Will Mancini

This is the fourth post on “Vehicles for Vision.”

The series started with an exploration of why preaching should not be your primary vision vehicle. Then we reviewed six vehicles that every church leader should use. Next we declared the leadership pipeline is often a missing link when it comes to using every vehicle.

Now I want to discuss a vehicle which is always in place but not intentionally used. It’s a powerful way to tell your story but neglected it broadcasts static. It’s your church’s “structural story.”

What is that you ask? More consulting speak?

Your structural story is the combination of language, systems, and processes that are running in the background of your organization that communicate, for better or worse, something about your church’s identity and vision.

Here is a sampling of five major structural story components:

• Staff titles and org charts: Even when we chart a new course in ministry direction it’s easy to keep the labels of yesteryear. Recently a executive pastor completely redrew an org chart using a circular format instead of a linear top down scheme. Several titles changed. It energized the leaders and helped them understand their new strategy better.
• Budget categories and process: How we think and communicate about spending money tells a story. What is it? One church is reevaluating their annual mission budget process which is completely separate from their operating budget. Forty years ago, having a separate budget highlighted the priority of missions, but now it seems to minimize the emphasis in missional living
• Systems and Information: What information do we keep on hand for each member? What does a first time guest receive if they give us their information?  Your church has a lots of systems (whether designed well or not). On more than one occasion, I’ve visited a Sunday class where a sheet is passed around with the term “prospects” printed at the top. (Southern Baptists have historically used this term.) While I appreciate the attention to attendance tracking, what does that terminology in our database suggest when a guest sees it? Or when the class leaders reviews it?
• Policies and procedures: Does your church have a policy for reserving space? For designated gifts? For social media? Again, this list goes on. What values or aspirations do these policies subtly reinforce? One church I am working with is developing a social media strategy. As we look at the policy we are wrestling through the tension of trying to control what’s being said verses trying guide positive engagement in the body of Christ.
• Internal communication “footprint.” By “footprint,” I am referring to the amount of space and prioritization of messages that are embedded into the internal communication strategy. This would touch on things like the “square footage” of content areas on web space, web navigation, the size of ministry brochures, and word count and font size of ministry info in the worship guide.  At a church I visited this week, the women’s ministry brochure was three times bigger (and more colorful) than the “next step” brochure based on the church’s strategy. In this case the emphasis in the print communication did not align with the church’s vision.

These five things are not an exhaustive list of your church’s structural story, but they illustrate many simple and everyday decisions in church life. Why not use them to better broadcast your vision and story. Use this vehicle.

Two resources I want to mention related to this topic:

The first is a great way to reframe your membership process. It could be a catalytic “structural story” change. Read about it here.

The second is a fantastic free resource by my friend Steve Caton at Church Community Builder. Check out how to leverage processes and technology to make disciples.

Every pastor wants to get people excited about God’s activity in the world through their local church. But not every pastor understands how to use the multiple vehicles at their disposal.

The idea of vehicle is easy to understand. If a community is in desperate need of medical supplies, what vehicles are you going to use? A wheelbarrow or a 18-Wheeler or a C-130 cargo aircraft? And if you could, would you want five C-130’s or just one? You get the picture.

Keep in mind that the concepts we are covering are very powerful when implemented. The truth is that pastors have trucks in their fleet that have never seen drive time. The cost is high as the precious cargo of motivational kingdom fuel never dispenses to hearts and minds of their people. But get those rucks rollin and you will see things happen like you’ve never seen before!

This post is the second in a series on “Vehicles for Vision.” The first post dealt with a primary challenge on the subject- the default setting in the pastor’s mind that preaching is the primary vehicle for vision. It is the default mode because it is the easiest. After all, pastors are preparing messages every Sunday already and they don’t have to get other people involved in the delivery process. It’s simple and clean.

In that post we revealed that despite the important role of preaching, the primary vehicle is the church’s connecting environment. So let’s start there and continue our list:

Vehicle #1: The Connecting Environment. This is the primary vehicle because it is the most relationally intensive. Therefore most of the validation, understanding and appreciation takes place here. Don’t complicate this too much. If you have small groups or Sunday school or missional communities, I am suggesting that those leaders or facilitators and the environments that they create are crucial to the delivery of vision.

