Guiding Christian Leaders for Ancient Mission in the Contemporary World

Dante and Me             Meditation 3

 

Clergy Credibility – Recovery

 

            In my book Why Should I Believe You? Rediscovering Clergy Credibility, I outline Dante’s insight into the struggle to turn around clergy respectability. The sad state of church leadership today does not have to continue. This is not about “turnaround churches”. This is about “turnaround church leaders”. It will only happen through a difficult passage of repentance and grace, which Dante calls “purgatory”.

 

            You probably already noticed that Dante uses the classical “Seven Deadly Sins” as a template to describe the increasing corruption of clergy credibility. Overcoming each deadly sin is also his process to redeem clergy and set them on the straight path.

 

            The first step toward redemption involves overcoming pride. The next challenges are to overcome jealousy (envy), and overcome confrontation (anger). These are the steps toward redemption that are most public, because they correspond to the hostility of the public over clergy betrayal, fraud, abuse.

 

            The next steps toward redemption are more private, involving personal self-discipline. Clergy overcome sloth (or laziness), avarice (or obsession), gluttony (or excessive consumption). Just as the credibility of clergy suffered through a descent into the seven deadly sins, so their credibility is rescued by overcoming them in reverse order. According to Dante, Lust (or wrong desire) is one of the earliest downfalls of clergy, and is a final challenge to overcome. The problem with “desire” is that it is give to the wrong thing. Desire for God is the right thing.

Dante and Me             Meditation 2

 

Clergy Credibility – The Demise

 

I first discussed Dante’s insight into spiritual journey in my book Why Should I Believe you? Rediscovering Clergy Credibility (Abingdon Press 2006). I suspect it was received with a resounding “Huh?”

 

I believe that the demise of clergy credibility today is as big a crisis as it was in the 14^th century. Dante wrote The Divine Comedy in the early 1300’s … and the Protestant Reformation was largely provoked by widespread disrespect for the privileged lifestyles and self-serving dogmatisms of that time. The current collapse of credibility has taken some time to develop but followed a similar path. As in the 14^th century, there are outside forces of rationalism, nationalism, and paganism undermining clergy credibility. But as in the 14^th century, the real blame lies with the clergy themselves. This is not simply an institutional collapse. It is a personal collapse of integrity.

 

So, Dante’s descent into Hell, struggle through purgatory, and ultimate ascent to paradise is really an account of the progressive collapse of spiritual leadership in his and our day, and a blueprint for the recovery of spiritual leadership in his and our day.

 

When seekers today look at the sad spectacle of church leadership, they see layers of disreputableness. Here are the progressive layers of the Inferno that is consuming the church:

 

At the top, there are some virtuous church leaders. The steps toward corruption descend first to lustful leaders, and then self-centered leaders, greedy leaders, self-righteous leaders, and heretical leaders. Up until this point, the general public is largely indifferent to the decline of clergy credibility. They will just vote with their feet and avoid going to church. But the next stages of declining clergy credibility move the public from indifference to outrage.

 

Legal and governmental interventions are required to address the abusive church leaders, the fraudulent church leaders, and ultimately the traitorous church leader who betray the spirit of Christ himself.

 

                It is clear that Dante is not just describing different kinds of church leaders. He is describe different stages of spiritual corruption with the personal life of each church leader. Since he has begun by speaking biographically, we know that he applies this threat of corruption to himself as well. We cannot stop at pointing the finger at “those people over there” … whatever denominational or theological rivals we want to blame for the demise of contemporary credibility. We have to see these stages as part of our own spiritual crisis. Moreover, we see that this spiritual crisis is so powerful as to be almost irresistible to even the most virtuous church leader. Sin is that powerful.

 

                In my next meditation, I’ll talk about the first stages of redemption. It is a very hard struggle to change. Repentance and grace will not be easy. It is the “purgatory” requires to retrieve credibility.

 

Dante and Me             Meditation 1

 

One of the most valuable books that I have ever read … and which I reread often, constantly discovering new insights … is The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. It is regarded as a great masterpiece of literature and social commentary. Along with Shakespeare and Cervantes, Dante is the root inspiration of existential philosophy.

 

The opening words contain a metaphor pregnant with meaning. I thought of them when I suggested the concept of “cultural wilderness” in the book Growing Spiritual Redwoods (with Bill Easum).

