) However, we believe that in a complex environment you cannot pursue results directly but instead we need to discuss the underlying processes and actions that need to change first before we can expect to achieve different results (Second click) - Directly chasing different results rarely achieves what we are striving for but instead only serve to frustrate and burn people out by simply working harder at the approaches we’ve all demonstrated are not working well in today’s world - More importantly, we believe that there are a number of critical principles that need to be in place before new processes can establish themselves and produce the fruit we all desire, otherwise we will all be trying to go through a set of motions that simply won’t work without the underpinning principles (Third click) - Western Culture has become comfortable shopping for products based upon results only. None of us really want to understand how our phones work and what principles are coming with them. Additionally: We must talk across all 3 levels which ideally we would have lots of time to convey. Shaping behavior and conveying values requires relationship which requires time. Though you will find that our principles match scripture they will often not sound novel in a Results style conversation. We believe our process is novel, and is achieving better results faster than seminars, books, and class room settings. During our time together if you get confused lets stop and make sure that together we know whether we are communicating about results, process or principles

LMI Process Phase 1 Intentional Discipleship Team Selection Assessment
Team Launch Covenant Current Reality Assessment Focus (Values, Mission, Vision) Phase 3 Disciple-Making System Accountability to Mission Piloting Initiatives Phase 4 Implementing MAP in Lay Teams Multiplying Lay Spiritual Leaders Transforming Communities

Fruit You Can Expect Spiritual depth and growth together
Unity and strong teamwork Clear focus An intentional process for disciple-making Laity becoming & multiplying spiritual leaders Engagement in your community

Coaching On-site consultations beginning each phase
Coaches will provide resources & coaching during & between the on-site consultations. Coaches will walk alongside participating congregational teams throughout the transformation and mobilization process.

LMI Overview

Principle: A first activity for an Incubator group is to check their perceptions on their current state. It’s built upon the principle that all living things go through a lifecycle – not only individuals, not only groups, but also ministries. The question at hand is where is this ministry in its long term lifecycle. Outcome The expected outcome is not consensus but a revelation of the variety of perceptions about current reality. A healthy discussion around these perceptions gives impetus to finding common ground and common solutions, along with an appreciation of the diversity around the table. The results of this activity become part of the Context study covered later in the process. Facilitate Use the next slides for a brief introduction to this topic, moving rather quickly to the assignment. Context: Lifecycle Analysis

Ministry Action Planning
Team Context Focus Strategy Transformation Principle: This is our syllabus for the year. CONTEXT is the 2nd section of the MAP. While we will continue to work on a variety of team building things throughout the process, we are now moving on to the next section of the MAP that looks intently at the current reality. It is important that a sense of hope be developed before arriving at this section because a hard look in the mirror to reveal the current reality can often be disturbing for a team just as it is for an individual. The previous work on dreaming about possibilities, prayer, developing community, and dream team ideas should provide a sense of hope as a foundation for this section. The context includes the current reality both within the organization and outside of it, with a keen eye to the differences and the external needs appropriate for the organization to attend to. Other activities in later sections will also inform the Context, such as the gap between preferred (overt) and existing (covert) values in the Focus section. Outcomes: Cycle 1 A growing awareness of the current reality, both internal to the organization and external – what the status is in the setting where the organization is placed. Awareness based on: placing your ministry on a lifecycle curve, clarifying a sense of the degree of change needed learning from Third Places and observing the attractiveness of other venues besides that of your ministry Objective information around the demographics of your area, focusing on “who’s not here?” Cycle 2 A clear sense of current reality, both positive and negative A deepening sense of the Big Problem(s) which need to be addressed as your ministry leads into the future Capture the core of this topic in a Context Summary, a 1-2 page document which makes the main points with reference to the data that supports the conclusions. See the Context Summary slides near the end of this section in Cycle 2. Facilitator: You will need to balance holding up the mirror to see unpleasant realities with potential discouragement and frustration from doing this. It’s also possible the group will bog down in too much detail and/or be discouraged by feeling they have too much work to do. A subsection on “Why Worry About Context?” is provided to address either of these situations. The group must also be nudged along to keep them moving forward vs. attending to too much detail, especially around external demographics and around any comprehensive internal assessment. This slide comes from the design or experience of SLI – © 2010 Spiritual Leadership, Inc.

