Booklist for New Church Start/Revitalization

I have taken what one person has already compiled for the reading/helps list and added a few other books that were suggested and have been helpful to me in my growth over the past years.
My hope is to find a way to get these linked off to the side in the days to come. hat tip to gavoweb in helping me get the code to do this future thing.

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference Malcolm Gladwell
Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home Richard J. Foster
Developing a Giving Church Elmer L. Towns
The Indispensable Guide for Smaller Churches David R. Ray
Emotionally Healthy Church, The Warren Bird
Living Your Strengths: Discover Your God-Given Talents and Inspire Your Community Albert L. Winseman
Wired for Ministry: How the Internet, Visual Media, and Other New Technologies Can Serve Your Church John P. Jewell
The Race to Reach Out: Connecting Newcomers to Christ in a New Century Douglas T. Anderson
The Passionate Church Mike Breen
Leadership Baton, The : An Intentional Strategy for Developing Leaders in Your Church Rowland Forman
The Elephant in the Boardroom : Speaking the Unspoken about Pastoral Transitions (J-B Leadership Network Series) Carolyn Weese
Power Surge: 6 Marks of Discipleship for a Changing Church Michael W. Foss
Planting New Churches in a Postmodern Age Ed Stetzer
PastorPreneur John Jackson
Nurturing Faith And Hope: Black Worship As A Model For Christian Education Anne E. Streaty Wimberly
Now, Discover Your Strengths Marcus Buckingham
High-impact African-american Churches George Barna
Executive Values: A Christian Approach to Organizational Leadership Kurt Senske
Character Forged from Conflict: Staying Connected to God During Controversy (Pastors Soul) Gary D. Preston
Coaching for Performance: Growing People, Performance and Purpose John Whitmore
Breakout Churches: Discover How To Make The Leap Thom S. Rainer
Blog: Understanding The Information Reformation Hugh Hewitt
Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant W. Chan Kim
Being Leaders: The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership Aubrey Malphurs
The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow John C. Maxwell
As Iron Sharpens Iron: Building Character in a Mentoring Relationship Howard Hendricks
A Work of Heart : Understanding How God Shapes Spiritual Leaders Reggie McNeal
Culture Shift : Transforming Your Church from the Inside Out (J-B Leadership Network Series) Robert Lewis
7 Practices of Effective Ministry Andy Stanley
The Externally Focused Church Rick Rusaw
Nonviolent Communication : A Language of Compassion Marshall Rosenberg
Focus : Achieving Your Highest Priorities Stephen R. Covey
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity David Allen
L3 Leadership Incubator Guidebook Carpenter, Miller, Robertson
Nextchurch.Now: Creating New Faith Communities Craig Miller
Why Nobody Learns Much of Anything at Church: And How to Fix It Thom Schultz, Joani Schultz
Leading from Your Strengths: Building Close-Knit Ministy Teams Trent, et al
Blink : The Power of Thinking Without Thinking Malcolm Gladwell
Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In Fisher, et al
FIRST THINGS FIRST Stephen R. Covey
The Fifth Discipline Peter M. Senge
Hit the Bullseye: How Denominations Can Aim Congregations at the Mission Field Bordon
The Ripple Church Phil Stevenson
Heart's Desire Richard J. Foster
Net Results Periodical
Circuit Rider Periodical
Leadership Periodical
Rev Periodical
Wired Periodical
Interpreter Periodical
Homiletics Periodical


Happy reading to you and to me.
Peace,


PS. If you have read any of these and are willing to give a synopsis for others to share that would be greatly appreciated. You might consider sending me a PM.

Know Thyself

One of the components of the training for New Church Start and Revitalization Ministries in the Cal-Pac Conference has been a frank discussion about how to organize your life.

We began the discussion asking folks what they used for life management tools. The concept is that you cannot manage time, it is what it is. However, life can be managed by setting priorities and maintaining some sort of organization.

Many talked of calendars and this was promptly taken to task. A calendar sets a date on a page, but does not set the prep time and timeline for such a "date". The alternative was a program calendar, or for those who use PDAs and Outlook to preset the calendar with this as an ongoing "event".

Issues of self-care were also entered in the mix since New Church Starts and Revitalization Ministries take a whole lot of energy and can over-demand your time and attention, ultimately consuming your life. One of the participants gave a stirring reflection on the lessons of "Engage/Disengage" as a focus. This concept helps him to establish home as home and work as work, and fully engaging work when it is time and fully engaging home when he is there. It reminds me of the story of the worker who stopped by the tree at the front of the house on his way in each and every day. Someone asked him one day about the stop at the tree and the worker remarked "that is my trouble tree. Every day I stop there and deposit my troubles of the day, and then pick them up again in the morning, but somehow they always seem lighter in the morning."

