Developing in Ministry Extract

7/31/2019 Developing in Ministry Extract

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Contents

Foreword ix

Acknowledgements xii

List of abbreviations xiii

1 Introduction: Training and development that sticks 1

Different approaches 2An organic approach 4

Deeloping themes 7

Coda 9

2 Whose agenda? 10

Continuing ministerial deelopment 11

Parish pastoral isiting team 17Fundraising 20

Twele disciples 21

Lent groups and house groups 22

Conclusion 23

3 Working below the surface 25

Managing change 28Deeloping relationships 28

Agreeing ision and alues 29

Naming reality, identifying culture 31

Clarifying purpose 40

Ministry deelopment as culture change 41

Coda: prayer 42

4 Complementary approaches 44

Cork in the bottle? 45

From delegation to deelopment 47

From how to what and why 66

Conclusion 68


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5 What am I like? 69

Learning styles and preferences 71

Personality preferences 73

Skills, gifts and passions 75vocation and call 78

Conclusion 80

6 Reflection and review 81

Indiidual reiew 81

The who of reiew 88

The how of reiew 89The when of reiew 91

Reflectie practice 92

Reiewing mission and ministry 94

Conclusion 96

7 Why shared ministry? 97

A Trinitarian approach 99Wrestling Jacob 101

Practical implications 103

Conclusion 104

8 An integrated and structured approach 106

Process and content 106

A structured approach to deelopment 110

Conclusion 117

Appendix 1: Who cares? A Lent course designed for

All Hallows Church, Twickenham 120

Appendix 2: SMART goals 135

Notes 137

Bibliography 140


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Intrductin

Training and deelpment that sticks

Christianity in the third millennium will essentially be, fr the

whle Church, the same as befre and yet ttally different. It

will be in its pure frm the same faith, the same demand and

the same gspel. But its expressin must nw be mre internally

aried and multi-dimensinal, mre experiential, mre lay and

mre humble. Pray Gd, the Christian Church will thus becme

mre human. It will hae t accept ariety, and acknwledge its

plural humanity. only in this way can it cme clser t Christ.

(Astley 2007)

When I was a curate in Bethnal Green my training incumbent

wuld inariably begin a Mnday mrning staff-meeting dis-

cussin abut Sundays sermn with the line, Gd sermn,

but what difference wuld it hae made t peples lies? It

is a line that has stayed with me thrughut my ministry. S

ften we are encuraged t attend curses r cnferences,undertake training, read a bk because smebdy (ther

than urseles) thinks its a gd idea: itll be gd fr yu.

There can, f curse, be a huge mismatch between what

thers think will be gd fr us and what we need whether

its t deelp in ur Christian life, t d a jb r ministry

mre effectiely r simply t cnnect with ur current

situatin.

In this bk I shall be explring ways in which we can put

tgether training and deelpment pprtunities which can be

as fruitful and effectie as pssible fr participants; asking the

questin, What difference des it make? I will be ffering sme


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Introduction

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tried and tested mdels alngside sme clear guidelines based

n research and experience.

one f the erwhelming themes that strikes me er and

again in reading the Gspels is that Jesus began where peplewere, nt where he thught they ught t be. Jesus parables

were cncerned with issues that peple culd readily relate t:

swing crps, caring fr sheep, lking after smene whd

been mugged. When discussing issues with a lawyer r a Pharisee

he used their language and starting pint, but encuraged them

t see further, t me n. S with fishermen, with the sick, with

thse caught up in the language f sin. Jesus neer inalidated

peples experience r situatin, but always started frm where

they were and encuraged them t me n, beynd their

situatins and usually ut f their cmfrt zne.

S it seems t me that a fundamental questin that shuld

always be asked f any training, educatin r deelpment

pprtunity, whether its cntinuing prfessinal deelpmentfr clergy r a baptism preparatin curse fr the unchurched,

is: where shuld we be starting frm? What are the participants

bringing t this situatin in terms f their (life and/r ministry)

experience, their prir knwledge and their expectatins? or,

t put it mre simply, what difference will it make?