MAP : Context CONTEXT: A clear picture of current reality, both internally and externally Key ingredients: Demographics Assessment Listening Facilitator Notes This is the definition of the CONTEXT section. Stories References Copyright. This slide comes from the design or experience of SLI – © 2010 Spiritual Leadership, Inc.

Importance of Context Current Reality Assessment
Not evaluation but assessment “You Are Here” on MAP

Lifecycle Organizations go through lifecycles. Locating yourself on the lifecycle helps determine next steps to avoid decline or move into rebirth. Facilitator notes The next several slides relate to the lifecycle of organizations. Incremental improvement builds on current strengths to move forward. For example, if someone is in good health, incremental improvement may be to lose five pounds and walk five times a week instead of three. Radical improvement needs to happen when the whole system is in danger. For example, a person who discovers he or she is a diabetic will have to radically change his or her diet and develop a whole new exercise program The same is true for ministry. If a ministry is in the Introductory and Growth Stages of the lifecycle and it is doing well, chances are incremental improvement is needed. If it has reached the Decline Stage, it probably needs radical improvement. During the Maturity Stage as the ministry moves towards plateau, either one of these types of improvement may be needed. Introductory Stage: All ministries have a start. A person or a team of individuals discovered an unmet need in the community and designed a ministry to meet that need. Before budgets, buildings, or the first public gatherings, a vision to meet this need was articulated. As this vision spread, a strategy was designed, a team was put together, and the first baby steps were taken. This stage is filled with excitement. It is during this stage that Step One: Birth takes place. Growth Stage: As people gather around the vision, the ministry moves into a growth stage. As people are enlisted, systems for growth are put in place. The Growth Stage starts with Step Two: Begin Growth and moves into Step Three: Sustained Growth. As the ministry grows, more people connect to the vision. A church will see growth in worship attendance and growth in spiritual maturity as people participate in small groups, Christian formation, and ministry to those outside the church. A youth ministry will see a growth in participants and spiritual maturity. An outreach ministry will see a growth in people served. A regional ministry, with the goal to equip and build up local churches, will see sustained growth among the churches served. Maturity Stage: As ministries grow, they move into a stage that is marked by higher levels of activity, but lower levels of excitement. In many cases, ministries loose sight of the original vision. The original vision casters may no longer be part of the ministry. While their systems may be efficient, those in ministry do not remember why they are doing them. During Maturity two steps take place. Step Four: Begin Plateau starts when ministry results begin to level off. For example, if a church has moved from a 7% growth in worship attendance to 2%, it is moving into plateau. At Step Five: Plateau, worship attendance levels off with no growth. During Maturity, a ministry still has the resources and energy to move back into the growth stage if it is willing to revisit its vision and develop new strategies to move it into a positive future. Decline Stage: The decline stage is marked by little action and a lack of enthusiasm. The further into decline a ministry goes, the harder it is to turn around. Step Eight: Begin Decline is experienced as numbers in worship, small group participation, and finances decline. By the time a ministry gets to Step Seven: Sustained Decline, the ministry is near death. Step Eight: Rebirth can happen during the Decline Stage when a ministry is wiling to make the radical improvements needed to turn it around. In NextChurch.Now: Creating New Faith Communities, Craig Kennet Miller walks the reader through the forty-year history of the Church in Ephesus. In Revelation 2:2–5, the Ephesian church is pictured as being on the verge of decline because it has “abandoned its first love.” Miller says: Jesus’ prescription for them is fascinating to contemplate: “Remember then from what you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first” (Revelation 2:5). What was it that the church in Ephesus “did at first?” On what foundation was the church founded? What caused them to become a congregation that challenged the spiritual and cultural forces of its time? What was the nature of leadership in this local church? These are just some of the questions that come to mind as we read the words “do the works you did at first.” (NextChurch.Now: Creating New Faith Communities, p. 8) Rebirth happens when a ministry seeks God with all its heart to recapture its first love of God, and then takes a fresh look at all it does in order to effectively reach the people who now live within the sphere of its influence. What about death? In some cases, a ministry has reached such a stage of decline that death is the best option. Instead of pouring in time, energy, and finances to keep it alive, it is better to let the ministry go and put those resources to better use. Stories References © Spiritual Leadership, Inc.