Another person presented the approach of praying through the hours, as a focus for life, that helps let God set the agenda for the day. The comment was made about using the praying of the hours, "To follow Jesus is to let him determine the purpose and pace of your life." That kind of discipline is powerful witness.

Another perspective was to help us with the management of tasks, and still staying engaged with people. Our host offered this model: 4x4x4x4. That is to say that every day ought to hold at least 4 calls, 4 visits, 4 members and 4 notes (email, letters, note).

All of this was to help us direct our thoughts about how we function in managing our life and energy. The final point for directing our self learning was that we discern our "pastoral season". In other words, what skills do you bring to the table, and what period of the life of the church is best suited by these skills, as well as the sometimes more frustrating realization that your time has ended in the particular phase of ministry and it is time to move on.

Peace,

7 Stepping Stones of Faith

Entering the room to get started on the Institute for New Church Starts and Revitalization the 12 of us who came in didn't all know each other. This isn't any real surprise, the conference consists of over 600 active clergy and this was designed to be a cross-section of sorts. Since I have done camps for as many years as I have, and been a youth worker for way longer than I like to admit, get-to-know-you games and such are of interest to me. This time the opening introduction was to gather in threes and share the things you needed to leave behind to be present with the group, followed by a time of prayer. Helpful and encouraging time.

Then we continued with time to get to know one another. We were asked to find someone we were not as familiar with (there were a couple of married couples in the room, including mine) and share the 7 stepping stones of faith from birth to current with your partner. We then took those and shared them with another pair, where at the end of the exercise you had been introduced to three other people pretty clearly.

Let me share mine with you:

1) Baptism. Though I cannot tell you the time and date of my baptism I know that it is a part of the covenant I share with God and members of the faith community. I was baptised as an infant in a Presbyterian Church and am still acutely aware of the love of God that was opened to me in new ways at that time.

2) Salvation experience. I remember being about 5 or 6 in Bishop during a VBS session and going forward for an altar call at the Nazarene Church where I gave my life to God, thanking Jesus for the sacrifice that was made for me on the cross.

3) A conversation with my dad. I don't know whether this conversation is something my dad remembers, and I don't know that it matters whether he does or not, because it serves as a reminder that we never know the moment of any relationship that may change someone else's life. Sitting in the back of the car before church I had my head bowed when Dad came out to drive us to church. He asked whether I was alright and I said I was asking Jesus into my heart again. He simply said to me that it is a onetime request that does not need to be repeated. Assurance of salvation is as great a gift as there is.

4) Camp. I have gone to camp every year of my life except 1...the year we moved from Arcadia to Bishop. Camp has shaped me both as a camper and as a counselor/dean.

5) Youth Group and College Ministries. I think I covered about as many of the campus ministry opportunities at Emory as possible, with the exception of 2, which was congruent with my High School experience where I went to three different youth groups in three different denominations in one stretch of High School. The varieties of Christian faith expressions are beautiful in my experience and appreciated for the various ways we can learn more about our relationship with God and Jesus Christ.

6) Seminary. Never have I before or since had such an assurance that the Methodist Church was where I was supposed to serve my call to ministry. Repeatedly in seminary I found myself thinking, "Wow! Those are the words for the things I have been thinking and couldn't quite put in a framework."

7) Marriage and new church appointment. There is nothing so formative in faith as transitions. To create a marriage and take on the responsibility of being the pastor in charge (after 5 years as the associate) in a new location in the course of two months will definitely help define the faith journey. A very powerful stepping stone in my faith/spiritual formation.

What came to me as a revelation in this process was the affirmation that once again "I am a Methodist". By this I mean that I believe that faith formation is a process. Also, to paraphrase at the height of paraphrase, I thought of Wesley's statements; "think and let think" and "in essentials unity, in all else freedom", followed by "if your heart is as my heart, take my hand". I thank God for the many who have held my hand along the process of my faith journey.

I pray you will take the time to consider your own stepping stones. The best part of any church start/revitalization is the pastor, or member, who is committed to his or her own faith. Learn about yourself by finding someone to share these with, or share them here in the comment section. I will be in prayer for you too, and think about the excitement of others joining the conversation.

Amen

Brain Food

So, recently I have been fighting through a haze of malaise, frustration, anxiety, anger and downright misery. I am still working on getting through that stuff we call depression. I still need some spiritual renewal in the mix, but I have gotten a good dose of brain food recently and gotten my mind moving again.

