tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14710344.post9154920037146461882..comments2023-11-03T05:46:44.728-04:00Comments on RevGalBlogPals: Ask The Matriarch: to dream dreams and have visionsStephanie Anthony/She Revhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10089531643725874239noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14710344.post-45030669147209033942008-10-25T10:43:00.000-04:002008-10-25T10:43:00.000-04:00i was in a similar boat (first career, no business...i was in a similar boat (first career, no business experience, solo pastor, though without six years of associate experience), and felt like i was often reinventing the wheel. i had an annual officers retreat in early january which, on several occasions served a visioning function, once very effectively. <BR/><BR/>since your a presby, have you checked out any of the discernment resources from the theological task force on the peace, unity, and purity of the church? i think vicky curtiss has published a useful guide recently and that could be helpful. <BR/><BR/>further, i know that steve doughty has a new workbook, published by upper room, on discernment. worth looking into.<BR/><BR/>also, have you heard of asset mapping? i learned that at interim training on my way out of the parish and thought it would have been REALLY helpful in our congregation. our congregation was a similar size to yours, just a bit smaller. check it out. <BR/><BR/>and yes... the presby should be able to help, but not all presbys do. <BR/><BR/>if you want to chat about this feel free to e-mail me at stoutearthchild at mac dot com.Sarah S-Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02839861820297123884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14710344.post-37040947189281738912008-10-24T18:05:00.000-04:002008-10-24T18:05:00.000-04:00Whatever the process... you as pastor need to part...Whatever the process... you as pastor need to participate... not facilitate. If you facilitate... then all of the decisions... will be "yours"... regardless of the reality of the situation. Suggested reading... Power Surge... I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church... 5 Practices of a Fruitful Congregation. Part of this change will probably include moving from a membership model to a discipleship model. 1.5 cents...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14710344.post-54445325011114936802008-10-23T18:40:00.000-04:002008-10-23T18:40:00.000-04:00We used "Discerning Your Congregation's Future" an...We used "Discerning Your Congregation's Future" and are just finishing up the process now--it seemed to work for us. Perhaps something to look into...Terihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10838436991138846332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14710344.post-15403691397422264532008-10-23T16:40:00.000-04:002008-10-23T16:40:00.000-04:00Thanks for the thoughts so far, friends!!! I am v...Thanks for the thoughts so far, friends!!! I am very appreciative. The congregation I just left used AI, and while I thought it would be great, negative experiences due to the folks involved, not the process itself have left sort of a bad taste in my mouth. It may be a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, but I don't know that I could go back to that. Again, it wasn't really the AI that was a problem, just the way the process was circumvented and not used with the most integrity that sort of messed it up.<BR/><BR/>Purpose Driven stuff is something I should probably look at. I'm not afraid of theology that's different from mine if there's room to include mine (and others) too.<BR/><BR/>The session and I are working through Becoming a Blessed Church by Graham Standish, which has been very good for us and is laying some good groundwork for the need for paying attention to the Spirit and discovering our call and purpose. This question just came out of my concern of "what next". I figure we're all going to be on board with the idea of discernment and finding God's visions, and there are a few general resources in the book for guiding the process, but I feel inexperienced at leading that, and then putting the discerned "plan" into action.<BR/><BR/>Keep the ideas coming if you have them!!! :)<BR/><BR/>Definitely plan to take the advice to keep moving even as we prepare to plan (is that so Presbyterian sounding?)!Stephanie Anthony/She Revhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10089531643725874239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14710344.post-84914950657622078732008-10-23T13:25:00.000-04:002008-10-23T13:25:00.000-04:00we have started using appreciative inquiry as the ...we have started using appreciative inquiry as the basis of our visioning process.Tracy Glaserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07444039704177634906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14710344.post-16692091783128383832008-10-23T12:25:00.000-04:002008-10-23T12:25:00.000-04:00Alban has some excellent and free resources at the...Alban has some excellent and free resources at the <A HREF="http://www.congregationalresources.org/" REL="nofollow">Congregational Resource Guide</A> that might give you a starting point.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com