Vehicle #2: The Leadership Pipeline. If you understand the importance of vehicle one, you might be asking, “How does that actually work?” That’s a great question because it reveals an even more foundational vehicle. In fact, I consider it the prime mover. The leadership pipeline is the vehicle where vision is transferred from leaders to other leaders. It assumes a leadership development culture. It supposes there are time and places where only leaders meet to pray, dream, dialogue and train together.

Vehicle #3: The Preaching Event. Now we get to everyone’s favorite. And this vehicle is important as it carries a special authority and motivational dynamic with the congregation at large. Preaching connects the vision to the Word of God, to the act of worship, and rallies the entire body of Christ together in a unique way.

Vehicle #4: The Structural Story. This is a meaningful piece that I look forward to unpacking with you. By structural story I mean everything from staff and volunteer position titles, to budget categories, to systems. It’s everything in the background; the supporting processes of the organization. And these  pieces will either make a random, static-like noise or work together to contribute to the story and the vision.

Vehicle #5: The Visual Brand. From screens and worship guides, to curriculum and websites, your church is creating visual palettes from which people are digesting information. It may be a church sign, or a e-mail from the pastor. Everything speaks. As we explore this often overlooked vehicle we will show how you can constantly reflect and reinforce your vision.

Vehicle #6 The Voice of Each One. The icing on the cake is always the word on the street. Vision transfers through people not paper. And the ultimate test is not how well vision was communicated leader to leader, but from a participant to participant. By that I mean, what does Joe attendee say to a co-workers after he’s visited your church for six months? There are important steps that you can take, to help the vision transfer on the front line. Do you know what they are?

As we continue the series we will explore each vehicle further. For now I would encourage you to evaluate your ministry. How many of these vehicles are you currently using?

I was with a well know pastor years ago who was very gifted at preaching. He invited me to lead his church through a 9-month Vision Pathway. As the journey progressed I realized that his gift for communication on Sunday morning kept him stuck as a visionary. Why?

Preaching should never be the only or even the primary vehicle for vision.

Our mental framework of church is so captive to what happens on Sunday morning, that this principle may sound strange or even crazy to some. But let’s explore the other vehicles that wonderfully expand and increase the delivery of your vision.

Let’s start with one vehicle of vision that is more important than the preaching event. In fact, I would call this your primary vehicle for vision.

Vehicle #1 is your church’s connecting environment.

Every good church will have some place (not worship services) that people connect relationally, whether it be small groups, adult bible fellowships, Sunday school, etc. Because this environment is the relational “point of integration,” it is a more important delivery system for vision.

For example, Clear Creek Community Church plans on launching their third multisite this fall. While Bruce, the senior pastor, has talked passionately about it in worship, the most important delivery is when Jeff, my small group, leader passionately shares his excitement in his living room. More than sharing his excitement, Jeff explains why he is going to be a part of the multisite and invites us to do the same.

No some of you are still thinking, “Is that really the primary delivery system of the vision?”

Yes. And here’s why.

#1 Jeff doesn’t get paid to preach or cast vision for the church. Therefore his vision casting immediately carries ten times more weight and credibility.

#2 After Bruce’s preaching on the next multi-site initiative, people will talk about it in the church’s connecting environment. (The scary thing is that people will talk about it with brutal honesty, much more than the pastoral staff realizes.) And, most people will be influenced by the dominant tone in the group. Therefore group dynamics are the most important factor in interpreting and validating the vision.

#3 Every pastor should hope that people grow in their awareness, understanding and appreciation of the vision. But this simply can’t happen without dialogue. Dialogue requires time and relational investment. Since the church is already investing into some connecting environment, doesn’t it make sense to use that as the primary vehicle? Consider Bruce and Jeff. There is no way that Bruce can dialogue with every person in the church. And Jeff is already building relationships and dialoguing with 12-15 other people in a weekly basis.

So if you want to maximize your vision’s…

• Credible source
• Meaningful tone
• Validating presence
• Positive interpretation
• Growing awareness
• Deepening understanding
• Increasing appreciation

You better stop relying on your worship experience to be the only or even primary vehicle for vision.

How are you delivering vision via your church’s connecting environment?

Now remember, we have several other vehicles for vision for you to consider. Stay tuned for some follow-up posts.

My friend Jim Tomberlin is a multisite guru, leveraging his experience at Willow Creek Community Church to help many churches think through their multisite strategy.