Requires measurement to determine
The Lifecycle of a Body Radical Change Decline Begin Plateau Radical Change Incremental Change Critical Point - Requires measurement to determine Facilitator notes: A Lifecycle audit is important for ascertaining a clearer picture of the current reality. As can be seen, change can be incremental (small adjustments) as growth is still occurring. However, more radical change is needed the further down the back side of the lifecycle an organization gets. The critical point for churches & other organizations to recognize is when plateau begins. There are a few major points to keep in mind here: The basic graph has three stages (growth, plateau, and decline). People who do not agree on their current reality will not agree on a strategy to take the next steps. During growth stages incremental change is appropriate. During plateau and decline radical change is appropriate. (see next graph) Once an organization agrees upon what is to be measured to determine vitality, then it’s just a matter of time before the organization will agree on when they are in growth, plateau, or decline. Exercise: draw a lifecycle curve on a giant piece of paper or on a white board and have every participant go to the board and put a mark where they believe their church or organization is on the lifecycle. Have them put their initials by their mark. Remember, this is “current reality”, not where a person wants his/her church or organization to be. For efficiency of time, you may want to introduce this exercise, then take a break during which the group places their marks on the chart, then discuss after the break. If the team wants further clarification on the difference phases of the lifecycle, try to deflect these questions to encourage a general non-specific evaluation – definitely long term vs. short term but also general. Are people thinking back to “the Glory days” of a previous season? Then you’re on the downside of the chart, etc., etc. Stories References © Spiritual Leadership, Inc. Begin Growth Time

Rebirth, Reinventing, Revitalizing
Radical Change Risk Facilitator notes: Rebirth of any kind takes significant risk. Notice the “leap” that is necessary to begin a new lifecycle. Notice also that there is often a “dip” before growth begins to happen in the new lifecycle. Have the group talk about the implications of this. Stories References © Spiritual Leadership, Inc.

Lifecycle Assignment Lifecycle Analysis
Using a blank copy of the graph, have each team member mark their assessment. Discuss differences in perspective. Document the different perspectives and reasons. (will also use later) Facilitator notes Document the different perspectives and reasons. (will also use later) Note taking: it is important to capture the dialog around the table. Use a flipchart or at least a whiteboard, and capture the essential words/phrases being shared. Stop each participant to ask if you captured his/her idea well enough, then move on to the next person who wishes to share. There are several advantages to this approach, one of which is to collect such comments for use later in the journey, as here. This dialog will become part of the study of current reality, or what we are calling Context. Stories References © Spiritual Leadership, Inc.

Where are we now (long term view)?
Reflections Lifecycle Summary Where are we now (long term view)? If we are not currently on an upswing, what degree of change is needed to begin such a huge upswing? Facilitator notes: If these questions have not been addressed so far, bring them up and discuss. Refer back to previous slides as needed to clarify what degree of change is needed at which points on the lifecycle graph. A copy of the graph with the team consensus of where you are indicated on it should go in your Context Summary, along with a brief summary of the rationale for that rating and thoughts on the questions above as well. Stories References © Spiritual Leadership, Inc.