The first couple of things were some books that I have been reading.
Job: A Comedy of Justice - By Robert A. Heinlein
High Druid of Shannara: Straken - By Terry Brooks
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe -C.S. Lewis

Those definitely kept me moving forward

Then this past week while away at Bishop's Convocation I was hard at work (I decided that it was definitely work since I did not get any CEUs and I did not get the free time that other participants got, and someone else - The Board of Congregational Development - was paying my way), but was energized in my brain by the new group I was asked to help develop.

The Board of Congregational Development has asked 12 of us in the conference to begin a New Church Start/Revitalization Institute for training in doing just that in this conference.

Since I was the only blogger in the room I was volunteered to put it together through the blog, for others to be able to make use of the resources we are using. So I will be doing just that, in and among the rest of the milieu of the posts. I will also be adding books and additional links along the sidebar to help folks. The danger is that since it is a lot of information and I want to be able to distill it, you all will just have to bear with me, and add your thoughts and comments in the comment bar. I am excited about this new venture and will try and start posting soon...like next week, once I have gathered in the rest of the resources as best I can.

Grace and peace,

Vacation

I can sympathize with Jay as he feels the power of burnout and the pressure of maintaining the task at hand. The posts I had on priorities certainly helped play that out in more than my mind. So i thank you for your patience there.

I need a vacation myself, and wonder at the possibilties of "working vacations". This came up as I talked with my dad who was on his way to a hardware convention and saw that as a major perk of his job as a hardware store manager. In this conference, and I am sure many others, there is a Bishop's Convocation. This year's was scheduled for Palm Springs. A number of my colleagues in ministry use this time to catch up and play golf, along with the worship and celebration times. There are nice accomodations and some great amenities at the resort. But is this vacation, CEU credit time, or is this jusst part of the job, that happens to help recharge many of the local pastors, including myself?

What qualifies as a vacation? What about continuing education? And when does the local church get to have say...is this like clearing it with your boss at a normal job, or is the pastor the boss, and just has to make sure everything else is covered?

These are my musings this week.
Peace,

Music

Always a dangerous topic when you get into Christian circles, the idea of what is acceptable music has long been of interest for me. Mind you the first musical tape that was ever purchased for me was a Steve Taylor tape and my first purchase was another of his works. I still love the guy and think he does great work now too as a producer. But, the question remains, what is acceptable music for a Christian to listen to, let alone celebrate in worship.
This particular question came up again for me when Michelle Shocked was considered to be unacceptable music for the church, but U2 was invited to come play by the same person who condemned Michelle Shocked (even if it was tongue in cheek, it was not well thought out). This was made all the more poignant because the criteria for inviting Michelle to sing was that she sings of peace (and that she rocks), while the objection was that her career was recently marked by anti-Bush sentiments. Going on that criteria, U2 would probably be discounted from any church appearances too, at least without a strong counter-musical influence of someone who is admittedly pro-Bush with strong record of support in the media as well. For that was the basic premise for frustration, that Michelle Shocked was not balanced by someone who was pro-war, or pro-Bush.
But, I want to push the argument a little bit further. That of acceptable Christian music, and musicians in the church. Should U2 be allowed to come and play at a church? After all, they did claim their christian roots early in their career, but have since denounced a God who would be so punishing and unloving as to allow the pain and suffering in the world. Further they have renounced the faith they once proclaimed, by claiming that any God who would sacrifice His own Son was unworthy of worship.
There is little doubt the music of U2 is powerful and has changed my own faith dramatically as it has helped me to come to grips with some of my own struggles. There are many pieces of music that have also done that for me, including goo goo dolls, Green Day, Missy Elliott, Baha Men, Dixie Chicks, Newsboys, Big Daddy Weave, DC Talk, and myriad more. My music collection claims that as well as anything else for me. There are those that say that the only music acceptable is that which is produced by "Christian" artists. I just find this to be a very difficult and slippery slope. What if someone claims Christ in his actions but does not claim him in their words (like U2's front man Bono). Are they acceptable music? What about someone who claims Christ with her words, but whose music is more suggestive, and actions fall outside of fundamental views of Christianity (like Brittany Spears)? Is this acceptable music?
I venture to say that where you can grow your understanding of who Christ is in the world and in your life through conversation with your music (that means more than just listening to your music, but paying attention to lyrics and challenging and being challenged by those lyrics) then it has value.

Peace,

How do you worship?

http://common.northpoint.org/sacredpathway.html

Final Results

Naturalist: 17
Naturalists Draw near to God through nature.

Sensate: 19
Sensates draw near to God through the senses.

Traditionalist: 15
Traditionalists draw near to God through ritual and symbol.

