Cultivating the Missional Church

Randolph C. Ferebee

Description

Written from a post-Christendom/emergent worldview, this books was born of a singular question asked in hundreds of ways: "What do we do to be faithful in this changed and changing reality?" Whether shaped by anxiety, a foretaste of coming changes, excitement, or energy at the prospects of witness and service the future holds, the question remains the same and the answers elusive.

Part one addresses church functions under categories of governance, modeling, collaboration, champion, catalyst, mission, covenant, disciple, change and leadership. Part two offers further explication of the functions, including books recommended for in-depth study, application ideas, and further exploration of themes.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Philosophie et théologie
• Christian Church
• Administration

Informations

• Publié par: Church Publishing Incorporated
• Date de parution: 01 octobre 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780819228246
• Langue: English

Extrait

CULTIVATING
the Missional Church
CULTIVATING
the Missional Church
New Soil for Growing Vestries and Leaders

RANDOLPH C. FEREBEE
Copyright 2012 by Randolph C. Ferebee
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Every effort has been made to trace the copyright owners of material included in this book. The author and publishers would be grateful if any omissions or inaccuracies could be brought to their attention for correction in any future edition.
The Traditional Approach and the Appreciative Approach graphics on pp. 96 and 97 are Dave Potter. Used by permission.
The study guide on p. 23 in the downloadable section was created by Steve Conway and Reggie McNeal. Used by permission.
Morehouse Publishing, 4775 Linglestown Road, Harrisburg, PA 17112 Morehouse Publishing, 445 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Morehouse Publishing is an imprint of Church Publishing Incorporated.
www.churchpublishing.org
Cover design by Laurie Klein Westhafer
Typeset by Beth Oberholtzer Design
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ferebee, Randolph C.
Cultivating the missional church : new soil for growing vestries and leaders / Randolph C. Ferebee.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-8192-2823-9 (pbk.) -- ISBN 978-0-8192-2824-6 (ebook) 1. Church renewal. 2. Christianity--21st century. 3. Mission of the church. 4. Postmodernism--Religious aspects--Christianity. 5. Missional church movement 6. Emerging church movement. 7. Episcopal Church. I.Title.
BV600.3.F47 2012
253--dc23
2012028905
for Jonathan, Matthew, Sally, Allyson, Grayson, Hutch, George, Park, and Judy
Contents
Preface
Appreciation
Introduction
Prologue: Setting the Context
PART ONE
Chapter 1: A Reordered Path of GOVERNANCE
Chapter 2: Cultivating Health through MODELING
Chapter 3: New Roots through COLLABORATION
Chapter 4: Cultivating Leaders as CHAMPIONS
Chapter 5: Raising Up and Tapping the CATALYSTS
Chapter 6: The Way Forward in MISSION
Chapter 7: Principled Practices by Keeping COVENANT
Chapter 8: Staying Grounded as DISCIPLES
Chapter 9: Growth Is Grounded in Positive CHANGE
Chapter 10: Vestry as a Seedbed for LEADERSHIP
Epilogue
Works Consulted
PART TWO Resources
A. Movements and Shifts in the Church of Today
B. Vestry Meetings
C. The Principle of Subsidiarity
D. Appreciative Inquiry Primer
E. Introduction to Asset-Based Ministry
F. The Five Marks of Mission
G. The Story We Tell and the Story God Tells
H. A Primer on Permission-Giving Churches
I. Creating a Vestry Covenant
J. Bible Study
K. Using an Action-Reflection Model
L. Navigating Church Conflict
M. Competencies Self-Assessment
N. Introduction to Servant Leadership
Downloadable only:
O. Network Theory and Churches
P. Congregational Life Cycle
Q. Discussion Guide: Missional Renaissance
Downloadable resources available from
www.churchpublishing.org/cultivatingthemissionalchurch
Preface

