The Acts 16:5 InitiativeThe Acts 16:5 InitiativeDevelop a Defining VisionDevelop a Defining Vision

© 20013 E. Stanley Ott

Elder Leadership

Matters

Discipleship Service Oversight

Three Hats of an Elder

Discipleship Service Oversight

Three Hats of an Elder

The Hat of Discipleship –

Be a disciple

Grow a discipleA lifestyle to be lived before it is a programprogram to be run (witness, prayer, care…)Dyads, Triad, Quads

A Rule of LifeThe Word of GodPrayerExamenSmall Group Life

“Nosey” questions:

What strategy do you personally use for growing disciples? With whom?

What strategy does your congregation use for growing disciples who grow disciples?

mainline church members often have no such personal strategy yet are open to learn.

The Hat of Service –ministry

Equipped and Deployed inside and outside the congregation.

S.H.A.P.E. – spiritual gifts, heart, abilities,personality experience

During the time on Session this may ormay not be as an elder assignment

Discipleship Service

The first two hats of an Elder are twohats for all Christians – before servingon a Session and after serving on the Session. Develop a disciple-growing, Equipping Farm System!

The hat of Oversight

To love and tolead the flock of God

The double focus ofMinistry

Other Hats…

People Eyes - the eyes of Jesusfor people –

loving them – care

leading them - discipleship

‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’

Jesus’ eyes saw the true needs of the people in front of him:The woman with the jar of perfume

BartimaeusWidow of Nain

Canaanite woman’s daughterWoman at the well

The Centurian’s SonWedding in Cana

Lepers

Receive People eyes – in your own head – seeing through the eyes of Jesus for people

Ministry Support:: finances, facilities and personnel

Worship

DiscipleshipMinistry

Mobilization

Leadership

Fellowship

MissionalEndeavor

TheVital

Church

Generosity

Discipleship Service Oversight

Three Hats of an Elder

Work

The typical committee, board orTeam is one dimensional.

It meets for one reason:To accomplish some assigned work

A Three-Dimensional Ecclesiology

The Koinonial Dimension

5 practices of the doxological and koinonial dimensions of Session life:

•The Seven Threads of Relationships•Word-Share-Prayer•Rotating Prayer Partners•Quarterly Meals•Annual Retreat

The basis of a covenant of community life

The Seven Threads of Ministry Team Relationships:

1. Spiritual Disciplines 2. Face-to-Face Relationships3. Confidentiality4. Communication5. Clear expectations6. Loose-tight7. Loving Loyalty

WORD

SHARE

PRAYER

Send to ministry and mission

© 2004 E. Stanley Ott

www.VitalChurchesInstitute.com

www.VitalChurchesInstitute.com

Rotating Prayer PartnersRotating Prayer PartnersI pray that, according to the riches of God’s glory, God may grant that ______ and I may be strengthened in our inner being with power through God’s Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. As _____ and I are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that ____ and I may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that ______ and I may be filled with all the fullness of God.

EPHESIANS 3:16-19

5 practices of the doxological and koinonial dimensions of Session life:

•The Seven Threads of Relationships•Word-Share-Prayer•Rotating Prayer Partners•Quarterly Meals•Annual Retreat

Work to develop these one at a time in verycommittee and team in the church.

Some elements of Elder Leadership

Defining Vision

Discernment

Decision making

Yearly Planning (2%)

Permission Giving

With me and With us Poise

Clarify your Defining Vision

Be who God wants you to be and

you will set the world on fire!

Catherine of Siena

The 3-D Defining Vision

Incline –Vision centered

Recline – program centered

Decline – structure

Some elements of Leadership

Defining Vision

Discernment

Decision making

Yearly Planning (2%)

Permission Giving

With me and With us (10/90)

Poise

Doxological - Worship

MissionalEndeavor

Koinonial -DiscipleshipEquipping

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIThe arc of God’s story embraces the arc of how the church haslived out the three dimensions through history – often with hope and conflict.