Principle: A first activity for an Incubator group is to check their perceptions on their current state. It’s built upon the principle that all living things go through a lifecycle – not only individuals, not only groups, but also ministries. The question at hand is where is this ministry in its long term lifecycle. Outcome The expected outcome is not consensus but a revelation of the variety of perceptions about current reality. A healthy discussion around these perceptions gives impetus to finding common ground and common solutions, along with an appreciation of the diversity around the table. The results of this activity become part of the Context study covered later in the process. Facilitate Use the next slides for a brief introduction to this topic, moving rather quickly to the assignment. Context: Ministry Ratings

Where are we now (long term view)?
Reflections Lifecycle Summary Where are we now (long term view)? If we are not currently on an upswing, what degree of change is needed to begin such a huge upswing? Facilitator notes: If these questions have not been addressed so far, bring them up and discuss. Refer back to previous slides as needed to clarify what degree of change is needed at which points on the lifecycle graph. A copy of the graph with the team consensus of where you are indicated on it should go in your Context Summary, along with a brief summary of the rationale for that rating and thoughts on the questions above as well. Stories References © Spiritual Leadership, Inc.

Disciple-Making Process
Engage Relate Equip Send Facilitator notes This slide pictures the disciple making process, from first engagement with believers, to being received into the community of faith and into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, to being equipped as a disciple and being sent forth to make other disciples, engaging persons who do not yet know Christ or are unconnected with a faith community, etc., etc. Talk about this process long enough to gain some ownership of the fact there is a process and that it follows through certain stages. It’s perfectly OK and wise to allow that individuals often ‘begin’ somewhere other than the ‘beginning’ of this cycle, and do not always follow this path precisely. The point is there is a natural flow, and there may be wisdom in knowing and honoring that flow as a church designs its ministries. The stages may also vary in number (from roughly 3-6) and the team is totally free to rename the stages, but have them wait until the Strategy section to do so. Stories References © 2010 Spiritual Leadership, Inc.

Balance of Your Ministries?
Engage Relate Equip Send Principle: Organizations lose their power and effectiveness when they lose their focus. Your task now is to identify your key ministries (worship, Christian education, mission, denominational work, community work, etc.) and to place them in one of the categories of your strategic flow. To a certain extent, every ministry needs to pay attention to all four aspects of Engage, Receive, Equip, and Send. For this exercise you will need to place each ministry in one category, indicating its primary role at this point in time. Facilitate: Use this slide (or this format on a whiteboard) to collect what ministries and activities are taking place now – a quick, minute version. In placing ministries, be arbitrary for now by deciding on the main purpose of each ministry, without a lot of dialog right now (we’ll come back to this under Strategy). Examples of a few representative placements are given on the next slide. Be sure to save the final copy for future reference! Stories References © 2010 Spiritual Leadership, Inc. Time

Example Engage Ministries Relate Ministries Equip Ministries
Outreach Event Homeless Recovery Sports Relate Ministries Fellowship Groups Seeker Service Welcome Class Gift Discovery Equip Ministries Small Groups Sunday School Advanced Bible Prayer Service Send Ministries Lay Speaking Seminary Call Discovery Market Training Facilitator notes IF the group needs it, use this slide to show an example but do not stay here long. The team needs to develop its own chart vs. copying from this one(!). If they’re doing OK on the previous slide without this one, just skip past it. Stories References © 2010 Spiritual Leadership, Inc. Time

Ministry Assessment ? [Example] Engage Relate Equip Send Your Church ?
Rate Your Church In Each Category from 1 to 10 1 = Nothing happening 10 = knocking it out of the park Incorporate both Quantity + Quality into rating [Example] Engage Relate Equip Send Your Church ? ? Facilitator notes Once the list of existing ministries is compiled, the stage is set for this overall rating exercise. Have each team member determine “gut level” from the previous slides how the congregation rates in each stage of the disciple making process. Have them include both how much church effort goes into each stage and how effective it is in making disciples who change the world for Christ. Have each person decide on his/her own ratings, then have the group share their ratings, compiling the average as the outcome. Dialog over the results, and collect observations on why the ratings are as they came out. Agree as a team how you will defend these ratings when you (later) present them to others. This chart with a brief rationale for the ratings should go into your Context Summary. We will refer to this during the Strategy section and again during Cycle 2. Stories References © 2010 Spiritual Leadership, Inc.

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