Y ou are reading this book because you are a leader. You may be an intentional leader. Usually intentional leaders are those who have received ordination to one of the historic orders of ministry: deacons, priests, and bishops. There are also intentional leaders who serve the church in a trained and called capacity like youth ministry or administration. There is another form of leadership: the accidental leader. All humans find themselves in this type of leadership from time to time. It is experienced when we find ourselves called into a position to which we did not especially aspire and for which we were not trained. In the church, these leaders are found on outreach teams, leading church school or formation classes, serving on a committee, being the church treasurer or warden, or serving on the vestry.
So the basic distinction is that intentional leaders sought to be leaders in the context where they serve and accidental leaders are invited, appointed, or elected to a leadership position out of the context where they live, the community of the faithful.
The truth is that though some leaders are intentional and some are accidental, even those who have intentional leadership roles are not necessarily trained in the skills needed for the exercise of ministry in today s church. This book will explore leadership skills and functions that belong in a community of Christian practice, the local congregation. Such leadership finds its biblical foundation in Paul s words to one of the early, fledgling communities. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:12 that leaders are to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. This service is for the purpose of unity and the restoration of divine and human relationships, which is the missional purpose of the church. 1
Yes, some leaders have had extensive training for the position they hold. And yes, many never sought or had training for the position in which they serve. The larger truth is that the common ground all leaders share is baptism. It is that gift and grace that serves as the primary grounding for leadership in God s church. As every individual who is washed by those waters is different, so each one of the baptized offers that with which they have been uniquely blessed. These offerings, when combined, contribute a rich tapestry of leadership for the community of faith and its work in the world.
The intent of this book is to offer ideas, processes, and approaches that will build ministry and advance God s mission in your community, whether you are highly trained or surprised by being selected, whether you are an intentional or accidental leader.

1 . The catechism of the Episcopal Church teaches that the mission of the church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other through Christ. Missional churches intentionally engage this restoration to which God is calling all the faithful and in which God is already active in the world.
Appreciation

C ommitting words to a page brings with it indebtedness to a long procession of people who have influenced and formed you along the way. After forty years as a priest in the church, my list is huge. If you know me, you are one of those people.
I feel it is important to name at least a few. The fact that this book has come to fruition is due in great part of the encouragement of my wife, Judy. Along with her I name my sons, Jonathan and Matthew, who have always been a source of enormous inspiration. I had the joy of serving as the long-term rector of Saint Alban s Parish in Hickory, North Carolina. Those dear people, especially the parish deacons, John Earl and Stewart Stoudemire, were the origin of and laboratory for many of the concepts developed in this book.
In the seven years before my retirement, I had the good fortune to serve alongside a young priest, the Rev. Alan Akridge, at Saint Alban s Church. Working with Alan was both challenging and creative. There is probably no sentence in this book that is without his influence.
Gratitude is also extended to those who offered their time and thought in reading an early version of the manuscript or exploring concepts with me that found their way into this book. They are Gary Coffey, Mike Cogsdale, Brian Cole, Robert Fain, Morgan Gardner, Elizabeth Whitten Jones, Francis King, Ron Kyle, Reggie McNeal, Tim McRee, Norma Robinson, Karla Woggon, and- Dwight Zscheile, .
For you and all the saints, I am grateful.
Introduction

I live in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Their ridges and valleys are beautiful, filled with majesty and awe. But they, and many mountain ranges, are in trouble. Many of our woodlands have become unhealthy and fragile. The causes are many. Acid rain has devastated the top of Mount Mitchell, the tallest mountain in the eastern United States. Blights have taken out whole species and are depleting others. Non-native plants, like our infamous southern kudzu, are taking over the space once occupied by indigenous trees and plants. These introductions have gradually changed the landscape. Over time the natural processes that evolved to create a healthy forest ecosystem have become compromised.
Fire, of course, is a natural process that causes a dramatic instant change. While we often think first of the devastating effects of fire on human life and personal property, those who have studied forest ecosystems have discovered that in many places fire is beneficial to the health of the forest. Fires are a natural process that can be not only advantageous but also necessary for the health of the system.
Though an area might look dead immediately after a fire, the vegetation that has turned to ash remains on the forest floor. Fire recycles the ash into nutrients to promote new plant growth. The blackened soil is rich in newly released minerals. In the soil are roots and stems and seeds that find ideal conditions in the warm, mineral-rich soil. In fact, there are some species that require fire to complete their reseeding.
In the last decades there has been a growing concern to manage forests in a way to create health and balance. These forestry practices now include the provision of allowing fires to burn so that unhealthy forests might be leveled and the rich nutrients in the soil released to nurture new, more vigorous life.
The church of God in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries may be likened to an unhealthy forest. For each century in our two-thousandyear history, the church has seen the introduction of