Behavioral Covenants in Congregations

Behavioral Covenants in Congregations
Author: Gil Rendle
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 149
Release: 1998-07-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1566994756

This down-to-earth workbook gets to the heart of modern congregational life: how to live creatively together despite differences of age, race, culture, opinion, gender, theological or political position. Alban Senior Consultant Gil Rendle explains how to grow by valuing our differences rather than trying to ignore or blend them. He describes a method of establishing behavioral covenants that includes leadership instruction, training tools, resources (visual models, examples of specific covenants), small-group exercises, plans for meetings and retreats.

Covenant:

Covenant:
Author: Jane Fisler Hoffman
Publisher: The Pilgrim Press
Total Pages: 59
Release: 2008-06-06
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0829820590

This book, in light of the fractures within the United Church of Christ (UCC), encourages the members of the UCC to have meaningful discussions about the word "covenant". It is the author's hope that her resource will bring people together around this one word and show that, even with a diversity of views, people have more things in common than not in common. It contains nine thought-provoking sessions that explore the concept of covenant as it relates to the Hebrew Testament; Jesus Christ; God; our UCC heritage; the wider UCC; autonomy; and more.

The Church Guide for Making Decisions Together

The Church Guide for Making Decisions Together
Author: Terence Corkin
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Total Pages: 286
Release: 2017-05-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1501838083

Recent political events in the USA indicate that ordinary people are weary of traditional politics and ways of doing business in the halls of power. A similar mood is present in churches around the world. Ordinary church members are tired of the fighting and politicking that seem to privilege the same people all the time. They want a new way of making decisions in their churches and in their representative meetings. This book shows them how such a hope can be realized. Robert’s Rules of Order, or the traditional parliamentary style of decision-making used in many churches, can work for simple decisions that are aggregated and passed by consent. For complex and divisive issues, churches need a decision process that does not result in a combative, winner-take-all approach to church life. A healthy church also tries to involve commitment from a wide range of stakeholders rather than privilege a few well-informed and capable speakers. A vital and healthy congregation yearns for a more collaborative, respectful, encouraging, engaging, and empowering process. This book on discernment in the church provides a step-by-step guide on how to create a new way of working together. Drawing on tried and tested processes, it advocates for a consensus building approach and showing people how it can work in their setting (local church or judicatory meetings). Readers will learn how to design a consensus building business process for their church meeting while still respecting the denominational and legal requirements under which they must operate. This book is for leaders, members of church boards and committees, and church members who know that there is something wrong with the present system but don’t know what to do about it. This guidebook is hopeful, inspiring, and practical.

In It for the Long Haul

In It for the Long Haul
Author: Glenn E. Ludwig
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 143
Release: 2002-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1566995582

When pastors and congregations come together in ministry, they generally do so with the hope that the relationship will be long-lasting and dynamic. The reality, however, is that long-term pastorates are an increasingly rare phenomenon in congregations. White there are many reasons that most pastors can only sustain their ministries in a parish for a relatively limited number of years, Glenn Ludwig argues that this does not have to be the case if both pastors and congregations take deliberate steps toward an enduring friendship.

Pastor, Church & Law

Pastor, Church & Law
Author: Richard R. Hammar
Publisher:
Total Pages: 456
Release: 1983
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9780882435800

Church Administration

Church Administration
Author: Robert Bacher
Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishing
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2007
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0800637429

* A primer on church administration from two experts with vast experience

Journey in the Wilderness

Journey in the Wilderness
Author: Gil Rendle
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2010
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1426710658

The last forty years have seen transitions in mainline churches that feel, for many, like a journey into the wilderness. Yet God is calling us in this moment, not to grieve over the changes we have experienced but to hear the call to a new mission, and a new faithfulness. In Journey in the Wilderness, Gil Rendle draws on decades as a pastor and church consultant to point a way into a hopeful future. The key to embracing the wilderness is to learn new skills in leading change, to reach beyond a position of privilege and power to become churches that serve God's hurting people.

Healthy Disclosure

Healthy Disclosure
Author: Kibbie Simmons Ruth
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2007-10-08
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1566995434

Knowledge is power, and the way knowledge is shared in a congregation can build up or break down community. When congregational leaders are sensitive to the ways that information should be shared, the congregation can become safe and strong. Unfortunately, congregations can easily fall into patterns of communication that lead to disastrous interpersonal and organizational outcomes. Even in times of crisis, however, congregations can learn and practice new skills and healthy communication management. Congregational consultants Kibbie Ruth and Karen McClintock show clergy and laity how to appropriately handle information. From proper ways to respond to rumors to relating information about a staff firing to the congregation, Healthy Disclosure is filled with step-by-step ideas for handling different types of sensitive material. It helps clergy and other congregational leaders understand levels of disclosure, including how and when to reveal information, the difference between privacy and secrecy, legal issues related to public knowledge, and the power of secrets from a congregation's past. What we don't know can hurt us. The more conscious congregational leaders are of the information they have and how they pass it along to others, the better off the congregation will be. Information management is both a technical process and a spiritual undertaking. Leaders need the ability to spiritually discern, not just intellectually decide, the solutions to congregational dilemmas. Ruth and McClintock guide readers in developing the skills needed to create a congregational environment of healthy disclosure.

The Intentional Leader

The Intentional Leader
Author: Dr. Donald Davenport
Publisher: WestBow Press
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2015-09-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1512708615

When we say we will act with intention, what does that mean? We intend to set the alarm to get up and go to work. We intend to pick the kids up from school. We intend to watch this TV program or read that magazine. There are also many other things that we intend to do that we never do. I believe that in leadership whether it is in the private or public sector, home or in a church organization, to be effective, one has to be intentional. This intention begins with the leader. When the leader is clear about who they are, the culture of the organization takes notice and evolves and is shaped by that intention. Through this book we will seek what it means to be an intentional leader through 7 intentions: 1. Intentionally Capacious - Expanding and growing beyond your level of comfort 2. Intentionally Collaborative - Knowing that one of us is never greater than all of us 3. Intentionally Challenging - Standing tall in the midst of conflict 4. Intentionally Compassionate - Connecting and emphatic to the people you serve 5. Intentionally Communicative - Clarifying the vision,values and expectations of the mission 6. Intentionally Conscious - Being aware of your strengths, challenges and the environment around you 7. Intentionally Called - Understanding that God’s purpose is larger than yourself

The Multigenerational Congregation

The Multigenerational Congregation
Author: Gilbert R. Rendle
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 159
Release: 2001-12-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1566996619

Congregations need to learn new cultural languages and practices in order to speak to and be heard by new generations of people. But how do congregations enter the wilderness of ministry with these new generations when many of those in the entourage do not appreciate the trip? In contrast to many writers about church growth, Rendle works with three important observations: (1) Most congregations are not "pure markets," discrete groups with uniform values and behaviors, that can be targeted to the exclusion of all other audiences; (2) Some of the differences and discomforts experienced in the congregation are based on the members' tenure, or length of membership, rather than their age; and (3) Leadership in congregations is not a matter of marketplace savvy but of spiritual authenticity in which we continue to shape our faith tradition to be heard and understood by a changing culture.