Gardiners World

How Great Leaders Inspire!!

2011-11-02T04:54:00.000-07:00

Fast growing home groups

2010-12-09T10:22:00.000-08:00

Joel Comiskey is one of the leading authorities on small groups in the church today. In his book, Home Cell group Explosion, he researched the fastest-growing small-group-based churches in the world and the factors that most affected small group reproduction were:

1. The leaders' prayer life: the one factor in the survey that seemed to have the greatest effect on whether a group reproduces is how much time the leader spends praying for group members.

2. The leader's setting goals to multiply: Leaders who know their goal and know when their groups are planning to reproduce, consistently reproduce their groups more often than leaders who do not know their goal.

3. The leader's receiving effective training: Comiskey's research found that small group leaders who felt that they had been trained to reproduce their groups did so more rapidly. However, training was not as important as the quality of the leader's prayer life.

4. The groups evangelistic efforts: Comiskey found that there is a direct correlation between the number of visitors in a group and the number of times a leader reproduces the group. In other words, if you have lots of newcomers, you're ore likely to reproduce your group.

5. The group's "outside" meetings: This is the fun factor. The research found that groups that met more frequently outside of the regular small group gathering - just for fun - were more likely to reproduce than those that didn't.

12 Indicators that Leadership is lacking (excerpt from "Exponential")

2010-09-14T11:55:00.000-07:00

1. I wait for someone to tell me what to do rather than taking the initiative myself.
2. I spend too much time talking about how things should be different
3. I blame the context, surroundings, or other people for my current situation
4. I am more concerned about being cool or accepted than doing the right thing
5. I seek consensus rather than casting vision for a preferable future
6. I am not taking any significant risks
7. I accept the status quo as the way it's always been and always will be.
8. I start protecting my reputation instead of opening up myself to opposition
9. I procrastinate to avoid making a tough call
10. I talk to others about the problem rather than taking it to the person responsible
11. I don't feel like my butt is on the line for anything significant
12. I ask for way too many opinions before taking action

Is this you?
Any comments on the indicators?

Breaking Growth Barriers

2009-12-19T01:25:00.001-08:00

I am copying an entire post from alvaldez74 on the topic.

Nothing groundbreaking but good, basic stuff.

"I pray that this has been a great year for you & your church. I know that 2009 has been a historic year @VOSD & a wonderful year of breakthrough. I truly believe that we have certainly met all of our goals for 2009 & have stepped into 2010 with a driving passion to continue to reach God?s best for our church.

The next 3 blogs will speak to breaking church growth barriers in your church. I will certainly be speaking from a senior pastor?s perspective, but hopefully this information will be helpful to any of my friends who may use this blog as reference. Please feel free to leave a comment or question.

Breaking the 400 Barrier in your church.

1. Develop an identity that speaks to your community. Here is a question. Which ministry in your church speaks loudest to your community? When people think of your church, what do they think of? To break the 400 barrier, it is very important to present the ministry that you feel will cause for people to join you in that mission. Answer the question of: ?Why should I get involved?? Which ministry is your star?

2. Develop/Add more staff to your team. How many full-time minister?s serve your church? In order to break this barrier, staff is vital. It is virtually impossible to maintain a growth pattern without a staff that will serve & support the pastor?s of the church. There may have been times of growth, but in order to sustain growth, staff is vital.

3. Develop another Sunday morning service. For a church of 200-400 people, chances are there are limitations with facilities. One great tension of a growing church is Sunday morning seating, parking & children?s space. If you find that you have hit some of these barriers, an additional Sunday service may be in the cards. Here is a sure fire way to know. If a service is 70% full, it is full, if it is 80% full, it is too full, if it is 90% full you may be losing people. (There is also a way to monitor if your your new additional service is failing or succeeding.)

4. Develop a more quality ministry. As your ministry grows, expectations grow, because word of mouth grows & that is your greatest promotion. When people start to invite others to church, because they have had a life-changing experience, those new people come with a lot of hope. It may be worthwhile to evaluate your ministry leaders, ministry operations, children ministry, etc.

We only get one chance to make a first impression."