Different approaches

James Hpewell (1987) prpses fur mdels used by thse

seeking t jin a church (using huse-hunting as an analgy):

cntextual, mechanistic, rganic and symblic. He suggests

that huse-hunters and church-seekers hae a dminant theme

when cnsidering a new huse r new church (althugh each

f the fur perspecties will play a part). S, the cntextual

seeker will be fcused n lcal enirnment and cntext,

the mechanistic n functinality, the rganic n the future

pssibilities and the symblic n what the chice will say f

them t the wrld.


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It is a ery useful mdel fr thse engaging (r ptentially

engaging) in any frm f ministry r Christian deelpment.

The fur appraches can be readily identified (althugh I must

emphasize that the appraches are nt mutually exclusie, butrather suggest a dminant theme). There will be thse wh

seek deelpment primarily because f the cntext and enirn-

ment in which it sits, chsing thse elements which particularly

suit the landscape f their life r ministry and perhaps because

it fits cmfrtably with the landscape in which they are situated:

the cntextual seekers. Then there will be thse wh seek deelp-

ment pprtunities primarily as a result f identifying specific

needs in ministry r their Christian jurney. They need a new

skill r hae a particular questin r area f cncern which

they require addressing: the mechanistic seekers. Third, there

will be thse wh undertake deelpment primarily t discer

new pssibilities in ministry r in their lies, t pen new drs

and t find ut what it is that they dnt knw, t help themgrw rganically. Finally, there will be thse wh will undertake

deelpment primarily in rder t say smething abut them-

seles, anything frm shwing the icar r bishp that they

are jumping thrugh a particular hp t haing a curse r

qualificatin n their Cv: the symblic seeker.

Nt nly are these dminant starting pints nt mutually

exclusie seekers are likely t hae mixed mties, which canchange during the experience f undertaking a particular piece

f deelpment neither are they necessarily predminant

in a particular persn r persnality. Different stages in life,

different life experiences and different ministries and ministry

situatins are all likely t influence the dminant theme adpted

by an indiidual.

Perhaps the mst imprtant lessn fr thse priding adeelpment pprtunity is awareness f ptential participants

mixed mties. When priding such pprtunities a ariety

f appraches will always need t be adpted, a theme I will

return t.


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Imprtantly, thugh, fr thse priding deelpment ppr-

tunities there will almst ineitably be a tendency t adpt

either the mechanistic r the rganic apprach. It wuld actually

be much less easy thugh nt impssible t adpt eitherthe cntextual r symblic apprach, as the cntextual apprach

will tend t be far t specific t an indiiduals wn situatin

and the symblic apprach t an indiiduals persnal needs.

An organic approach

In any gien situatin the temptatin will be t chse a mech-

anistic apprach t deelpment, fr ne ery simple reasn.

Whether Im a trainer f clergy r a parish priest, a bishp r

a cnsultant brught in t d sme training, I will beliee that

I hae a fairly clear understanding f what the rganizatin

(dicese, parish, small grup) needs. The issue will be, therefre:

hw d I best get my message acrss? Hw d I train this bunchf peple t be better leaders, t grasp better the basics f

baptism, t hae a better understanding f St Jhns Gspel?

The task seems t be clear; the issue is, hw d I best fulfil

the gien task? It seems a simple frm pint A t pint B

frmula. But what this apprach lses is the baggage, the his-

try, the persnalities, the needs that any participant brings t

the gien situatin.A simple example and huge learning pint fr me was

the yearly rund f annual parchial church meetings as a

icar. Each year we wuld g thrugh the grind f persuad-

ing (r dissuading!) peple t stand fr electin as church-

wardens and t the Parchial Church Cuncil (PCC). We had

a certain number f places t fill s we had t find peple t

fill them.