 

When I had journeyed half of our life’s way,

I found myself within a shadowed forest,

for I had lost the path that does not stray.

 

Ah, it is hard to speak of what it was,

that savage forest, dense and difficult,

which even in recall renews my fear:

 

so bitter – death is hardly more severe!

But to retell the good discovered there,

I’ll also tell the other things I saw.

 

(I will always quote from the Everyman edition translated by Allen Mandelbaum).

 

We all know that Dante describes his spiritual journey from damnation to redemption through various stages of Inferno and Purgatorio and Paradiso. The journey is a template for the tribulations, yearnings, and aspirations of people today … lost as they are in the same wilderness, unable to find … and for postmoderns, even to believe in … “the path that does not stray”.

 

Apart from the Bible, I find The Divine Comedy to be the most significant guide for spiritual life in all literature. I do not make that statement lightly. I still value reading the antenicene and postnicene fathers, the protestant reformers, Ignatius, Wesley, Martin Luther King Jr., any many more contemporary authors. But nobody captures the journey to redemption like Dante.

 

This Week in Mission – Oct. 1, 2008

 

Friends,

 

From time to time I do free “Wednesday Seminars” in behalf of Net Results, adding them onto my travel plans. We had a remarkable 153 people in Columbus last week … rather large for a “seminar” and certainly enthusiastic.

 

One of the most interesting exchanges occurred with an Indian couple currently serving a church in the Columbus area (she is the pastor). We had been talking about mission targeting worship and credible leadership … and her question was about the respect and authority “ethnic” pastors are given by both congregation and denomination to lead change. (”Ethnic” is her term, referring to any leader clearly not “American”).

 

She also made the telling observation that one of the shocks she was overcoming was that she came from a truly “truly Christian state” in South India … expecting to find basic Christian behavior in America … only to discover how “un-Christian” American culture really is. They were also shocked at the lack of Christian spirituality and discipline among church people.

 

I think it is hard for them, and other church leaders “from beyond”, because their enormous maturity in Christian life hits against the insidious racism of both culture and church here. Capable of extraordinary leadership, they tend to be patronized by denominational leaders and ignored by congregational members. So now they are beginning to shift their own attitudes … they came expecting to be pastors in a Christian environment, and now they are repositioning themselves to be missionaries in a pagan country.

 

Being a “missionary” brings a whole new set of risks and expectations …

 

Tom Bandy

Currently en route Milwaukee

 

This Week in Mission – Sept 29 08

 

Friends,

 

Here I go again .. .still traveling … still consulting … still teaching. Today I complete a “Net Results Free Seminar” in Columbus Ohio, with over 150 attending. We talked about the synergy and sidetracks of church growth .. and the strategies for life-shaping worship, serious accountable adult spiritual disciplines, and mission action. (Anybody interested in such seminars ought to contact me).

 

I was intrigued by the passion of the interaction, and by the readiness of clergy, staff, and lay leaders to take risk for the sake of the Gospel. What was most interesting?

 

Well, the most interesting insight was the comment by one pastor that his mind was blown by the recognition that seekers are no longer on a “quest for quality”. True, “boomers” are still looking for the program that will meet their needs. But he realized that the merging post-boomer generations are not. They are looking for mentoring relationships, and for churches that will empower them to grow spiritually and personally, even to the extent of acceptable mediocrity, and opportunities to learn from mistakes. Big difference.

 

Tom Bandy

Currently Indianapolis

Follow Up to Sept. 27, 2008

Thanks for your responses to the questions about conflict. Our seminar in Fort Wayne tried to respond to all these questions directly or indirectly … my basic responses are inserted below. I can comment on other thoughts at the same time. Caution: this is a long post, so wait until you have time to digest it.

 

Tom Bandy

Currently Toronto

 

How do people who dislike confrontation deal with conflict?

            (Conflict Avoidance patterns)

Forum Comment: For me, this took coaching, mentoring, therapy, and setting up informal systems of accountability in my life, as well as a key formal accountablity. The coaching and mentoring was from more experienced leaders who knew how to productively engage in conflict. Counseling with a gifted pastoral counselor who was deeply familiar with the unique nature of church conflict. Together, those people comprised the informal systems of accountability. The formal accountability consists of clarifying and embedding the DNA and formal agreement that I m-u-s-t be accountable for attendant results — regardless of the conflict it might cause. Finally, and most importantly, a journey to a clearer centering on Jesus equips me for dealing with conflict (which I typically dislike). Ok…one more: I’m learning to like it.

