Three years ago I moved from being the minister of one church, that the BUGB count as a smaller church, to Poynton (which is described as a larger church). Initially it was a steep learning curve, but here are some reflections on what I learnt.
2. Clarity of thought. In order to speak clearly you need to think clearly. You need people to understand the overall plan and yet have freedom to serve in their particular area of church life. This means being clear about what’s important, what the big questions are and how you respond to them.
3. Clarity of action. If you are clear about the important points you need to focus your time and energy on them. What matters is not that you do things but that things get done. You can’t do it all anyway, so use your energy wisely.
4. People skills. Not only do you need to manage yourself but you also need to manage other people, both directly and indirectly. This involves good staffing decisions; recruiting gifted volunteers; valuing, encouraging and motivating people to serve in the church.
5. I joke I should wear ecclesiastical purple – but I’m being serious in that I am the bishop! As the bishop I carry responsibility before God for the oversight of the church, for its unity in Christ, for its growth in perfection and maturity. It is my role to teach the Scriptures, pray and direct the affairs of the church. I am God’s instrument (however unworthy, incompetent and ill equipped I feel) and I therefore need to step up to the plate and be the person God calls me to be.
6. Being the senior minister of a larger church is a ridiculously impossible job. The breadth of skills and knowledge that are needed to do the role effectively include: personnel management, group dynamics and family systems, public speaking, one to one listening and responding, chairing meetings, strategic analysis and planning, administration, cultural awareness, theology, Biblical studies, church and denominational history, contemporary church movements and more besides. The range of issues and the speed which they come at you is both fascinating and challenging. On good days you recognise this and work with teams who have gifts to balance yours; on bad days you get overwhelmed. The key to survival is building a team which includes having someone heading up every significant area in church life.
7. Leading a smaller church was also challenging, I don’t think it is true to that one is easier than the other. Being the minister of a smaller church is a constant test of your personality, being the minister of a larger church is a constant test of your competence.
8. Larger churches are like a network of smaller groups. So people in the church experience different things depending on which groups they are part of. What they feel about church life at any moment says something about the selection of groups they are part of and where they are at personally. This also impacts ownership of activities; in a smaller church a congregational activity is something the whole church does. In a larger church a congregational activity is nearly always something that a group does on behalf of the whole. Those who aren’t into the particular thing don’t feel obliged to be part of it; and those who hanker to the days when it was all one big happy family haven’t recognised the diversity of groups.
9. Because you spend a fair amount of time speaking in church people often know much more about you than you do about them. Whilst you are struggling to put a name to the face they know about your family, your hobbies, your holiday…..
10. Church is like a super tanker, it takes several miles to change course. When the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee set interest rates they are not so much concerned with what is happening in the economy now as to what they believe will be happening in 2 or 3 years time. You also need to be working with a three year horizon; most of the significant decisions are about where you are going and the impact the current choice will make on the longer term trajectory.
These are great posts, Neil. Thanks for them.
Posted by: SteveH | July 11, 2009 at 10:01 AM