Kingdom of God TV

2009-11-05T10:03:00.001-08:00

Spirituality as Relational Theology - Confirming the Pastoral Call by Joseph Umidi

2009-10-31T14:59:00.001-07:00

I am challenged by the information in Chapter 11 regarding the mismatching of candidates and churches. Tim Dearborn?s research into Graduate Theological education in the Pacific Northwest is disheartening because of the discrepancies between what the seminaries are producing and what the churches are wanting.
We have a similar, if not worse situation in the UK, where theology as espoused by academia has very little in common with the faith of the person in the pew. In fact in a very real sense the theologians in many European countries no longer speak for the churches or the person in the pew.
I was concerned that the top priority for laymen of their leaders is Spirituality, whilst apparently seminary professors are not even looking for it! Alister McGrath at page 136 of his book, ?The Future of Christianity? makes the point;
?Theology used to be? not just objective science, but a personal knowledge of God and the things of God?. Theology is relational not just cognitive.?
In looking for Spirituality in the leaders, church members clearly want relational, not just cognitive theology; in not looking for it all, seminary professors are treading a worrying road! Perhaps this is one reason why the majority of seminary graduates serve small churches while one third of the senior pastors leading America?s megachurches do not have a seminary degree?

Teddy Kennedy: The Dark Side of Discipling

2009-09-09T10:19:00.000-07:00

The recent death of Senator Edward Kennedy "Teddy the Terrible" is a parable of the sheer power of discipling. Unfortunately it is enough to make you despair!

Michael Kelly in an article in The Sunday Times (30.08.09) states "the senators amoral upbringing led to a life often wildly out of control".

Once "...the handsomest of the handsome Kennedy boys, with a proudly jutting chin, a Nelson Eddy jaw and Cupid's bow lips under a thatch of chestnut hair..." he became "a "husk", dried up and hollowed out", a "Senator Bedfellow figure, an ageing Irish boyo clutching a bottle and diddling a blonde".

By the age of 57 (in case you hadn't realised - this is young!) the skin on his face had "gone from red roses to gin blossoms. The tracery of burst capillaries (shining) faintly through the scarlet patches that cover the bloated, mottled cheeks" and "the nose that was once straight and narrow is now swollen and bulbous, with open pores..."

In respect of his marriage "He was philandering from the moment he was married". And in respect of political ambitions for the White House - well Chappaquiddick put paid to that.

So in just the few quotes that I've picked out above, we have a picture of physical degradation, moral anarchy, relational poverty, and a toxic mistake that forever poisoned his political ambitions!

What on earth could have caused so much damage to one man? It is like someone aimed a personal nuke at him and fired or that there was some malevolent supernatural force which had decided to hover over his life and persecute him all the days of his life.

Unfortunately, in his case, it seems the answer lay closer to home - "Joseph Kennedy sr flaunted his affairs in front of his wife and children, made crude passes at his sons' dates and well past his middle years was still chasing doxies".

Apparently, this parental pattern was at worst condoned, at best tolerated by those around him so that Teddy "presumably figured that the rules of decency nor of retribution applied" to him.

It seems he never forgot his childhood lessons...

There is another way.

God says, "I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you." Psalm 32:8.

Even if we are part of a family that is personally corrosive and disinterested in our welfare, we have a God who is just the opposite.

Jobs, Vocation, Calling - what are we here for?

2009-08-31T08:54:00.000-07:00

Greg Ogden, in his book, "Unfinished Business", his update of "The New Reformation", quotes one frustrated person as saying, "I think most of us are looking for a calling, not a job... Jobs are not big enough for people." There is a huge frustration that exists in people because they are not doing the jobs that match their giftings. As Ogden points out, "Though we recognise that in a fallen world there are no perfect jobs, as Christians we are called to express our individual inner design as a means of producing societal wholeness. The workplace provides the context for this to happen" (258).

The bible tells us that God knew us in the womb, that He formed us, that He has created us for good works. There is a clear design element to humanity. It is that inner design and unique self that gives the fundamental shape to our call. The call begins with the "inside job" God has aleady done on us.

Your first step, therefore, to knowing your call in life is to "know yourself".Some of the tools that we use at RVC to "know ourselves" are "Now, Discover Your Strengths" by Marcus Buckingham, (a brilliant book), the five fold gifting test found in "The Apostles Notebook", (another great book), the Colour of Ministry (Natural Church Development), and Temperament Sorter (http://www.keirsey.com/), an on-line personality test based on Myers-Briggs.

I have personally found all the above tools to have been hugely helpful in understanding my own call and giftings.

"missional vs. seeker churches"

2009-07-27T13:01:00.001-07:00

I love it! Artists versus MBA's. Game on!

Keller - "What are the benefits of a building?"

2009-07-27T12:56:00.001-07:00

Good thoughts on the reasons for a building...

"The Importance of the Power of God" - Interview with Mike Riches

2009-07-08T06:55:00.000-07:00

In this interview, Mike makes a point that I believe is crucial. He says, "Theology should be mission driven, not academically driven."