It gradually dawned n me that it wuldnt be the end f the

wrld if the acancies were nt filled, and rather than asking

hw I shuld fill these spaces the better questin was, Hw d

I help deelp in apprpriate rles the peple Gd has sent t


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this church? Rather than cramming rundish pegs int fairly

square hles, I began t think alng the lines f Here are sme

rund pegs: hw can I hne the hles s that there is a gd

fit? We began t deelp ministries which suited the skills andtalents that peple brught, rather than ding stuff because

thats what churches d.

This prcess in turn challenged me t lk at the way that

PCCs were run. Fr thse wh were prepared t sit n PCCs,

was the way that we ran the PCC making the best use f their

time, their talents and their energy r were we running a

meeting because wee always dne it this way? Transfrming

the meeting nt nly raised the energy leels but als gradually

had an effect n thse wh were prepared t stand fr electin.

And the amazing reality was that by using this rganic apprach

nt nly did we get as much wrk dne (usually in a shrter

perid) but we als had peple wh were mre fulfilled in their

ministry.Ultimately, peple began t see that they were being fulfilled

in ministry, and the ery clear side effect was that Gds Church

increasingly became a place f missin, grwing accrdingly.

In cmmn parlance, peple discered that there was sme-

thing in it fr them (and then fr thers, because they brught

their friends).

I deelped this apprach in my wrk with clergy trainingand deelpment when intrducing a Wrk and Ministry Cn-

sultancy Scheme fr clergy. I was aware that in sme parishes

there were a number f peple wh wrked in the area f

management cnsultancy, human relatins, etc., and had cn-

siderable skills which culd assist clergy in their ministry.

I therefre adertised fr such peple t ffer their serices,

undertk an interiew prcess, and appinted sme (thughnt all) f the applicants t ffer their serices fr free!

Thse appinted were delighted, first, t be taken seriusly

and apprached prfessinally and, secnd, t be ffering back

smething t the Church, in a real spirit f stewardship, which


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Introduction

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they felt fully equipped t d (rather than being squeezed int

a acancy n their lcal PCC).

The cnsultants wrked (and cntinue t wrk) with clergy

wh wished t aail themseles f this ministry and I expectedeach t draw up a clear cntract and understanding n which the

arrangement was t be based. The whle scheme wrks fully

rganically, and I will nt take clergy wh are referred by their

bishp, etc., but nly thse wh themseles want t deelp

their ministry (ften identified in their annual ministerial

deelpment reiew).

My experience, then, strngly suggests that an rganic

apprach t deelpment is likely t be mst fruitful, because

it addresses the issues that are f cncern t indiiduals, rather

than stemming frm rganizatinal need. It meant that the

rganizatin had t adapt accrdingly, but nt as much as

might hae been thught.

This apprach was supprted by sme research1

that I under-tk with recently retired dicesan bishps, explring their

experience and attitudes twards cntinuing prfessinal deel-

pment (CPD), bth fr themseles and as plicy makers fr

the Church f England and implementers in their wn diceses.

All the bishps, while emphasizing the imprtance f an rganized

apprach t cntinuing prfessinal deelpment, regarded the

impsitin f mandatry CPD (which wuld be a mechanisticapprach) t be bth undesirable and unwrkable. Amng the

reasns gien included the astly differing situatins in which

clergy minister, the difficulty in plicing such a system, the nature

f the ministry t which clergy are called, the underlying cul-

ture f bth Church and the clerical prfessin, and the clear

benefits f priding high-quality CPD which was attractie

enugh fr clergy t want t participate, rather than clergy feel-

ing they were being cajled int participating against their will.

All f these themes I shall be returning t later in this bk.

The rganic apprach, then, at its heart addresses the basic

human questin, Whats in it fr me? Hweer, it sees this nt


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Introduction

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as a selfish, indiidually centred cntext, but rather in the cn-

text f a Church whse purpse is t prclaim by wrd and

wrks the gd news f Jesus Christ. S perhaps this is better

expressed as, Whats in it fr me as an indiidual, made in theimage and likeness f Gd, called t a cmmunity f faith, as

a fllwer f Jesus Christ?