This week Jim published a useful little tool called 125 Tips for Multisite Churches.

As a clarity evangelist what strikes me most in the book is the problem of going multisite WITHOUT CLARITY FIRST.  Yes, photocopied vision still lives large in the North American church. So use your interest in, or existing execution of, multisite as an opportunity to evaluate all of the aspects of your church life from vision and culture, to focus and simplicity, to systems and structure. At Auxano we have a mantra: Clarify before you multiply; You can’t export what you can’t express!

Is your church ready to go multisite?  Consider these 14 observations from Jim Tomberlin’s 125 “tips.”  Then take some time to consider the real question that logically flows from each each observation:

#1 Multisite is not the vision of your church, but it can be a vehicle for your church’s vision. (Have you inappropriately used multisite as your vision?)

#2 Every multisite is different and has a unique “church-print”—there is no one size fits all formula. (Do you know your church-print?)

#3 Going multisite will surface redundancies in your church, forcing you to simplify. (Have you simplified yet?)

#4 The most successful multisites are clear on their mission, vision, values and execution. (Are you really clear yet or are you just deluding yourself?)

#5 The easiest part is launching a new campus. The challenging part is managing the relationships between campuses and reorganizing staff to support multiple campuses.   (How is excitement to get started overshadowing preparation for effectiveness?)

#6 Going multisite requires moving from intuitive to intentional leadership and organizational change. (How are you relying on intuition?)

#7 If something about your church needs to change, fix it before you go multisite. (What changes do you need to make?)

#8 The biggest challenge of the campus pastor is to stay connected to the the vision and heart of the senior pastor. (What is that vision?)

#9 Campus pastors need to have freedom to develop the vision of their campus within previously established parameters. (Have you established those parameters?)

#10 Be intentional but don’t rush—it took seven years for Sam Walton to open his second store and took Starbuck’s 13 years to grow to 5 stores. (Who is holding the gun to your head?)

#11 You can stumble into two sites, but you have to plan, think and restructure to get three or more sites – Lyle Schaller. (Have you planned and thought carefully?)

#12 Great vision without great people is irrelevant – Jim Collins (Do you have great people?)

#13 Not only does multisite bring about new challenges, but it really exposes and multiplies existing weaknesses. (What weakness need to be addressed?)

#14  Multisite is more culture than program – Roy Gruber (Can you define the culture you want to reproduce?)

Is it time to close a program in your church? Many leaders will tell you, “When the horse is dead, dismount.” But this classic advice rolls of the tongue  much easier than it plays in real life.

As a leader in ministry you have no doubt faced ministries that just ought to go. Like sour milk, they live past their shelf-life. But for various reasons, you just can’t do it. Maybe there is still a group of precious saints being served by the program. Or maybe the decision-making culture of the church just requires more time to process.

The question becomes, “What are the strategic alternatives, to cutting a ministry altogether?” There are three I recommend regularly.

#1 Combine the ministry with something that is working well

Combining ministries is like creating an internal merger. Look for the similarities to something that is working. Talk to the leaders about leveraging the momentum of one with the other. Seek the win-win with diligence and you might be surprised. If the merge works, then you have cut the duplicate work of promotion, communication and  leadership training for two initiatives into one.

#2 “Contributize” the ministry

Before you make fun of my poetic license with the word “contributize” listen up! Think of a ministry that is only trickling with effectiveness as an opportunity to redirect that trickle into a more effective stream. In other words, turn the program into a contributory for a more strategy ministry. For example, what do you do with that monthly men’s prayer breakfast that’s been dwindling in attendance for the last 3 years. Rather than shutting it down, ask the leader to integrate a promotion for immediate and urgent opportunities for service in the last 10 minutes of the morning.

#3 Cage the ministry

Caging is close to just cutting the ministry, but with one big difference. You essentially make the ministry “dead to the world” with regard to promotions, communication, staff-time allocation and new funding, while allowing the ministry to exist. Think of it as a strategic way to allow a ministry to die with grace. Sure you may have some hard discussions or even some battles to fight. But its easier to fight for not publicly promoting a ministry  than it is to shut it down.

In the end, the predicament of change-resistance is not a programming issue or a people issue, it’s a vision issue. Use these three strategies to solve the clarity problems of yesterday. But walk into the future with a clear vision that will keep people emotionally connected to your direction and values, not your programs.