(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. Last 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 coming weeks – stay tuned! 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. This week’s guest-blogger is our consultant, Jerry Toomer.)
Over the past several months, I have had the privilege of working with the project team chartered by Session to review and make recommendations regarding Central’s structure.
A premise that I have found to be valid over the years is that: for any organization or team to work effectively, structure is important but strategy must be in place first. The natural order of effective organization performance starts with strategy (where are we headed, and why?), proceeds to structure ( how do we organize ourselves to achieve our strategic objectives and fulfill our mission?) and then to staffing (who do we need in what roles in our team structure to enhance our success?).
Our Butler basketball team for example (with apologies to the Purdue community), strives to win basketball games while also developing the character of young adults and providing a rallying point for students and the community at large. The way Brad Stevens goes about setting his structure for offensive & defensive schemes, the number of type of assistant coaches he hires, as well as the frequency and focus of practices sessions are all aligned with the vision and the objectives for that season (note that these goals are not so much about “wins” as about player and coach development but rather “how our students play the game”). Said another way, how do we develop student athletes who discover lives of Purpose, Meaning and Contribution, in part through the experience of being on a focused, high performing team. If we play well and pay attention to how we play the game, the wins will follow.
So too, our work on structure at Central has stayed true to the overarching Vision, “Changing Hearts to Change the World” while adding specificity to what structural model will best support achievement of the Vision. The team has worked diligently to gain input from Session, Deacons, Trustees and the congregation via surveys and conversations last summer. More recently, the team has discussed and tested structural models with Session, Deacons and Trustees. The resulting recommendations are now being adjusted reflecting that input and implementation is targeted for March/April of this year.
These adjustments in structure respect previous approaches to getting things done in the church, ie, what has worked well at Central in the past and can be built upon…. as well as what can be improved. They are not ‘changes for change sake’ but rather adjustments that keep pace with a changing world and community while remaining committed to the Vision/Mission.
All parts of the organization play a key role in making the congregation function effectively. I am confident that the adjustments in structure will add value to Central as many of you in the congregation play key roles in helping it operate smoothly. You all play an important role in the Central community, no matter how formal or informal, or large or small the role may be.
“As Paul so accurately described, when one part of the body fails or is undervalued, all the other parts struggle. So it is with the system we call the church. ….we need to see all inputs for our ministry in the context of the larger system that is the body of Christ.”
John Wimberly in The Business of the Church.
Jerry is an Adjunct Professor and Executive Partner with the College of Business at Butler University and has over 30 years of human resources and organization leadership experience in both for profit and not for profit organizations. He also serves as an executive coach and organization consultant. Longer ago than he would like to admit, he received a PhD in Psychology from the University of Iowa and has also been named a Diplomate in Counseling Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology.