By this, he means we have a tendency to lower our theology to the level of our experience rather than to raise it to the level of God's manifestation, which has the effect of opening our eyes to what is already in the bible.

Peter & Cornelius
Peter in the house of Cornelius is a prime example of this. In Acts 10 Peter has a vision of a great sheet being let down from heaven; in it were all kinds of four-footed animals, wild beasts, "creeping things" and birds of the air. He is commanded by God to get up and eat, but he refuses on the grounds he has never eaten anything common or unclean.
It isn't until he is summoned to the house of Cornelius where the Holy Spirit falls on the household that he realises that the Good News of Christ is also for (unclean) gentiles; the gentiles are also called to be the people of God.

Question
The question is, "How could he not know this?" The Old Testament and the New Testament are clear on this subject. Just one example from the Old Testament:

Isaiah 56:6-7 (NLT)

6 “I will also bless the foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord, who serve him and love his name, who worship him and do not desecrate the Sabbath day of rest, and who hold fast to my covenant.
7 I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer. I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices, because my Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations.

Answer
The answer to the question is, of course, that we all have a tendency to lower our theology to the level of our experience or cultural expectations; it takes God breaking supernaturally into our lives to open our eyes to fullness of His message.

Healing on the Streets 20th June 2009, Broad Street, Reading

2009-06-26T03:13:00.000-07:00

HOTS

A team from Reading Vineyard Church, Mark Marx, from Causeway Coast Vineyard, and numerous other churches go out onto the streets to heal people. CAUTION!! At about 4:18 a youth starts swearing when he sees his mates leg growing through the Power of God. But then, this is ministry on the streets...
Amazing times!

The Importance of Church Membership

2009-06-22T05:13:00.000-07:00

As with a number of theological matters facing us, church membership is not explicitly found in any one bible verse or chapter. However, as we read the pages of the New Testament we soon discover that the clarity of specific church life is on display in many of its books.

At Reading Vineyard Church we believe in the doctrine of the Universal Church; that every genuine believer, regardless of race, creed or denomination is united in one worldwide family through Christ.

However, beyond this undeniable unity there is a New Testament priority made of the specific regional or local church. The Apostles concerned themselves with the planting of such churches, the care of them and the careful instigation of godly government. Most of the New Testament letters are written to such specific congregations and/or their leaders.

So why is specific church membership seen as important?

We are saved and added into God’s family

In Acts chapters 2 – 5 we read on three occasions of converts being “added to their number”. These verses confirm an early understanding of being joined with a specific company of God’s people. An understanding of being brought into God’s global family needs to see the application being worked out locally, in a specific congregation. Specific church membership is an understanding that our inclusion in God’s global family is worked out regionally or locally.

Specific churches are the best setting for corporate worship

1 Corinthians 14: 26 tells us clearly that when we gather together as committed communities of believers everyone is to bring a “hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or interpretation”. The apostle Paul certainly valued congregational worship! It is hugely important to understand this apostolic value of corporate church worship which brings glory to God and “strengthens the church” (1 Corinthians 14: 26b). Membership of a specific church ensures we are, together, regularly honouring God and are edified and strengthened through congregational worship

Churches provide consistent Bible teaching

Paul gave Timothy clear instructions to keep working at the regular public reading and teaching of the scriptures (I Timothy 4: 13). Consistent teaching of biblical truth is a mandatory component of the healthy Christian life. At Reading Vineyard we honour God’s word and so seek to teach a thorough curriculum from the width of scripture and its various genres of text. Such regular exposure to the Bible trains us in righteousness (2 Timothy 3: 16) and protects us from self delusion, the spirit of the age, or false doctrine. Committed church membership exposes us to regular biblical teaching and its application in daily life.

Growth and discipleship flourish in the context of our commitment to a specific church

The Christian should always be growing and becoming more like Christ. We term this process sanctification. Christian character and conduct is most effectively developed in the community of a specific church; a place where we are known and loved. Each of us needs the security of a loving congregation, and caring leaders, to give us encouragement, feedback, and, if necessary, correction. We are designed to grow together! Church membership of a specific church provides the best environment for growth and discipleship.

See Matthew 28: 19, 20; Ephesians 4: 16

Churches offer the opportunity to serve and grow with accountability and encouragement

Ephesians tells us that the various ministries within the Church are designed to “prepare God’s people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up….” (4: 12). Christian service, within the community of God’s people, is the means by which Christians mature in their gifting, and the church gains strength. Membership of a specific church is a commitment to grow in serving, within the security and accountability of that church congregation.