 

My Response: The real issue is not personality, but mission focus and spiritual life. I don’t like conflict myself … and it is my nature to avoid it if I can. But it is the clarity and passion for mission (reaching the stranger, changing the world, sharing the Gospel) that demands confrontation. Either confront whatever blocks mission … or expect to be confronted by God. If someone threatened the well being of your family, the most timid person would become a warrior. Once we see even strangers as “brothers and sisters in Christ”, we stand up for them with equal courage. Now this mission focus doesn’t happen automatically. It only happens as we deepen our spiritual lives … experience the real presence of Jesus Christ. 

 

How can we lead change without alienating people?

            (Veterans vs. newcomers, olders vs youngers)

Forum Comment: You can always lead without alienating people by living deeply in the love and grace of Jesus. You can NEVER lead without people alienating themselves from you. So don’t even try to keep that from happening. Live filled with grace, truth, hope, faith, and love, and let aliens be aliens.

 

My Response: It is true that for a few people any kind of change is simply a threat to personal power. One cannot avoid alienating those few. But they are few. The diversity of membership, age, and perspective can get along together, and accept change, if three things are in place: credible spiritual leadership, a foundation of trust, and multiple options. I have talked about each of these three at great length, and won’t go into it here. But if you have respect for leaders (staff and board) as spiritual leaders … and a consensus about values, beliefs, vision, mission … and provide options for style, learning methodology, a relevancy … then most people will accept change. 

 

How do you change a church with a long history of control or conflict?

            (Overcoming controllers, fighting with shadows)

Forum Comment: By changing yourself. Get centered on Jesus, get clear on what you are called to be and do, and do it faithfully, authentically, lovingly. Never blink. The church will either follow and change or it won’t. Give up the need to know ahead of time. Just do the right things — always — give the rest to God — and realize that the worst that can happen is they throw you out. Not a big deal.

 

My Response: As a general rule, I think the “ratio of recovery” is about 1:5. A year of control requires 5 years of trust building to change corporate culture. You can accelerate that with more intense leadership development, rigorous accountability, and trust building. But it still takes several years to change corporate culture, liberate a church from corporate addictions, and develop reliable healthy habits. That’s why the “5 year mark” can be so important … controllers will try to drive out pastors within five years, so that corporate culture doesn’t change.

 

I think it is true enough that a history of conflict can be resolved by getting centered on Jesus. But I am not sure that the best advice is “don’t blink”. This is because negative corporate culture is not faced down by a “blink”, but by a long, intense, sweaty stare. It may take five years to “stare it down” … you experience all seven stages of control. In order to endure and persist, you need a pilgrim band and a spiritual life.

 

How do you build accountability?

            (Acquiring and firing volunteers)

Forum Comment: Clarify and embed the DNA. Claim authority. Invest authority in others. Be consistent. Be prayerful.

 

My Response: One the foundation of trust is laid, accountability is developed by the universality and consistency of the four basic accountable habits: mission attitude, high integrity, skill/competency, teamwork. You hire, train, evaluate, and fire everyone, and do it universally among all leaders of the church, and do it in a predictable routine. You establish consistent “fair practices” in which people are given reasonable time and coaching to change … and consistent “disciplinary practices” in which people are fired if they are unwilling or unable to change. One this is universal and consistent, you can fire people without it becoming a personal or political issue.

 

Churches should always start building accountability with staff, hospitality teams, and worship teams. This is where the new habit of accountability will be most visibly modeled for everyone … and reveal the greatest positive result. The expand that accountability to the board, education, outreach, and other leaders.

 

How do we lower stress in congregational transition?

            (Move beyond personal preferences)

Forum Comment: You lower stress in a transition by not being stressed. That takes prayer, fasting, journaling/meditating on Scripture, living from a posture of gratitude and joy.

 

At the same time, you can’t control the stress in others. Don’t even try. Moving beyond personal preferences means raising the bar to focus people on the authentic mission of the body of Christ and, along with that, clarifying and embedding faithful DNA. The very act and process of doing this will evoke stress. So you just do what the nurse does before she sticks the needle in your arm. She says, “This is going to sting for a minute.” So — we know, in broad strokes, what will happen, and what could happen — both positively and negatively. Tell everybody what you know. Seth Godin (http://sethgodin.typepad.com/) said it perfectly yesterday: “It’s easy to be against something you’re afraid of. And it’s easy to be afraid of something you don’t understand.”

