Planning for Effectiveness
Whether it’s for a youth group, singles, women, or the church leadership, there’s usually a retreat coming up on church calendars. According to John Pearson of Christian Camping International, effective retreats require several essential ingredients.
1. Every retreat needs a purpose. Write down retreat objectives, keeping in mind the group’s purpose. Then, compare the activity schedule with the objectives to be sure planning is not getting off the track.
2. Good promotion begins by setting realistic attendance goals. An overinflated goal will smack of failure if unreached. Retreat brochures and posters should be specific about the retreat purpose highlight the registration deadline and late fee, and include a detailed program and time schedule.
3. Quality leadership is essential. A retreat coordinator will help retreat personnel by calling them together for orientation and any necessary training, providing each leader with a written job description, and asking each person to make a time commitment. The coordinator should also inform the speakers of the retreat objectives.
4. Remember, the program begins when people leave for the retreat. Each person will arrive at registration with an impression about the retreat based on his travel there. Include enough time for rest and relaxation in the schedule so the attenders aren’t too exhausted when they get home to put into practice what they have learned.
5. The careful selection of a location is important. Visit various sites and examine the facilities; then choose one in harmony with your retreat objectives. Take time to read any written agreement with the camp to avoid surprises by hidden fees or extra responsibilities. Discuss all menu arrangements with the camp staff well in advance. On the day of your retreat, arrive early to take care of any last-minute details before registration begins.
6. When setting the price for a retreat, be sure to cover your expenses. If the price seems a bit high for some of your people, offer scholarships rather than reducing the fee. Prior to the retreat, set honoraria amounts for speakers, and policies for handling cancellations and refunds.
7. Evaluate your retreat; supply a feedback form for participants and compile them for an overall evaluation. If your retreat is an annual event, pass the evaluation along to the next coordinator well before he begins his planning.
These steps are not a magic formula. A successful retreat will need a lot of prayer and hard work.
Polishing Your Image
Visitors don’t judge your church only by the sermon, the choir selection, or the friendliness of your congregation. First impressions also depend on a church’s appearance. This doesn’t mean that every church must have plush, cushioned pews and deep piled carpet. Even the most beautiful church can become an eye sore because of litter.
Take note of this checklist from Emphasis (April 15, 1980):
1. Do the building and grounds look better than they did a year ago? Is the lawn mowed and are the shrubs trimmed regularly?
2. Does the sidewalk or the parking lot need repair?
3. Is the parking adequate?
4. Is the church sign attractive and in good repair?
5. Are windows and glass doors clean?
6. Does the church exterior or interior need paint or repair?
7. Are bulletin boards and literature tables cluttered with outdated pictures arid announcements?
8. Is the foyer clean and pleasantly decorated?
9. Are pew racks littered with old bulletins and papers? Are hymnbooks in good condition?
10. Are all facilities clean and in good repair?
For Your Information
Churches Alive!, Box 3800, San Bernardino, CA 92413, 714/886-5361. Bimonthly news service; seminars on discipleship programs for the local church, institute on church imperatives, and leadership development conference.
Duke University, c/o Marilyn Harman, 107 Bivins, Dept. P. Duke University, Durham, NC 27708. Correspondence course for ministers and middle-income wage earners on budgeting and living within your means.
Effectiveness Training, Inc., 531 Stevens Ave.,
Truth Is Better Than Fiction
Recently it seems that some ministers are spending almost as much time in court as in the pulpit. According to Church Business Report (April 1980), pastors around the country are facing lawsuits, or at least the threat of legal action, because of alleged defamatory remarks they have made.
One of the more famous cases of this kind involves Thomas and Amy Harris, authors of I’m OKYou’re OK, who filed a slander suit against a minister who told his audience of several thousand that Harris had committed suicide.
Pastors, regardless of the outcome of any pending suit, must learn to be responsible for what they say in sermons, prayer requests, church bulletins, and newsletters. Public words, however delivered, are subject to laws dealing with slander and libel. Pastors would be wise to use some guidelines.