Mission operates effectively through churches

Jesus declared he would build his church and that even the gates of hell would not prevail against it (Matthew 16: 18). Jesus saw the strategic battle as between his Church and the forces of the enemy. God has drawn us into his mission which is to see a lost world won back to God, for the glory of his name through the Christ, into his Church. It is his church that is the “city on a hill” (Matthew 5:14), the “people of God” (1 Peter 2:10) and the mouth piece for his gospel (1 Thessalonians 1: 7-8). Specific church membership joins you with God’s army and God’s agency for change in the world.

Church leaders need to know who they are responsible for

God’s spiritual leaders are given their responsibility by God. Much is expected of the call to shepherd God’s people, in fact Hebrews 13: 17 tells us that such men have to give an account to God for their work among God’s people. The leaders at Reading Vineyard, along with other leaders within our church, desire to give pastoral care, accountability, counsel and direction to those who have invited such input. Church membership demonstrates a willingness to invite the oversight of Godly shepherding into your life.

Churches are the hope of the world!

Bill Hybels, the senior leader of Willow Creek Community Church USA, inspiringly describes the potential of the local church in his book Courageous Leadership (p23) as follows:

“There is nothing like the local church when it’s working right. Its beauty is indescribable. Its power is breathtaking. Its potential is unlimited. It comforts the grieving and heals the broken in the context of community. It builds bridges to seekers and offers truth to the confused. It provides resources for those in need and opens its arms to the forgotten, the downtrodden, the disillusioned. It breaks the chains of addictions, frees the oppressed, and offers belonging to the marginalized of this world. Whatever the capacity for human suffering, the church has a greater capacity for healing and wholeness….. No other organisation on earth is like the church. Nothing comes even close.”

Why would any Christian ever want to miss out on being a committed member of a specific church?!

(Acknowledgements to Emmanuel New Frontiers Church, Oxford and my daughter Esther for forwarding on the material! You area star!)

Organisational Communication for Churches Part 2

2009-04-02T03:25:00.000-07:00

In this series we are taking a look at what makes for great communication within churches. Believe me, this is a huge issue!!!

Last time, I effectively said that communication is the medium for leadership and without communication, leadership is effectively dead! Strong words, I've been guilty of dying myself, but, I believe, true words that every leader needs to take to heart.

This is part two and this week I want to look at some communication in the context of the leaders job description. So let's get into it...

The Big Picture
First let us think what it is that a leader does; what is his job description? John Kotter says that leaders [unlike managers] establish direction and communicate long-range views of the big picture.

Effectively this involves three main activities: the first is establishing direction. It has been said many times that vision is key, not least in the bible – in Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” The ANIV translates “perish” as “cast off restraint”. The word also means “set at nought” or “exposed”. From this we see how important vision is to people fulfilling their potential, remaining strong, and having the strength to persevere. The Big Picture is a vital and inseparable part of leadership, and clearly the Big Picture is pointless unless it is communicated.

Align People
Secondly, the leader has to align people. In John Kotters words, “This is done by communicating the direction by words and deeds to all those whose cooperation may be needed so as to influence the creation of teams and coalitions that understand the vision and strategies and accept their validity”. Note – this is not a one-time activity! Hackman & Johnson emphatically state “Communication is not a thing, it is a process.” They go on to say that “unlike a biologist looking at a cell through a microscope, communication [is] a continuous, ongoing process without a clearly defined beginning or end”.

Sometimes leaders lose sight of the organic nature of communication. Communication is a fragile entity and requires constant nurture and reinforcement without which that silent enemy of all vision, vision-drift creeps up, attaches itself leach-like to your vision and slowly but surely sucks all clarity, purpose and vitality from it!

Communication is not only organic, prone to bursts of vitality or decay, but it is also culture forming. Like any other living organism, over time culture is also prone to decay, strengthening or mutation. It never remains the same. The leader who stands back and leaves it does so at his peril! In fact I would go so far as to say it is tantamount to abdicating your leadership! Swedish researcher Mats Alveson argues that leadership is a “culture-influencing activity” which involves the “management of meaning”. It is your job leader to give voice, form and meaning to those who have chosen to follow you! Margaret Wheatley says it best: “Those who give voice and form to our search for meaning, and who help us make our world purposeful, are leaders we cherish, and to whom we return gift for gift”.

Inspire Me!
Third, the leader is involved in motivating and inspiring. In any setting or changing of direction there are huge political, bureaucratic and resource barriers that have to be overcome. There are coalitions of people who don’t like what you’ve chosen, who will lose influence because of the changes, who will have to exert themselves in new and unfamiliar ways, who will choose not to give time, money or energy to your chosen course of action and yet, if the direction is right, then these barriers have to be overcome or like Israel, the church will find itself spending 40 years in the wilderness, before it gets its chance again. That is not the Promised Land for those in leadership!

