thinking.church podcast

We all think we'll do strategic planning better when we have the right team. But is there such a thing? To suggest such a thing ignores the majority of churches in the U.K. that don't have the luxury of picking their dream team. However, it is still possible to attain the right team over time? What does that look like? Chris & Lee explore the subject this week, as well as discussing Champagne bottle sizes, and the the strange fact about Kansas City.

KEY POINTS

1. Is there an 'ideal team'?
   1. Big Church bias
   2. Edward de bono's 6 thinking hats
2. Is there a non-ideal team?
   1. Team of one
   2. No accountability
   3. Representation (e.g. Ethnicity)
   4. Echo chambers
   5. Trust, dissent and conflict
3. What's the perfect size team?
   1. 2 Pizza's rule
   2. 12 person rule
   3. Big vs small
   4. Surveying your church
4. The role of the facilitator in the team

So here it is, lockdown 3 is upon us. So instead of getting worried about how you're going to get through it, Chris & Lee have compiled 3 things each that will help you through this period in your church.

Sections:

1. Prepare to go with this long term, even after things return to 'normal'. Plan for behaviour/habit change.
2. In-Person & Online aren't separate beasts
3. Don't put structure before planning. Digital is the new sacred cow!
4. Don't create a show, create community
5. Go narrow to go broad - (Lee's personal theme Make Better Jazz)
6. Don't be content with poor content

As pastors and church leaders, we feel the weight of having to look after the congregation entrusted to us. However, Pastoral Care can move from an area where we are making meaningful benefit in peoples' lives to a place of stress and burnout. In this episode, Chris talks with Justin Towler of Renewal Christian Centre, Solihull, all about how we can re-think our approach to wellbeing and pastoral care.

Key Points

1. Before taking on wellbeing at Renewal you were the Kids Pastor. How did you end up moving over to wellbeing?
2. When you first started in your wellbeing role, what were some of the problems that you encountered?
3. How have you navigated the journey of discovering the church’s role in peoples’ wellbeing?
4. What are the options available to churches when thinking about counselling?
5. If you were to advise a small church on how to set up a robust care system in their church, but without the means to hire people, what would you recommend?
6. During COVID, mental health has been put under the spotlight much more, what can we do as churches to highlight the need for It in our services?
7. Pastors, like everyone else, are not immune from mental health issues. How can you help pastors who have been struggling with their mental health?

Resources

The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber 

2020 is almost over and that makes it a great time to look back and take stock of our learnings over the past year. 2020 has been an exceptional year in many ways, and whilst many want it over, 2020 has been a fantastic learning opportunity for the church. In this episode, Chris & Lee give 5 learnings each, as well as discussing barbeques (in December) and the plot of The Holiday (why? not sure). 

Key Points

1. This wasn't the spontaneous we meant!
2. The church is more resilient than we thought
3. Small and simple has its advantages
4. Online church isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s essential
5. Don't live for live
6. Churches with Online Services already in play adapted faster
7. Great systems are tool agnostic
8. Services must change from attractional to serving needs
9. Make a home your church
10. A polarised world needs a unified church

When it comes to strategic thinking, strategy can often be the first thing we think about. If we just get the org chart right, the policies in place, everything will work. However, great form follows great function. In this episode, Chris & Lee talk through a number of analogies to help you get the structure right in your church.

Key points

1. Structural mistakes we've made as a church
   1. Death Star Churches - large with one fatal flaw
   2. Structures that inhibit action
2. How to start re-thinking about structure
   1. Starting with mission, vision, strategy
   2. Guitar analogy
   3. Boat Analogy
   4. Plimsoll Line

Reaching your community is vital to being a healthy, impactful church. But there's a difference between the church referring to the people and the church referring to the charitable organisation. In this episode we explore how churches can think about bringing God's Kingdom to earth in their community whilst not losing the church's primary method of doing so, making disciples. 

Key Points

1. Setting the scene: Should your church run community activities?
   1. The problems with running your own community activities
   2. Difference between engaging in community activities and running them yourself
2. What is the role of the church?
   1. WHY: So the dwelling of God is with humans
   2. WHAT: God's Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven
   3. HOW: By Making Disciples until He returns
   4. Community activities do 2 without doing 3
3. The role of the Para Church organisation
   1. Outworks the wider mission of the kingdom, without doing the work of discipleship.
   2. They are vital, and need more appreciation within the church
   3. Having separation creates clearer lines
   4. PCO's are free to gain funding from additional sources under the banner of their own governing document
4. What should the church do?
   1. Don't run community programmes, partner with para church organisations and charities.
   2. send Volunteers (as you grow this becomes the largest serving opportunity)
   3. Give Money (Generosity Budget)
   4. Keep Limited liability
   5. Encouraging the church to BE the church
      1. Meet needs without involving the church
      2. Bring God's Kingdom to earth in your workplace (by living out church values)
      3. Be entrepreneurial 
      4. Not everything needs resource

Change is an inevitable part of life, so why do we resist it so much? If your church is not where you want it to be (and no church is) then you need to work on leading change within your church. In this episode, Chris & Lee talk all about change including some of the methodologies of how to make it possible.

Key Points

1. Mistakes we make changing
   1. Changing too fast
   2. Changing too slowly
2. Is change always a good thing?
   1. Resistance to change
   2. Is change for change's sake a good thing?
3. Methodologies of change
   1. Leading Change (Kotter)
   2. Agile Methodology
   3. Any others
   4. All models are wrong but some are helpful
4. How can change become our normality?

Remote working is now the norm, and will be an enduring legacy of the COVID-19 season. So how can you run your teams effectively online? In this episode, Chris & Lee talk about the different apps for Project Management & Communication.

Key Points

1.  The thinking behind how you’re leading teams online is more important than the application you choose.
2. GDPR
3. Becoming tool agnostic
4. Usability
5. Project Management Tools
   • Asana
   • Basecamp
   • Trello
   • Planner
   • Monday
6. Team Communication
   • Email
   • WhatsPP
   • Slack
   • Teams

Every church has volunteers, and every church should. So why do we put such little time into thinking through how we can set up volunteers to succeed? In this episode, Chris & Lee talk about the mistakes we often make as church leaders when setting up volunteers, and then some things we can do to succeed.

Key Points

1. Mistakes churches make with volunteers
2. Why volunteering is so important at church
3. How to set volunteers up well
   1. Job Descriptions
   2. On-Ramping
   3. Training
   4. Regular reviews
   5. Jump off points
   6. Celebrations / thank yous

Resources

Excellence Wins by Horst Shulze 

Lockdown number 2 has arrived in the U.K. so what have we learned from the first lockdown that we can take into this one? Chris & Lee discuss how we can think differently this time around and approach it with more confidence and vision. 

Key Points

1. What did the church learn from lockdown 1?
2. What's different this time?
3. How can we approach lockdown 2 differently?
4. Should you cancel church until the end of the year?
5. Andy Stanley cancelling live gatherings until new year
6. Creating a resilient strategy for church

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