(Since early in 2011, several dedicated members of the congregation – Willie Burgess, Amy Long, Jeff Beardmore and Cris King, Central’s pastors – Jeff Cover and Bill Smutz, and consultant – Jerry Toomer, have formed the Structure Consultation Task Force. This group has been charged by Central’s Session with creating a structure that matches our three-point congregational vision, which is: 1) Changing Hearts by strengthen our connections to God; 2) Changing Hearts by strengthening our connections to each other; and 3) Changing Hearts to Change The World by putting our faith in action. This fall the Task Force shared a draft-plan of a potential new structure with the Boards of the church – Session, Deacons, Trustees. Based on feedback received in these meetings the plan is now being revised, and will be shared with the congregation early in the New Year. As we move toward unveiling and hopefully embracing a new structure for ministry at Central, I thought it would be good for the congregation to hear directly from members of the Task Force about why a new structure is so important for Central right now. The first guest-blogger is Elder, Jeff Beardmore.)
The ancient Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, is credited with the statement “change is the only constant.” Few things in our lives avoid changing on a regular basis. Some changes are readily visible, others are much more subtle. Within our body, many unseen life-sustaining changes continuously occur. Without these changes, our body would quickly stop functioning. Time offers an ability to look back and better recognize change. As we look back, we more fully comprehend the magnitude of the changes that have occurred in each of our lives. As unsettling as change can be, it also represents an opportunity to use our knowledge of the past to better prepare ourselves for the future.
Over the last 12 months, Central has been reviewing our current structure and working on ways to revise that structure to enable us to better respond to and prepare for change. Some might question the need to go through such an exercise. Central has a rich history. Our church is one of the larger churches in Wabash Presbytery, has a wide variety of programs and is noted for its community involvement and mission work. Why consider change when so much is going well?
A trip to the sanctuary basement offers an example of how changes can drastically alter programming and resource use. The basement houses a wide array of equipment that was once an integral part of our youth programming, drawing large numbers of eager participants. Changes in time demands for our youth, program leadership and power tool safety requirements led to this once vibrant program becoming a part of Central’s past. I suspect many in our church and community have fond memories of their participation in our program and wish we could once again return to those days. Could any of today’s program offerings suffer similar fates?
Discussions with our church leaders and congregational surveys indicate significant concern about how we will be able to address future challenges. Change is difficult and our present structure is not very nimble in reacting to problems. Opportunities exist to improve efficiency and to more effectively coordinate our vision with our activities. Our present structure uses small numbers of members in leadership roles, sometimes with those leaders directing multiple program areas. Meetings are abundant. As a result, burn out occurs as more and more time and effort is required. Leadership training and succession planning can be more robust to make our volunteers more effective and have more help in carrying out their work.
A new structure has been developed that strives to offer better coordinated, more efficient use of the effort and resources which support our church’s overall vision of building connections to God, building connections to each other and changing the world. Over the next two months, this new structure will be shared with everyone. Tweaks can occur based on your feedback. Our new structure is targeted to be in place following our March annual meeting. However, work to improve that structure will be ongoing and Central’s structure will continue to evolve to better meet the challenge of change.
Your patience, understanding, thoughtful suggestions and prayers for how our new structure can allow our congregation to fulfill God’s will for Central and our community is, and will continue to be, crucial to the success of this project.
Hi. I did not want to speak of my experience with my guest form Christmas Juibilee at last Sunday’s church service. Your blog gives me the opportunity to tell you, which is part of what church is experiencing these many years. Our third objective is to “put our faith in action.” Well….last Saturday, I met a mother of 3 children, 11, 12, 13 years of age. Through our means at CJ., we were able to do just that…to give a Christimas for her children that she would not otherwise be able to do. Lashaudra was nervous, a little under the weather so to speak. But, through out the program, she became more active, spoke with us with confidence, was happy to be there with us, and most thankful for what we were helping her do for her children. Now, it is time for us to leave…I ask her where is her car or who is picking her up. She tells me that there is no one, a friend brought her to Central, but she does not know where or how she is going to get home. I told her, I will take you home. In the car, we talked about her life, how she was brought up in Gary, IN, and how she did not want her children to end up like she did. Lashuadra did not finish high school, is not married now, and just does not know what to do, but she loves her kids, and is thankful for Central’s help. I spoke to her about what she does for a living….nursing help at the hospital. She tells me that she would like to go back to school and become a nurse. So, I tell her she can do what she wants to do….she is contacting her children’s school to find out about the Ivy Tech GED program. All this, Bill, in 30 min. or so….I wished her a Merry Chirstmas and told her that someone is always waiting to help her. All she has to do is ask…pray over the matter, and decide what she wants to do. I have faith in Lashaundra….her kids need her, and all of us need almighty God to help us through life’s bumps in the road.
See you Sunday…..and sometime during the week.
God Bless you and your family this Christmas Season. Lou