You hardly need to look at the three activities of a leader to realize how crucial communication is to all of them.Without communication, none of the essential tasks of a leader are met.

To Be Continued...
So next post, in Part 3, I will look at what makes for an effective communication climate. Until then...!

Addington School

2009-03-23T10:01:00.001-07:00

For those of you interested, we have made some enquiries about using the new Addington school being built alongside Bulmershe Leisure Centre. We received a letter this morning and I quote:-
"I am afraid we are a long way off planning for the use of our new premises out of school hours... We have very specialised facilities and I believe any community use should be for groups who would benefit from these specific facilities.... There are several organisations who have approached us, but the priority for the Governors will be to decide on principles around lettings of our specific facilities".
Let us pray that they may also see their way to allowing organisations like ourselves to use their fantastic premises!!

robgard

Building News - Wokingham Methodist Church

2009-03-12T03:55:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege of meeting up with Rev. Nick Thompson and one of his key leaders to talk about their experiences in developing Wokingham Methodist church. They have built a large cafe, which can double as another large meeting room, and nursery with several meeting rooms above.
Before deciding on what to do, they met with met with the local schools, the Police, their MP, the youth council, and their youth MP (I didn't know there was such a person) to find out what the community needs were.
The results have been astonishing. They now get 8000 people through the door each month! In many respects they can't believe what has been achieved. It's raised the profile of the church (and by extension, Christ) in the town.
They recently received a letter from a member of community (not a church goer) who said their project had given the town a heart and soul. (That is high praise indeed from someone who has no faith axe to grind.)
One of the real growth areas, they have found, is the youth cafe after school - it is a drop-in safe time, proving to be very popular. To resource this they have sourced a mobile trolley which is in effect a portable classroom with portable wireless network and its own sound system: the laptops have extension batteries so they all last 6 hours and to recharge them is as easy as docking them back into the trolley which plugs into the mains. They either recharge overnight or between sessions. Of curse there is a cost - £15k to be precise! It is a good job they have someone who works at HP who therefore donated them to the church. :)
As a result of their extension, they are now doing Saturday church for 5-11 year olds, largely unchurched children, and they are thinking about doing an evening cafe service in the cafe (0f course).
Nick made a very good point about the cafe. He said we need to think acoustics - they have found that the deader it is, the more people chat and stay, the more echo and reverb, the quicker they leave.
Another great point - Nick also observed that their experience proved there was a lot to be said for creating as good an environment as possible because it really paid dividends in terms of outreach. I say "Amen" to that. I remember speaking to a veteran church planter who said "The season of plastic chairs in drafty gymnasiums has gone. It is no longer cutting edge and exciting." I believe it is time for the church to seriously engage with our communities and that does mean we need to invest in our infrastructure if we are wanting to bring in a return for God's kingdom.

Organisational Communication for Churches Part 1

2009-03-05T10:10:00.000-08:00

There has been a mantra that I have heard in almost every church I have had the privilege to attend. What is that mantra? Simply this, “I never know what’s going on in this church”, “This church is rubbish at communication”, and so on and so on. I am sure it is a familiar refrain to many.
I suggest there are two reasons for this constant refrain. The first is a technical reason:- it is genuinely difficult to communicate effectively and consistently as a church grows, without a great deal of thought being put into the systems of communication.
The second is that they are not being led! This will come as a surprise to many hard-working, diligent leaders who are planning, strategizing, caring and preparing almost all of the time. It is certainly a statement that needs unpacking.
Hackman and Johnson in their highly readable and influential book “Leadership: A Communication Perspective”, state, “Leadership is human (symbolic) communication, which modifies the attitudes and behaviours of others in order to meet shared group goals and needs”. Their contention is that leadership and communication are symbiotically linked; communication is the medium through which leadership is mediated in the same way as air is the medium through which sound is mediated: one without the other cannot exist.
This being the case, when people are saying “What is happening here?” what they are really saying is that the voice of leadership has fallen silent or that there is so much other noise around they no longer hear it; either way they have lost that vital connection from the head of the body that provides purpose and direction to the body as whole.
It is understanding this vital point that provides a firm foundation for a leader to go on to think of the systems and channels of communication that a church or organisation needs so that its members feel in touch and connected to the whole. Without this understanding, leaders constantly misjudge the need for and importance of constantly communicating with their followers. With this in mind over the next few weeks, I want to build some of the philosophical foundations for a leadership understanding of effective communication.
Watch this space!