Grace Church Staff Updates- Staffing Structures and Team Updates (part 1 of 5)

Wanted to repost this update from last fall for Grace Church members / attenders.  My next few posts will be breaking down what each team mentioned below will be tackling at Grace.  So excited about what is happening!


(previously posted 10.11.2010 "Thats Not My Job, its Ours...")

Recently at Grace Church we experienced a rather unique transition of leadership at the top. Our Senior Pastor, Al Detter felt called to step aside and hand over the vision and direction to our Executive Pastor, Derek Sanford. What’s unique is that as Derek became the Senior Pastor, Al is remaining on staff in a Care and Support/Campus Pastor role. For more on Al’s decision and this rare story, go here and here.

As a result of this transition, my job and our staff structure has changed. We have moved to a mostly flat staff structure compiled of ministry teams with like-minded individuals. The teams we currently have in place are:

Weekend/Creative Team - To create a spiritually charged worship environment where people are compelled to attend, inspired to fully participate and motivated to bring others.

Family Ministry Team - Stir up a spiritual fervor across generations so that each member of the family is passionate about knowing, loving and serving God.

Next Steps Team - Grace exists to make more and be better followers of Christ. This team will help take us and you there.

Operations/Stewardship - To fully resource the mission of the Gospel while removing distractions between people and the gospel.

Invest/Influence - The outreach events, mission fields, culture channels, workplace ministry, ServErie and other community outpouring where we use the example of Christ’s Love towards others.

Care and Support - Health, healing and support for our congregation through the “gifts of the Spirit” and the “love of the brethren”

As Derek intends to stay involved with our staff in the areas of vision casting, ministry planning, and evaluation, I have stepped in to help with that as well as manage the day to day decisions and ministry implementation. Along with the team changes, we implemented an up and coming concept in organizations and ministries across the nation which eliminates job titles. Apart from the clarity that job titles provide, they can also be a barrier for those who have them and for those trying to communicate with those who have them.

All that customers, congregation members and guests care about is; who do I go to for what, where can I get ________ information and how do I get an answer to my question. At Grace, we have struggled with providing an easy road map to navigate the staff and not feel distant while getting the answers and resources needed. The intention has never been, “oh that’s _____ ‘s job”, but that is often how it has been perceived. Danielle Hartland has spearheaded the effort to change that by removing the titles from our communications and replacing it with ‘what we can help you with’ and we are making a concerted effort to connect people to the appropriate staff and not direct people. 

We are so excited about these two initiatives! Here is the list:

How do you feel about this? What does your organization or ministry implement to remove these barriers?

Lebron James - is the HATE justified?

Unbelievable!  Last night the Cleveland CAVS broke their own record for the most consecutive losses in one season.  After finishing the last two season with amazing winning percentages.

YEAR	W	L	PCT
2010-11	8	44	.154
2009-10	61	21	.744
2008-09	66	16	.805

While making it to the playoffs both of the preceding winning years, they eventually lost and left the playoffs. You probably already know the rest of the story. If not, read it HERE.  This is a catastrophic example of a team falling a part.  Would your team fall apart if one player was removed?  What would that do to your organization?

My biggest confusion in this whole thing is that so many people harbor anger at Lebron.  Sure, he may have left in a peculiar way - but hasn't it become evident that he is just a standout player that wants to play for an organization that isn't falling apart behind the scenes?  It is very apparent to me that the organization was not being led well from the top down.

Some lessons we could learn from this organization:

• The Right People - a well known philosophy, yet poorly practiced.  The members of your team need to complement each others' strengths and weaknesses.  Sometimes the most obvious hire or addition doesn't make sense because it is not a fit for your culture or match well with other key players. 
• More Than One - a team is made up of more than one person.  Putting 70% of your focus and resources towards one player will never bode well for an organization.
• Deep Bench - in order to achieve "long term" success; every member of your team needs to be pouring into and developing those around them.  This is strategically important with future leaders of your organization.  There tends to be a fear here; "I don't want to train my replacement" seems to be a common worry.

I don't know, maybe you disagree with me and you think the bulk of the fall sits at the feet of Lebron.  But it is hard to argue with why he wanted to jump ship, whether you like how he did it or not.  All players on a team, INCLUDING yours want to be on a team that is led well.  With solid vision, clear player roles and a high level of appreciation no matter what the role is.

Would your team fall apart if it lost a key player?
Have you let any player leaving your team take "HEAT" for something your leadership was responsible for?
Agree or Disagree? 

MLK: A time comes when silence is betrayal

I wish I could have a long lunch with Martin Luther King Jr .  I have been so fascinated by him lately as I have been listening to and reading a selection of his sermons. 

 

I listened to this one; Beyond Vietnam -- A Time to Break Silence - last night and was just blown away.  You can listen to or read it HERE (don't make the mistake of not listening to it). This man has proven time and time again to be an amazing example of Christians who respond to social justice, need for peace and love for those without hope.  

So today I ask:

• Where can you be a light to ones without voice today?
• In what social areas has the "Church's" silence turned to betrayal of an issue?  
• In what areas has the "Church" been wrongly speaking out of, if any?

He ends it so well with these suggestions:

"If we continue, there will be no doubt in my mind and in the mind of the world that we have no honorable intentions in Vietnam. If we do not stop our war against the people of Vietnam immediately, the world will be left with no other alternative than to see this as some horrible, clumsy, and deadly game we have decided to play. The world now demands a maturity of America that we may not be able to achieve. It demands that we admit that we have been wrong from the beginning of our adventure in Vietnam, that we have been detrimental to the life of the Vietnamese people. The situation is one in which we must be ready to turn sharply from our present ways. In order to atone for our sins and errors in Vietnam, we should take the initiative in bringing a halt to this tragic war.

I would like to suggest five concrete things that our government should do [immediately] to begin the long and difficult process of extricating ourselves from this nightmarish conflict:

Number one: End all bombing in North and South Vietnam.

Number two: Declare a unilateral cease-fire in the hope that such action will create the atmosphere for negotiation.

Three: Take immediate steps to prevent other battlegrounds in Southeast Asia by curtailing our military buildup in Thailand and our interference in Laos.

Four: Realistically accept the fact that the National Liberation Front has substantial support in South Vietnam and must thereby play a role in any meaningful negotiations and any future Vietnam government.

Five: Set a date that we will remove all foreign troops from Vietnam in accordance with the 1954 Geneva Agreement."