SisAct/9/11 RCH

Traditional

Program Centered

Transformational

Vision Centered

Transitional

Transitional

BLESS and ADDBLESS and ADD

Some elements of Leadership

Defining Vision

Discernment & Decision making(wisdom)

Yearly Planning (2%)

Permission Giving

With me and With us (10/90)

Poise

Levels of permission-giving1.We tell you what to do.

2. You ask us what to do.

3. You ask us for permission for what you want to do. [the typical Session]

4.You act on your own yet centered on our shared vision but inform us immediately.

5. You act on your own yet centered on our shared vision and inform us routinely. [the permission giving Session]

6.You Act on your own.

Some elements of Leadership

Defining Vision

Discernment

Decision making

Yearly Planning (2%)

Permission Giving

With me and With us (10/90)

Poise

10% Discernment/DecisionWhat are we going to do?

90% ImplementationHow to lead our people “with us” and keep people

on board? Take 9 times the time you took to descern/decide what to do to figure out how to do it and to keep your people with you and in a

good spirit.

The 10-90 Rule – to encourage those we lead to be “with” us.

Some elements of Leadership

Defining Vision

Discernment

Decision making

Yearly Planning (2%)

Permission Giving

With me and With us (10/90)

Poise

ANDOur culture is in a state of flux -rapid, manic, discontinuouschange

The Churchis in flux

The Worship Shift

Movement from “standard” traditionalliturgies and worship services to a wide variety off approaches with descriptors such as traditional, blended, contemporary, ancient-modern and Taize

The Discipleship Shift – from just programs to persons with persons

Movements from programs to growing People who invest their lives in peoplein order to grow together as disciples.

“The maximum impact of the church of Jesus Christ in history in the world is not the impact of great and eloquent preachers, or denominations, or church hierarchies, or even popes, or priests, or cardinals, or all of the programs that the church invented. The maximum impact of the church of Jesus Christ is the influence of the aggregate of believers where they are between Sundays. The measure of the effectiveness of a local church is not when the sanctuary is full on Sunday morning, and the programs are in operation. The measure of the effectiveness of the church is what's happening when the sanctuary is empty, the parking lot is empty, and the programs are not in operation, and people are scattered all over a metropolitan area, penetrating all of the organizations and institutions of that area, because where they are Christ is - in them. You are the church.” Richard C. Halverson Former Chaplain of the U.S. Senate

The Missional Shift – from just programs to personal lifestyle

The changing triple helix through history of The story-narrative of all three dimensions (doxological, koinonial, mission) of the Christian life creates both hope and anxietyfor congregations. hope because they findnew ways to do ministry. Anxiety because many people are afraid of losing what they love.

No wonder discernment, decision-making and wisdom are so essential!

Flux is not merely “change.” Flux is continuous change.

Some things are not in flux!

The Love of the God whoSustains us

The love of the people ofGod who encourage us

Our love for those toWhom God sends us

Yet many things are in flux!

DJ Patil explains, "There are sometimes when you can predict weather well for the next 15 days. Other times, you can only really forecast a couple of days. Sometimes you can't predict the next two hours." The business [and ministry] climate, it turns out, is a lot like the weather. We've entered a next two-hours era.

http://www.wimp.com/dadipad/

The Twentieth Century isthe name of a train thatno longer runs!

Poet David Lehman

<> 39

Technical Challenges

Adaptive Challenges

In times of rapid In times of rapid change what you change what you know can mislead you. know can mislead you. Michael MarquardtMichael Marquardt

Michael Marquardt

Discernment and decision making require

Humility,Inquiry,

andExperimentation

Presbuteros

Define Poise

Poise = Balance

Poise is a state of dignified God-confident balance, equilibrium and

composure.

“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and

blaming it on you...” Rudyard Kipling – If

Nomin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoSV9FhupHI

PoiseWalking the high wire of transition fromtraditional (program-centered) to transformational (vision-centered)

Walking the high wire of navigating adaptive challenges of a culture in flux

Walking high wire of trust and control (permission-giving)

Walking high wire of details vs the big picture

Elders with poise keep the ship of the church on an even keel!