Ascetics: 11
Ascetics draw near to God through solitude and simplicity.

Activists: 15
Activists draw near to God through bringing about social change.

Caregiver: 18
Caregivers draw near to God through caring for and serving others.

Enthusiast: 19
Enthusiasts draw near to God through celebration and mystery.

Contemplative: 15
Contemplatives draw near to God through personal adoration and heartfelt devotion.

Intellectual: 20
Intellectuals draw near to God through their minds.

Priorities

Okay, earlier I posted the Responsibilities and Duties of Elders and Licensed Pastors ( 340. BoD). I will leave off the discussion associated with who should be supervising the pastor (SPRC, DS, and BOOM), and instead try to focus on what my skills lead me to prioritize, in concert with the needs of my local church. So this should be a priority list 1-??. You might want to compare that with the earlier post of how it is laid out in the Discipline. Keep in mind Elders have a four-fold ministry of Word, Sacrament, Order and Service within the connection and thus serve in the church and the world.
So maybe I should start with the statement that I believe Word, Sacrament, Order and Service is the correct order of priority, but that the way it plays out, and the understanding of each changes how it is enacted in my ministry.
On with the priority list.

1. To embody the teachings of Jesus in servant ministries and servant leadership.
2. To maintain all confidences inviolate, including confessional confidences except in the cases of suspected child abuse or neglect, or in cases where mandatory reporting is required by civil law.
3. To preach the Word of God, lead in worship, read and teach the Scriptures, and engage the people in study and witness.
4. To be the administrative officer of the local church and to assure that the organizational concerns of the congregation are adequately provided for.
5. To administer the sacraments of baptism and the Supper of the Lord according to Christ's ordinance.
6. To give pastoral support, guidance, and training to the lay leadership, equipping them to fulfill the ministry to which they are called.
7. To lead people in discipleship and evangelistic outreach that others might come to know Christ and to follow him.
8. To visit in the homes of the church and the community, especially among the sick, aged, imprisoned, and others in need.
9. To search out and counsel men and women for the ministry of deacons, elders, local pastors and other church related ministries.
10. To be willing to assume supervisory responsibilities within the connection.
11. To administer the temporal affairs of the church in their appointment, the annual conference, and the general church.
12. To ensure faithful transmission of the Christian faith.
13. To build the body of Christ as a caring and giving community, extending the ministry of Christ to the world.
14. To promote faithful, financial stewardship and to encourage giving as a spiritual discipline.
15. To counsel persons with personal, ethical, or spiritual struggles.
16. To give diligent pastoral leadership in ordering the life of the congregation for discipleship in the world.
17. To encourage the private and congregational use of the other means of grace.
18. To give an account of their pastoral ministries to the charge and annual conference according to the prescribed forms.
19. To be responsible for organizational faithfulness, goal setting, planning and evaluation.
20. To administer the provisions of the Discipline.
21. To care for all church records and local church financial obligations, and certify the accuracy of all financial, membership, and any other reports submitted by the local church to the annual conference for use in apportioning costs back to the church.
22. To conduct funeral and memorial services and provide care and grief counseling.
23. To explain the meaning of the Lord's Supper and to encourage regular participation as a means of grace to grow in faith and holiness.
24. To encourage reaffirmation of the baptismal covenant and renewal of baptismal vows at different stages of life.
25. To lead the congregation in racial and ethnic inclusiveness.
26. To lead the congregation in the fulfillment of its mission through full and faithful payment of all apportioned ministerial support, administrative, and benevolent funds.
27. To encourage people baptized in infancy or early childhood to make their profession of faith, after instruction, so that they might become professing members of the church.
28. To provide leadership for the funding ministry of the congregation.
29. To give oversight to the educational program of the church and encourage the use of United Methodist literature and media.
30. To seek out opportunities for cooperative ministries with other United Methodist pastors and churches.
31. To prepare the parents and sponsors before baptizing infants or children, and instruct them concerning the significance of baptism and their responsibilities for the Christian training of the baptized child.
32. To participate in community, ecumenical and inter-religious concerns and to encourage the people to become so involved and to pray and labor for the unity of the Christian community.
33. To participate in denominational and conference programs and training opportunities.
34. To perform the marriage ceremony after due counsel with the parties involved and in accordance with the laws of the state and the rules of The United Methodist Church. The decision to perform the ceremony shall be the right and responsibility of the pastor.
35. To select and train deacons and lay members to serve the consecrated communion elements.

