 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | | | PRACTICAL WISDOM FOR LEADING CONGREGATIONS |
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|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | I have spent my entire ministry believing that disruption can be a good thing. Maybe that's hard to accept in the midst of a pandemic. But when things are disrupted, something new can break in. My ministry was born out of a frustration that too often we perpetuate models that no longer apply to the world in which we live, excluding and leaving people behind. To me, that is the antithesis of the hope of the gospel. I have spent over 20 years pursuing alternatives, the last 15 alongside entrepreneurs faced with intractable challenges and systems that just aren't working. I founded Matryoshka Haus, a nonprofit that was part incubator, part community, part training organization. Yet after training entrepreneurs to tackle wicked problems and think in new ways, Matryoshka Haus found itself in a place where its model was no longer working. We had to do what we have advised others to do: we had to pivot. |
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We have been reactive. How else can one be during a pandemic? Now, things are slowing down a bit and it is time to become more reflective -- tapping into our own wisdom and exploring the potent learning opportunities at hand. The shift begins by asking better questions, writes a former Alban consultant.
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| | HELP US KNOW MORE ABOUT HOW COVID-19 IS IMPACTING YOUR CONGREGATION |
Since 2002, Lake Institute on Faith & Giving has sought to foster a deeper understanding of the dynamic relationship between faith and giving, through research, education, and public conversation. In 2018, through funding from the Lilly Endowment, Inc., Lake Institute conducted the National Study of Congregations' Economic Practices (NSCEP), the most comprehensive, nationally representative study of congregational finances in several decades. We have shared these findings alongside clergy, laity, and denominational leaders in order to continue to understand the trends and best practices for congregations on questions of generosity, budgeting, and finances.
Now, we seek to better understand the unique ways that the COVID-19 crisis is impacting congregations. As congregational leaders, we know how much you care for these topics. We also know how much you have on your plates as leaders during these current difficult days. With those twin concerns, we invite you to participate in a short survey linked below that should take approximately 15 minutes to complete, asking for information about your congregation, its finances, and responses to the COVID-19 crisis.
Your participation is critical in order to help other congregations address these pressing financial questions. Of course, your congregation's information will be protected, and to ensure privacy, nothing will be shared that identifies specific characteristics of your congregation. This focus on faith and giving serves at the heart of our work in our teaching and training as a part of the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. |
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| | FROM THE ARCHIVE: LEADING NOW |
COVID-19 presents us with overwhelming daily challenges, but we must also begin to consider what's ahead, writes a managing director of Alban. |
Taking the time to fix what is torn can build strength and resilience. What would it mean for young people to learn the art of mending early in their lives?
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How do you lead an organization stuck between an ending and a new beginning -- when the old way of doing things no longer works but a way forward is not yet clear? Beaumont calls such in-between times liminal seasons -- threshold times when the continuity of tradition disintegrates and uncertainty about the future fuels doubt and chaos. In a liminal season it simply is not helpful to pretend we understand what needs to happen next. But leaders can still lead.
How to Lead When You Don't Know Where You're Going is a practical book of hope for tired and weary leaders who risk defining this era of ministry in terms of failure or loss. It helps leaders stand firm in a disoriented state, learning from their mistakes and leading despite the confusion. Packed with rich stories and real-world examples, Beaumont guides the reader through practices that connect the soul of the leader with the soul of the institution.
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