Foundation Addresses Society Changes, Church Challenges
April 16th, 2010
It's been discussed ad infinitum. The world has changed without the church's help, and we are struggling to come to grips with those changes.
Some of these changes have led to an impending crisis of leadership in the church and the challenges it faces, such as: decrease in church attendance, fewer ministers, and less than faithful stewardship.
The United Methodist Foundation of Louisiana sponsored two retreats in September and April for the extended Cabinet of the Louisiana Annual Conference to enhance church leaders' effectiveness and get a new perspective on what does and does not work in local churches. A third retreat is planned for the fall.
The meetings were held at Greenwood Plantation in St. Francisville and led by noted consultant Gil Rendle who called the meeting "balcony work" -- a time to get out of the routine of constantly reacting to the immediate environment and look at the bigger picture. Cabinet members discussed being leaders vs. managers, changes needed in dealing with habitual problem churches, and spending more time developing churches and leaders who are successful. At the second retreat, attendees were able to report on changes implemented since the first meeting last September and discuss the next steps.
Rendle is an ordained United Methodist minister serving as an independent consultant in issues of change and leadership in the church. His leadership development expertise has been helpful to other church conferences around the country, including many denominations.
Rob Fairly, president of the foundation, was pleased with the outcome of the retreats so far and looks forward to continuing the discussion. "We have begun to see the fruits of these discussions in the recent appointment process. We applaud the Cabinet for being brave enough to take the necessary steps.