Duties of a pastor

¶ 340. Responsibilities and Duties of Elders and Licensed Pastors
The responsibilities of elders and licensed pastors are derived from the authority given in ordination. Elders have a four-fold ministry of Word, Sacrament, Order and Service within the connection and thus serve in the church and the world. Local pastors share with the elders the responsibilities and duties of a pastor for this four-fold ministry.
1. Word and ecclesial acts:
a) To preach the Word of God, lead in worship, read and teach the Scriptures, and engage the people in study and witness.24
(1) To ensure faithful transmission of the Christian faith.
(2) To lead people in discipleship and evangelistic outreach that others might come to know Christ and to follow him.
b) To counsel persons with personal, ethical, or spiritual struggles.
c) To perform the ecclesial acts of marriage and burial.
(1) To perform the marriage ceremony after due counsel with the parties involved and in accordance with the laws of the state and the rules of The United Methodist Church. The decision to perform the ceremony shall be the right and responsibility of the pastor.
(2) To conduct funeral and memorial services and provide care and grief counseling.
d) To visit in the homes of the church and the community, especially among the sick, aged, imprisoned, and others in need.
e) To maintain all confidences inviolate, including confessional confidences except in the cases of suspected child abuse or neglect, or in cases where mandatory reporting is required by civil law.
2. Sacrament:
a) To administer the sacraments of baptism and the Supper of the Lord according to Christ's ordinance.
(1) To prepare the parents and sponsors before baptizing infants or children, and instruct them concerning the significance of baptism and their responsibilities for the Christian training of the baptized child.
(2) To encourage reaffirmation of the baptismal covenant and renewal of baptismal vows at different stages of life.
(3) To encourage people baptized in infancy or early childhood to make their profession of faith, after instruction, so that they might become professing members of the church.
(4) To explain the meaning of the Lord's Supper and to encourage regular participation as a means of grace to grow in faith and holiness.
(5) To select and train deacons and lay members to serve the consecrated communion elements.
b) To encourage the private and congregational use of the other means of grace.
3. Order:
a) To be the administrative officer of the local church and to assure that the organizational concerns of the congregation are adequately provided for.
(1) To give pastoral support, guidance, and training to the lay leadership, equipping them to fulfill the ministry to which they are called.
(2) To give oversight to the educational program of the church and encourage the use of United Methodist literature and media.
(3) To be responsible for organizational faithfulness, goal setting, planning and evaluation.
(4) To search out and counsel men and women for the ministry of deacons, elders, local pastors and other church related ministries.
b) To administer the temporal affairs of the church in their appointment, the annual conference, and the general church.
(1) To administer the provisions of the Discipline.
(2) To give an account of their pastoral ministries to the charge and annual conference according to the prescribed forms.
(3) To provide leadership for the funding ministry of the congregation.
(4) To promote faithful, financial stewardship and to encourage giving as a spiritual discipline.
(5) To lead the congregation in the fulfillment of its mission through full and faithful payment of all apportioned ministerial support, administrative, and benevolent funds.
(6) To care for all church records and local church financial obligations, and certify the accuracy of all financial, membership, and any other reports submitted by the local church to the annual conference for use in apportioning costs back to the church.
c) To participate in denominational and conference programs and training opportunities.
(1) To seek out opportunities for cooperative ministries with other United Methodist pastors and churches.
(2) To be willing to assume supervisory responsibilities within the connection.
d) To lead the congregation in racial and ethnic inclusiveness.
4. Service:
a) To embody the teachings of Jesus in servant ministries and servant leadership.
b) To give diligent pastoral leadership in ordering the life of the congregation for discipleship in the world.
c) To build the body of Christ as a caring and giving community, extending the ministry of Christ to the world.
d) To participate in community, ecumenical and inter-religious concerns and to encourage the people to become so involved and to pray and labor for the unity of the Christian community.

Priorities

I was re-introduced to an interesting topic the other day reading through the Wesley blog. The question arises about the lack of “great” preachers in the UMC, or any denomination for that matter. There were then comments that went on to decry the pastor as administrator and even the pastor as chaplain (visitor to the elderly, ill, injured, imprisoned, etc.) It got me to thinking that maybe I ought to lay out my current thoughts on my priorities, especially as it relates to the UMC Discipline. The Board of Ordained Ministry in the California-Pacific Annual Conference makes candidates answer a question about the duties of a pastor, and the 2004 Discipline has definitely cleaned up the guidelines to make them a little more manageable to digest.
So maybe I ought to look at the first set I had to answer according to the BoOM Standards, and the ones that are now in place and rank them according to my gifts/talents, interest, and needs for the local church I serve. I think that is the only way I can conscientiously answer. To give it according to what the standard should be would be to harm another pastor, or another congregation. So be prepared for a long post to come.