1. Be sure that every public statement, spoken or written, is accurate. This includes everything from sermon illustrations to information for the congregation. Be aware that truth is not a defense if a person sues for invasion of privacy, rather than defamation. If you have access to confidential information, it’s wise to avoid public statements about it.
2. Matters discussed during official church business meetings are considered “privileged” and are not subject to defamation suits. Public announcements about action taken in church business meetings need to be carefully phrased. Laws vary from state to state. If you have questions, it would be wise to consult an attorney.
3. Be discreet about everything you say publicly about anyone. The Scriptures warn us about the tongue and the pain it can cause.
Solana Beach, CA 92075, 714/481-8121. Seminars in various cities on effectiveness training for clergy, including counseling, conflict resolution, and leadership development; seminars on effectiveness training for women married to clergy.
National Association of Christian Singles, Box 11394, Kansas City, MO 64112, 816/7639401. Organization serving single adults; quarterly newspaper; monthly magazine; monthly newsletter for singles’ group leaders.
National Institute of Christian Financial Planning, P. O. Box EG957, Melbourne, FL 32935. Seminars across the country covering biblical principles of finance, advice on insurance, budgeting, and purchasing.
National Institute on Church Management, P.O. Box 25462, Kansas City, MO 64119, 913/ 3842176. Seminars on church management, stewardship campaigns; publications for church business managers and pastors; consultation and research.
NavPress, P. P.0. Box 20, Colorado Springs, CO 80901, 303/598-1212. Six-cassette album featuring Dr. Howard Hendricks and Mr. Doug Sparks on “Biblical Leadership.”
Pastoral Renewal, P.O. Box 8617, Ann Arbor, Ml 48107, 313/761-8505. Monthly newsletter; book service offering a discount for pastors.
Ageism: A Growing Problem
It seems that never before has the older generation lived under better circumstances. Modern medicine prevents many ailments that accompany advancing age. Social security aids a substantial majority. Telephones and other conveniences expand their opportunities.
Yet ageism discrimination against the older generation-is a growing problem for the 21 million persons past 65 in America according to David Moberg, professor of sociology at Marquette University and co-author of The Church and the Older Person. Those over 65 who are in excellent health may be retired when they still have many good years left. Reduced incomes and inflation combine to create a hopeless, invisible poverty.
Even churches subtly discriminate against the elderly, Moberg says. Stairs, inconvenient washrooms, poor acoustics, and heavy doors are just a few examples. Emphasis on financial contributions make some feel they are no longer wanted when their giving decreases because of fixed income. Transportation problems hamper attendance. Many weekday adult meetings begin after dark, when many older people hesitate to leave home. Youthand-family-oriented programs make them feel unwanted. Loss of leadership positions results in denial of self-worth.
In addition, Moberg says that many clergy and lay leaders are afflicted with a new social disease- gerontophobia . This unconscious fear of one’s own aging makes contact with the elderly painful and, therefore, limited because it is a reminder of one’s own death.
Contributing to the problem are myths about aging and the aged such as: older people can no longer learn; meeting their financial needs will resolve all other needs; older people are all the same; older people cannot be converted; talking about the past is unwholesome; mourning is undesirable.
Re-education in the church must take place to eliminate age discrimination there. Moberg suggests several steps in building bridges between generations.
1. Scripture frequently emphasizes the need for respect for the elderly and care of the poor. Achieving this change in attitude is the first important step toward dealing with the problem.
2. Retirement preparation programs developed by the church can include a Christian perspective, and in the process can help people cope with their own futures. Living examples of wholesome aging can do away with myths about the elderly.
3. Once people’s attitudes begin to change in the church, then a strategy can be introduced to identify persons in the congregation and community who are friendless, isolated, needy, and disabled.
