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INTRODUCING THE ACCOUNTABLE LEADER MODEL FOR CHURCH GOVERNANCE One of the various prescriptions offered by the Consultation Team and specifically our Revitalization Facilitator Rev. Tom Eggold is to consider the adoption of a new form for Church Governance. This new structure, the Accountable Leader Model, takes its name from its primary goal, to increase accountability among church leadership, especially the Pastor and other staff, both paid and unpaid. The basics of this model for church governance can be summarized in the following four points:
Concerning Pastor Albers, the new structure intends to increase his accountability for the overall ministry of the congregation. His primary tasks will be to align resources (financial, personnel, and the rest) with the mission of the congregation and, as importantly, to cast a clear and compelling vision for the congregation. In short, the pastor will LEAD. The primary adjustment in thinking will be that most of the congregation leadership who are now elected, will be "appointed" to serve. Instead of electing board chairpersons, leaders will be appointed to serve as "staff", organizing congregation members to complete the tasks of ministry. In some cases individuals will simply complete tasks, while in other cases these staff persons will continue to organize committees for the purposes of planning and implementation. The staff will meet regularly, primarily for the purposes of coordination and planning. The staff, both paid and unpaid, will MANAGE the various ministries of the congregation. Instead of being governed by a Voters' Assembly which meets at least seven times a year, the congregation will be governed by a CHURCH BOARD. This church board will be smaller, probably four persons, meet as often as necessary to complete its tasks. It will be required by the bylaws to meet at least quarterly. This group does not replace the Voters' Assembly. The Voters' Assembly will continue to meet, at least once a year, for the purpose of electing the board members and adopting an annual ministry budget. Pastor Albers will report directly to this board which will hold him accountable to GUIDING PRINCIPLES. The board will develop and adopt these Guiding Principles as a way to define goals and more specifically guide the ministry of the congregation. The plan is to retain two groups from our current structure, Elders and Finance, which will be selected as "standing committees" of the board. At least one board member will serve on the Elders. The treasurer of the board will serve on the Finance committee. The responsibilities of these groups will very closely resemble those identified in our current bylaws. However, the groups will be "set free" from the burdens of additional items which have often defaulted to them because there has been no smaller, central group charged with the task of congregational governance. That, finally, is the task of the church board, to GOVERN. All of this structure is intended, finally, to set free the congregational membership so that it might more effectively minister, within the congregational community and throughout the communities where we live and work. Although it requires a bit of explanation, the following organizational chart might be helpful:
LEADERSHIP "We've got serious problems, and we need serious people." President Andrew Shepherd in the 1995 movie The American President. A "glass half full" perspective, of course, is that we've got serious challenges and opportunities as a congregation, and we need serious and gifted leaders to help meet those challenges and best take advantage of the opportunities. Faith Memorial has been blessed by some incredible leaders to do just that! LEADERS Pastor Albers and David Pilz, chair of the Board of Elders, will be providing primary leadership as the congregation and other leaders develop a comprehensive vision for ministry that will guide our work for the coming years. They meet weekly to develop strategies for action. Their goal: clear agendas and concepts ready for conversation, decision, and action by other leadership groups.
REVITALIZATION STEERING COMMITTEE Joining Pastor Albers and David Pilz will be other congregational leaders to help guide the overall process to a successful conclusion by the end of 2009. This group will be meeting regularly, about every three weeks. This is the group that will regularly engage with Rev. Tom Eggold our revitalization facilitator and "coach." Other than putting together the various important details for action, the group's goal will be to keep a six-week schedule always in front of the congregation and others on the Leadership Team. Additional persons on this steering committee include:
LEADERSHIP TEAM (VISION PATHWAY TEAM) This group of 15 congregational leaders will be the primary group meeting to develop the various components parts that will provide a comprehensive vision for ministry at Faith Memorial. You might also hear this referred to as the Vision Pathway Team because they will often gather for specific action on one of the several components of our new congregational vision. They will also be asked to participate more directly in the various events and activities designed to gather community and congregational input. In addition to the persons already indicate, leaders on this team include:
CONGREGATIONAL MEMBERSHIP If every congregation is unique, it follows that each member of every congregation is unique. Pastor Albers and the Leadership Team are, therefore, going to be looking for a variety of ways that congregation members can be involved in the Revitalization process. So far some specific ways you can be involved include:
BOARD OF ELDERS Although various members of the Board of Elders will be actively engaged in the Revitalization process, they have other important work to accomplish as the Board of Elders. They will be asked most specifically for input, advice, and counsel as the process moves forward. They will also continue to have oversight responsibility regarding how ORB dollars are spent and be responsible for requesting additional funding from the congregation to complete the process. |
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Faith Memorial Lutheran Church + 753 N. Calumet Ave., Valparaiso, IN 46383 + (219) 462-7684 |
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