Developing themes

In this bk I shall explre this rganic apprach t Christian

deelpment with reference t a number f themes:

starting where peple are, as indiiduals, grups andcngregatins

acknwledging and addressing inherited culture andexpectatins

deelping cmplementary appraches explring indiidual needs, skills and preferences ensuring apprpriate reiew and reflectin integrating a cllabratie and c-peratie apprach being rganized and respnsie.

S, in the next chapter I shall deelp the imprtance f

beginning any training and deelpment agenda with the

indiiduals cncerned, the lcal church and the lcal situatin.I will discuss the issue f why s many grand initiaties and

er-structured appraches seem t fail.

In Chapter 3 I explre the imprtance f inherited culture,

amplifying the imperatie f taking receied culture seriusly

and seeing the cntext as it really is, nt as we wuld like it t be.

I will then shw hw and why apprpriate ministry deelpment

can be a majr factr in culture change.

Chapter 4 ffers reflectins n cmplementary appraches.

I demnstrate hw any gd ministry deelpment will include

a rich mix f skills training, thelgical educatin and persnal

and spiritual frmatin. In unpacking the difference between


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Introduction

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these three headlines I will shw why all three need t be present

in an apprpriate mix fr fruitful deelpment.

Chapter 5 returns t the theme f cntext and fcuses n

the imprtance f indiidual identity and persnal needsand preferences while deelping in Christian ministry. I als

address the key place f catinal discernment, calling and

selectin when cnsidering majr areas f Christian deelp-

ment. The nature f the ministry cntext and the matching f

the needs f the cntext t indiidual calling and catin will

be a majr theme f this chapter.

It is crucial t acknwledge that needs and situatins change;

just because smething wrks nce desnt mean that it will

wrk eery time. And if smething didnt wrk, why didnt

it wrk? Chapter 6 therefre addresses the need fr regular

reflectin and reiew. While prpsing that bth frmal

and infrmal prcesses fr reflectin and reiew shuld

always be a part f any Christian deelpment, I will alsdiscuss the central place f ministerial deelpment reiew

(MDR) fr bth rdained and lay ministers (and what gd

MDR lks like).

Chapter 7 reminds us that, in the wrds f Jhn Dnne, N

man is an island. Here is the emphasis that ministry is nt a

lne endeaur, but that all are Gds ministers, wrking in

c-peratin with the Hly Spirit and in cllabratin withther ministers and with the whle peple f Gd. Althugh

we might well start with the Whats in it fr me? questin, this

is nly apprpriate if seen within the wider cntext f building

cmmunity within the le f Gd. Underlining the whle

endeaur, then, is a Trinitarian and relatinal apprach t

ministry.

In Chapter 8 I will ffer an rganized, yet pen, appracht training and deelpment which includes seen practical

steps. These, I suggest, if taken seriusly and prprtinally,

will gie an apprpriately structural underpinning fr effectie

and fruitful ministry deelpment.


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Coda

The Oxford English Dictionarydescribes the wrd rganic in

this cntext as meaning characterized by r designating cn-tinuus r natural deelpment. S much in the Gspels pints

twards Jesus wrking with the raw material, the expectatins,

that are presented. Whether its the parable f the swer, which

recgnizes the imprtance f the cntext in which the swer

sws, r the peple Jesus encunters and surrunds himself

with a tax cllectr, fishermen, a Zealt Jesus life reflects

an rganic apprach t his ministry and missin. Jesus earthly

ministry is characterized by the cntinual and natural deelp-

ment f peple amng whm he spends his time; he neer expects

them t be ther than the peple they are, yet he helps t deelp

them t play their part in the spreading f the gd news.

Developing in Ministry Extract

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