4. After those who need the church’s help are found, the church can develop counseling programs, transportation pools, a hot meals program, household assistance, home repair services, social programs, visitation, and many other ways to sensitively help the elderly.
One overriding concern in any program should be to protect the independence of each person as long as possible through supportive services. Security, human dignity, a sense of being loved, and contributing to others’ needs will help sustain them. And above all, the church must do what no other agency can-provide adequately for spiritual needs.
Ways To Make Time
Could you use an extra hour in the day? Author David Lindo suggests a few ways to add at least 60 minutes to every day:
1. List things to be covered in meetings or telephone calls. Focusing on major concerns helps business progress more quickly.
2. Set deadlines, and then meet or beat them.
3. Identify your built-in delay mechanisms. Rather than having an extra cup of coffee and putting a job off, do it. This will make more free time later.
4. Use your prime time- your most productive period of the day-for your prime projects.
5. Be prompt.
6. Communicate clearly; use words that are easily understood and that emphasize important points. It takes time to rewrite, redo, and clear up misunderstandings .
Start the Day Together
When days are filled with study, visitation, and counseling sessions, and evenings are reserved for church meetings, committee meetings, and homework, often the most difficult thing for a pastor to do is find time for his family. Executime suggests that breakfast might be the answer for families that cannot find other regular times to spend together. A few thoughtful steps could help make breakfast a quality family time:
1. Get up half an hour earlier than usual so you don’t have to rush.
2. Get the entire family involved in setting the table, cooking, and cleaning up after the meal.
3. Allow no newspapers, television programs, or other distractions to interrupt family conversation.
4. Try to schedule breakfast so you can be present during the entire meal. If possible, be home to see your children off to school, or drive them to school on your way to work.
Equipping Substitutes
During vacations, conventions, or illnesses, you may be responsible for scheduling speakers to fill the pulpit. The Clergy Journal (February 1979) suggests some ideas that will better prepare substitutes for your congregation.
1. If your discussion with a pulpit supply is by telephone, follow through and confirm your agreement in writing.
2. Send the guest speaker the date and time of the service, as well as the deadline for having a sermon title or Scripture reference put in the bulletin.
3. Mail a recent church bulletin to the guest speaker to give him a feel for your worship service.
4. Send the church address and specific travel instructions, including estimated time of travel and any difficult roads or tolls he might encounter. Tell him where to park and how to enter the church building. Provide the telephone number of a church member to call in case of problems.
5. Arrange for a church member to meet your guest speaker when he arrives.
6. Be sure your pulpit supply knows which portions of the service he will lead. If he is to choose hymns and responsive readings, for example, he should know that well in advance. If a church member is leading most of the worship service, your guest should know that as well.
7. Be sure that the guest speaker knows what to do after the service-whether he should greet worshipers at the door or not. Also, tell him about meal arrangements that have been made for him.
8. Don’t forget the honorarium. Make specific arrangements in advance as to what travel expenses will be reimbursed.
Assessing Stress
With board meetings, counseling sessions, visitation, study, and the never-ending list of pastoral responsibilities, the pastor is a prime candidate for stress. Rosiland Forbes, author of Corporate Stress, says several traits characterize the stress-prone:
1. Plans the day unrealistically .
2. Always the first to arrive and the last to leave.
3. Always in a hurry.
4. Makes no plans for relaxation.
5. Feels guilty about doing anything other than work.
6. Sees any unforeseen problem as a setback or a disaster.
7. Is always thinking about several other things when working on a project.
8. Feels the need to be recognized and overextends because of this.
Because continued stress leads to other problems and frustration, Forbes suggests:
A. Recognize the aggravating aspects of your job and decide to accept them rather than fight them.
B. Identify your emotional make-up, such as the need to vent anger or to compete, and find ways to meet those needs.
C. Practice listening- it’s more relaxing than talking.
D. Be sensitive to change. Spot it coming and make adjustments; this makes change manageable rather than an insurmountable problem.
Copyright © 1980 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.