 

My Response: The one way you do not lower stress is be reducing mission urgency. However, you can lower stress by expanding mentoring relationships. Stress is not really the result of “changed programming”. Stress is really the result of programming change that has outstripped leadership development. Therefore, if you (and the staff or key leaders you coach) invest more time mentoring leaders, overall stress goes down. There is a great deal more to be said about who, how, and what you mentor … but for now I will leave it at that. 

 

How do deal with special situations:

(Staff conflict, external community conflict, conflicting churches)?

Forum Response: Staff conflict: You taught me this Tom. Have a clear grievance procedure. Also, have a clear leadership procedure. I hire, fire, run my staff. Other than claims of moral or ethical transgression, they have to work all conflict out with me directly, and I with them. The final call belongs to me. If I’m smart, I’ll give the final call to them in non-critical situations. But it’s mine to give or not give.

External community conflict - Build a high flying team to address it. As lead pastor, lead. There is no more important arena for a lead pastor to lead effectively than in the commuity.

Conflicting churches: I haven’t experienced this as ever being worth the energy. You go your way, we’ll go ours. Perhaps we’ll meet again. We don’t need to be clones, just drawing from the same source.

 

My Response: The background to this question is that external community, denominational, or competitive church disputes can “spill over” into the congregational life. This may happen because of family ties, or small town gossip, or members wearing many other external “hats” of responsibility. Even in churches that think they have a clear DNA, this “spill over” reveals that the reputation of the church in the community is actually more vague, ambivalent, or sullied that the church leaders think. They may have clarified DNA … but they have not embedded DNA. So look carefully at how rigorously or carefully you train members, nominate or appoint officers, train emerging leaders, and design external communications.

 

How do I take care of myself?

            (Maintaining integrity, spiritual strength, and emotional stability)?

Forum Comment: Clarify and embed your own DNA in yourself. Stay true to who you are called to be and what you are called to do. Read Cloud and Townsend over and over again (the “Boundaries” guys). Live a life of spiritual discipline (Foster and Willard are helpful for me).

 

My Response: Many leaders manage time to build in family time, physical exercise, intellectual stimulation, and so on … and discover that in the “business” of leading God’s mission a merely “balanced life” is not enough. I cannot stress enough the importance of three things: you have to enjoy the “real presence” of Christ; you have be really, really clear about your personal mission in life; and you have to participate in a pilgrim band. Again, I talk about these things often, and won’t repeat things unless you ask me to. Suffice it to say that I find most clergy spiritually unhealthy because they are so caught up in ego, career, or management (the antithesis of each of the three positive things above) that they burn out or give up.
 

What is the right timing for intervention?

            (Healthy and unhealthy conflict, taking sides as a pastor)

Forum Comment: Only if I feel deeply and assuredly called to be in this church and fight the good fight with all my might — and — if I was clearly not making it happen through the normal course of leadership. Otherwise, I’d just move on.

 

My Response: In my new soon-to-be-released book “The Planning Guide”, I talk about evaluating ministries and ministry leaders in two ways: Acceleration and Impact. Acceleration has to do with the speed of mission; impact has to do with the result of mission. Leaders should be monitoring acceleration and impact all the time. Sometimes there are statistical measurements; sometimes you rely on intuition. But whenever you see the speed of mission decelerating, or the results of mission declining, then the faster you intervene, the better. When a pastor uses these things as a guideline for intervention, then it is clear (s)he is intervening because of concern for the mission, and is not just “taking sides” or protecting a faction. 

 

Do I ever give up hope?

            (Taking conflict personally, controllers and money, moving on)

 

Forum Comment: Nope. I might give up a position…a role…a location. But never hope. There is always a way to lead, serve, love, and live in service of the Kingdom of God. Never let a specific church, group, person, situation…rob you of your hope. Follow Jesus. There’s always hope in that.

