Foretaste

Leadership for the Missional Church

Paul M. Dietterich

• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781532665516, 9781532665523
• eBook ISBN: 9781532665530
• Topic: Théologie et religion
• Subtopic: Église chrétienne

We have too often missed the point that it is the community of faith, the church, that is called to be a sign, instrument, and in particular a foretaste of the reign of God. So what would an appetizer of God's coming reign look like anyway? The focus of this book is not only on what a church does but how it goes about doing what it does. The common life and shared ministry of the church are a powerful witness to God's loving and reconciling activity. A world wracked with fear, incivility, win-lose competition, and anger calls for churches that manifest the fruit of the Holy Spirit. This book dives into the key leadership behaviors that cultivate transformed and transforming faith communities--skills that every church leader and leadership team need to know, learn, and practice.

Part I

The Climate Challenge and Its Solution

1

The Motivating Power of Climate

There’s something about the church environment that

people consistently perceive, and these perceptions

determine their motivation and participation.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is that the problem can be fixed.

Introduction

“I feel like Saint Sebastian full of arrows!” said the pastor. “Everyone is shooting at me. The climate of this church is awful.”

He was correct. The climate in that church was awful. The congregation had turned against the pastor. And the pastor did not know why. He seemed unaware that his leadership behavior over the preceding several years had alienated the congregation.

When he first arrived he was welcomed with mixed feelings. His greatly loved predecessor had served that church for more than twenty years. Many members had known no other pastor. Anyone following such an outstanding pastor would find it difficult to gain acceptance by this congregation. Some members of the congregation, still grieving over the departure of his predecessor, were not yet ready to welcome the new pastor. Even though the new pastor’s sermons were excellent, his delivery compelling, attendance in worship did not surge. Financial contributions held even. The beginning of his ministry in that church was full of promise. But as he became aware that he was always being compared to his predecessor and that he was competing with a ghost, he began to become defensive. Struggling to lead this church while being only marginally accepted, he began to pull back into himself. Instead of consulting more broadly with others and encouraging group participation, he began to practice leadership behavior that was defensive and sometimes arbitrary. The church staff sometimes felt abused and unsupported. They too became protective and defensive while trying to be loyal, but they kept their feelings and thoughts to themselves. Before long they began to look for positions elsewhere.

Members of church committees were surprised and then angered by the pastor’s defensive and competitive manner. Sometimes he imposed decisions upon them, presenting them with a fait accompli without giving them an opportunity to discuss things. Committee members complained, grumbled, and griped to each other, but no one shared these complaints with the pastor.

Church officers were, at first, concerned. Then disappointed. Then angry. Then alienated. Yet no one told the pastor and no one offered to help.

By the time the pastor discovered the extent of the hostility against him, the damage was done. For the sake of that congregation, and for his own well-being, it was time for him to move on.

People heaved a sigh of relief when he left. And so did he.

What a pity! How sad when a promising ministry ends like this. Without realizing what was occurring, the limited acceptance of the new pastor by this congregation combined with the pastor’s defensive leadership behavior contributed to a destructive climate in the “Church of St. Sebastian.” Instead of helping to create a loving, caring, and supportive climate that demonstrated Christian faith, this pastor (and all those who failed to help change the climate and his leadership behavior) created just the opposite.

The pastor said he felt like St. Sebastian, “full or arrows.” In truth, the entire congregation was full of arrows. Everyone was wounded. The church council, the church staff, other church leadership teams, and the congregation itself were hurting. Pastor and people together had created a poisonous climate.

Every Church Has a Climate

Every church has an organizational climate. People may not be able to name it, but everyone involved in church life feels it. The climate of a church shapes every aspect of its life: its actions and activities, how its members relate to one another, how church leaders work together, the quality of and participation in its worship, the ways the congregation makes decisions—in other words the total atmosphere of a church. Even more to the point, a church’s climate reveals the extent to which it is or is not fulfilling its divine calling to be a sign, foretaste, and instrument of the reign of God, the future God intends for the whole creation.

Climate is the term used to describe how a church’s internal environment influences its members. A church’s climate is much like the weather. On cold and windy days, people bundle up in several layers of clothing to protect themselves against the elements. On dark and rainy days people wear rain gear and carry umbrellas. On hot and humid days, people wear loose clothing and turn on their air conditioners. Like the weather, the climate of a church has a significant impact on the people who experience it. People may wall themselves off against each other in a “cold and frigid” church climate. Or they may actively and energetically enter into the life of a “warm and friendly” church.

A church’s climate is the environmental quality of its common life. Climate is the response to various conditions that persons perceive as the dominant characteristics of a church. Climate is often what visitors look for and sense when searching for a church home. Climate is what keeps members participating enthusiastically and faithfully for decades in the life of a church. On the other hand, climate can tear a church apart. Climate is a powerful force. It can motivate people, or demotivate them.

Climate is defined by social scientists as “a relatively enduring quality of the internal environment of an organization that (a) is experienced by its members, (b) influences their behavior, and (c) can be described in terms of the values of a particular set of characteristics (or attributes) of the organization.”1

Climate, a technical organizational phenomenon that is being studied by social scientists, is discussed in more specific detail in Appendix B. For now, it is important to recognize that a church’s climate is a powerful force in its life.

We all have thoughts and feelings about our church, whether a local congregation, a regional church body, a theological educational institution, or a national denominational organization. Those thoughts and feelings impact how we participate. They affect our motivation. They influence whether we participate actively or inactively, give money generously or not, donate time and energy or refuse to do so, attend worship regularly or seldom.

Climate is both objective and subjective. It is an objectively measurable expression of people’s subjective perceptions of their church. The assumption underlying the concept of organizational climate is that the way people feel about their church has a powerful impact on how they relate to it. How favorably they perceive the climate ultimately determines the life and witness of a church.2

Few churches have as poisonous a climate as the Church of St. Sebastian but every church has some kind of climate. A church’s climate is always felt, just as the weather is felt. But it usually goes unseen. It is in...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Part I: The Climate Challenge and Its Solution
• Part II: Six Leader Behaviors that Build a Missional Climate
• Part III: Implications for the Missional Church
• Bibliography