The Columbia Partnership

When Change is Needed But Not Wanted

Facing Realities with Solutions

A Travel Free Learning Article

By Eddie Hammett, Ministry Colleague with The Columbia Partnership

Voice: 828.458.8954, E-mail: EHammett@TheColumbiaPartnership.org, Web Site: www.TheColumbiaPartnership.org

Download Hammett, When Change is Needed But Not Wanted, 2.22.11 Edition

Listen to recording of Eddie talking about his article:

TFL Dialogue, Eddie Hammett on When Change is Needed But Not Wanted

A coaching client of mine recently came to our call with some very popular and focused questions about his congregation:

· “What is a good response when change is clearly needed but not wanted by the congregation or group?”

· “How do we respond when change is wanted but then not accepted by the core?”

· “What are the clues that might help us respond well to each scenario?”

The pastor had framed their issues well. We had a very encouraging and enlightening coaching call. I asked if I could share some of our insights and gather some feedback from others.

Transforming Normal

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Durham,_Transforming_Normal,_2.15.11_Edition.pdf (46 KB)

Focusing on Possibilities Rather than Problems

A Travel Fre e Learning Article

By Don Durham, Ministry Colleague with The Columbia Partnership

Voice: 336.309.2489, E-mail: DDurham@TheColumbiaPartnership.org, Web Site: www.TheColumbiaPartnership.org

Listen to Don's dialogue about this article:

TFL Dialogue, Don Durham on Transforming Normal

I have a confession to make. I don't always like capital campaigns. That's okay except that I sometimes help congregations conduct capital campaigns. Oh don't get me wrong, I love seeing a congregation claim a bold vision for ministry and inspire its members to generously gather the resources needed to make that vision real. I even enjoy the emotional and spiritual intensity of seeing that process happen in a relatively short period of time, which is a typical outcome of even a moderately successful capital campaign in a healthy congregation.

The part about campaigns that tends to leave a bad taste in my mouth is the too frequent tendency for them to be a compartmentalized success fix which has too little impact on the state of normal in a church. Claiming a vision for the next project is often easier than proclaiming a bol d vision for the future into which God is calling us.

But Do You Want to Be a Transformational Leader?

A Travel Free Learning Article

By Dick Hamm, Ministry Colleague with The Columbia Partnership

Voice: 317.490.1968, E-mail: DHamm@TheColumiaPartnership.org, Web Site: www.TheColumbiaPartnership.org

Download Hamm, Do You Want to Be a Transformational Leader, February 8, 2011 Edition

Do you want to be a transformational leader?

To those of us who are naturally assertive leaders, the answer is likely to be, “Well duh, yes!” But I have discovered in many years of work with pastors that many ministers are not assertive leaders. Many of us are in ministry because we are nurturers and enjoy the pastoral aspects of ministry, or we enjoy teaching or preaching. Of course, assertive leadership, pastoral care, teaching and preaching are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but neither do they automatically go together. Non-assertive leadership may have been better suited to the establishment church of the 1950’s than to the rough and tumble world of the missional church of the 21^st century.

Who or What Is Driving this Congregation?

Is the Goal for Church Members to be Happy?

A Travel Free Learning Article

Download McConnell, Who What Driving Your Congregation, 2.1.11 Edition

TFL Dialogue, Bill McConnell on Driving the Congregation

By  William T. McConnell, Ministry Colleague with The Columbia Partnership

Voice: 513.367.4316, E-mail: BMcConnell@TheColumbiaPatnership.org, Web Site: www.TheColumbiaPartnership.org

This past year has been a difficult one in ministry for me. Several people I like very much have chosen to leave the congregation I serve. People coming and going is not an unusual occurrence in a larger church. Even though I know I am not supposed to, I took the departure of these people very personally. They were close friends in whom I had invested much time and energy, and who I cared about deeply. Each one, for different reasons, left the congregation because they were no longer happy.

I fully realize that the conventional wisdom of the American culture says that the ultimate goal in life is happiness. The general sentiment seems to be that if I am not happy then the world is out of kilter and this profound wrong must be righted immediately. It is our constitutional right to pursue happiness. It is God’s job to make sure we live lives that are comfortable and problem free. God’s job is to make sure we are happy. If we do business we all know that the company’s responsibility to make sure I am a satisfied customer; that I am happy. Everyone knows that the customer is always right. This also applies to the church.