 

My Response: Church leaders are sinners (i.e. trapped by the fundamental existential anxieties of life) like everyone else, and I suspect that the more successful clergy become, the more susceptible the are to suddenly losing hope. Always remember that the response to feelings of hopelessness is never continuing education … it is always courage. There are three basic acts of courage. The courage to participate (engage, build relationships, and throw yourself into the fray) always comes from your experience with Jesus the Spiritual Guide and Perfect Human. The courage to separate (stand out, risk all, and withdraw from the expectations of the world) always comes from your experience with Jesus the Promise Keeper and New Being. The courage to accept acceptance (own your own forgiveness, radical humility) always comes from your experience with Jesus the healer and vindicator.

 

So if you are hopeless … get courage. Get courageous by connecting with one of these six experiences of Christ.

 

I apologize for the length of this post … please feel free to ask further questions about any piece of it.

 

Tom Bandy

Currently Toronto

This Week in Mission – Sept 27 08

 

Friends,

 

I’m afraid that the fatigue and pressures of travel have put me behind in updating you about my mission travels. Recently I led a seminar on overcoming conflict for the newly merging Indiana Conferences of the UMS. I thought you would be interested in the provocative questions clergy and staff leaders brought to the seminar from Fort Wayne.

 

The reality is that many established church leaders are extraordinarily stressed. Sure, we can comment that emerging, independent church leaders are gathering momentum for church growth. But does that mean that established church leader should give up? I think not. We need to stop “being nice” and step up to “being missional”.

 

So here are their urgent questions. Perhaps these will be provocative for you. Perhaps you wonder. What were my answers?

 

Tom Bandy

Currently Indianapolis

 

How do people who dislike confrontation deal with conflict?

                (Conflict Avoidance patterns)

 

How can we lead change without alienating people?

                (Veterans vs. newcomers, olders vs youngers)

 

How do you change a church with a long history of control or conflict?

                (Overcoming controllers, fighting with shadows)

 

How do you build accountability?

                (Acquiring and firing volunteers)

 

How do we lower stress in congregational transition?

                (Move beyond personal preferences)

 

How do deal with special situations:

(Staff conflict, external community conflict, conflicting churches)?

 

How do I take care of myself?

                (Maintaining integrity, spiritual strength, and emotional stability)?

 

What is the right timing for intervention?

                (Healthy and unhealthy conflict, taking sides as a pastor)

 

Do I ever give up hope?

                (Taking conflict personally, controllers and money, moving on)

 

This Week in Mission:  Week of September 8, 2008

 

My recent consultation in Florida has me thinking about the changing mission with retirees. Here is a small community with about 70% retirees … including a huge number of mobile home developments and lots of seasonal residents. Not surprisingly, the church growth strategy for many churches in the area from the 1980’s to the present has been to be as “senior friendly” as possible.

 

What church leaders don’t seem to grasp is that the new generation of retiring baby boomers will be very different from the past generation of retirees. For one thing they will be generally healthier and more active, less willing to just settle down and play with the grandchildren.

 

Here are some implications:

 

1)       Quest for Quality: The retiring boomers will have much higher standards for program and property than past retirees. They will be less likely to attend churches with mediocre programs or hospitality services, or dilapidated facilities, just because of denominational affiliation or memories of Christendom. The past generation of seniors settled for “good enough”, but retiring boomers will expect better.

 

2)       Comfort Zones: The retiring boomers will look for churches that honor their comfort zones. While they may claim to prefer “traditional” worship, they are going to prefer more informality, more easy listening music, more lifestyle-relevant preaching, and more leg room. Image and projection will be a necessity, not a distraction.

 

3)       Active Mission: Retiring boomers will have different expectations for mission. The current generation prefers financial mission (giving money to charitable causes) or depot mission (collecting goods that can be given away), but retiring boomers will want to be more personally involved in mission. Mind you, it will only be short term. But in the brief spurts of energy they give to mission, they will want to be hands on and face to face.

 

4)       Affinity Groups: Retiring boomers will prefer peer groups more than curriculum groups. Their small group preference will focus on an affinity for personal need or shared enthusiasm. The topical or curriculum driven adult Sunday schools will be less attractive, and they will prefer to take their spirituality as a mixed cocktail rather than straight up.

 

One of the most interesting changes in retirement ministry is that boomers will be more likely to spend money. Senior-friendly churches of the past have tended to pride themselves on large reserve funds and debt freedom. The emerging boomer retirees are more likely to spend down those reserve funds and accept mission-driven debt. The reserve funds will be spent on themselves (for facility, technology, and hospitality upgrades), and the debt will be spent on outreach (continuing education and social service projects).