DMin project Initial Survey of How Effective are we at casting the Mission, Vision and Core Values of our Congregation.

Day 8b -  "And the Results of Our Survey are ...."

On Sunday, January 28th, a survey was handed out to each person in worship and they were asked to fill them out to the best of their ability.  The Surveys were distributed and explained in the opening of worship.  We weren't grading folks father this was a measure of our the church leadership in our ability to effectively share the Mission, Vision, and Core Values of Westminster UMC with the congregation in such a way that people knew them by heart.  What we are looking at is a baseline.

The survey consisted of three fill in the blanks (answers in red) and three Yes/No questions:

• The Mission Statement of Westminster UMC is 
• Changing lives through Jesus Christ to make a difference!
• We celebrate Nine Core Values. They are:
• Bible
• Church Family
• Discipleship
• Evangelism
• Extravagant Hospitality
• Mission 
• Prayer
• Unity and Diversity 
• Worship
• We believe that God has given us four visions for our congregation. They are:
• No Lonely People 
• Establishing a Small Group Ministry 
• Encourage member to know and use their Spiritual gifts in meaningful places of Christian service. 
• Serve into the world starting with the five block radius around Center and Main.  
• Are you active in serving on a team in our church?  (Yes/No)
• Is it important for an organization to have mission, vision and core values statements? (Yes/No)
• Do the Mission, Vision and Core Values of Westminster UMC encourage you to serve? (Yes/No)

We had a 103 responses from a worship attendance of 275

Here are the results of the survey (The Abs = abstain from response) 

A general observation is that we are not currently effective in promoting and gaining ownership by our congregation. of the Mission, Vision and Core Values of Westminster UMC. It is interesting to note that 82 of the 103 responds reported that it is important for an organization to have Mission, Vision and Core Value Statements, however, only 59 felt that it motivated them to serve in some form. 

The back of each form provided a place where addtional comments could be written.  These responses will be provided in tomorrow's blog.  

As a side note, as the congregation left for the day, each of those who attended was given a brochure that details our Mission, Vision and Core Values.  The answer sheet to the questions that they filled out in worship.    

 

Saying Yes

Day 8 - Saying "Yes"

After I hung up, I called my DS,  "So what's up with the invitation when I didn't ask to move. And my current congregation didn't ask me to move?  You know that I wasn't interested in another local church.  Why would they ask me to accept this appointment?"

He shared that there was a conversation and when they looked at the list of current pastors interested in moving or those who are being asked to move by their current appointments it seemed that none would fit the profile for Westminster UMC.  That was when each of the superintendents offered up one person from their district for consideration. 

"And you put my name in the hat?"

"No, actually another district superintendent did!  Listen, consider the invitation, pray about it, you don't have to accept because you weren't asking for a move and the congregation didn't ask for a move."

All this was news to me, being part of the appointment system, there was little choice to stay no to a move when asked.  You moved.  It was also strange that I was offered the appointment, I knew that if I said no, then I would always be looking at the person they put into Westminster and wonder if I should have said yes. 

I called the pastor who left halfway through the year and asked him about the appointment and he shared that he left to pursue training in counseling. I spoke to the interim pastor.  I spoke to Jacki who was thrilled that her guess proved out.  By four o'clock, that afternoon, I decided to accept the appointment change.   I have always accepted the invitation of the bishop to take a new appointment.  I also realized that I was in my eighth year at Mount Zion.  We have had a productive run at Mount Zion and perhaps it was time for them to receive new leadership as well.  I figured that the church would continue to thrive and Westminster was struggling with the rapid change of pastors over the last five years or so.  I could go there and stay until retirement (about twelve years in total) and we could do some good work.   Finally, I reckoned that nine brains were more capable of considering the best options for Westminster and who was I question. 

I called the Frederick DS and he shared that he would call the SPRC chairperson at Westminster and set up a time for the introduction on Wednesday evening that week.  I wasn't to say anything to my current appointment if all things went well, then a subsequent meeting was set with the SPRC of Mount Zion.  I have never liked this part of the process.  It always seems sordid, not on the up and up, as if we are setting up an illicit affair ... there is excitement but also a supreme level of guilt as if I'm going to be cheating on my current congregation. 

Invitation to Westminster

Day Four - DMin Project

We left Costa Rica on time but our connecting flight in El Salvador's airport was delayed and we circled around Dulles International Airport several times before arriving and wading through the long lines in customs as there was a shortage of customs agents ... all due to the snowstorm.  The decision to call the Frederick District Superintendent got pushed to Sunday morning.  Several feet of snow resulted in a precarious drive home which in turn made the decision to not hold worship at Mt Zion that Sunday morning a pretty easy decision. 

 
When I woke up I called Edgardo who shared that the bishop in consultation with his cabinet would like to move me to Westminster UMC. 

At the time there were two open appointments.and Jacki had heard the that in the autumn Westminster was placed under Ken Humbert' s leadership as an interim.  She reflected how great it would be to move there but at that time, I questioned the tradition of never being appointed to your home church; I also recognized that Westminster and Mt Zion were pretty much alike in demographics and frankly I liked where we were so I seriously doubted the possibility of a move. 

I sounded like Moses raising objections to the DS invite:  

• "But I came.out Westminster UMC."  Yeah, they knew that they wanted someone very familiar with the congregation. 
• "But I have family in the membership" that was half true, my brother-in-law a member... my wife's sister used to be a member.   The DS assured it wouldn't be a problem. 
• "But I wasn't asking for a move, the congregation where I am wasn't asking me to move!"  "Pray about it, and give me a callback, you have twenty-four hours to consider the appointment change," the DS told me,  "The cabinet meets again on Tuesday, and at that time we will need to know your decision."

Pray, listen to.the Spirit, and make a decision ... twenty-four hours didn't seem like a long time. 

DMin - Nothing Like It

Day 3 - Don Marion - Saying Yes to Whatever

It was Friday evening (20 Feb 2015) and our Costa Rica Volunteer in Mission group gathered in the small dining hall at the top of the hill.  By this time, the anxiety of being asked to consider a move, albeit, I still didn't know where I was being asked to go where.  Don Marion was asked to come and join us and at one point he was given a microphone to speak to the group.  Now understand, for the most part of the week, Don Marion wasn't speaking and retaining very many conversations.  It was interesting that after the last couple of days when Jacki and I were retaining this information of being asked to move and the anxiety of the possibility of a move hung heavy.  I was sitting directly across from Don Marion in the front of the dining hall.  I had my phone out and I decided to record his speech to us.  

Don Marion shared his early journey arriving in Costa Rica on a United Fruit Company River Boat back in 1950.  He settled at that time in a predominantly Catholic country and started a mission to the people.  Over the years, group after group would come to Costa Rica as part of Volunteer in Mission projects.  Now at the age of 96, Don Marion reflected back.  I was able to catch the first six or so minutes of his speech that included humor, thoughtful reflection and a challenge and word from the Lord.  At the end of the speech, Don Marion's wife Mary shared that she hasn't heard him speak in such a manner for such a long time. Mary didn't know our struggle, nor did Don Marion, nobody but Jacki and me.  

I knew that the word that came from Don Marion was actually from God, it was God's way of saying it is time for something new.  I still didn't know what I was being asked into or where at this point, I only knew that I had to seriously consider the request from the bishop, particularly if I was going to buy into the saged advised from Don Marion, "There is nothing like giving your life, and meaning it when you say, here it is God, do what you want to do with it." 

I have uploaded the video which is about seven minutes long.  I've added subtitled to make it easier to read.  I hope that you will consider watching it. 

https://youtu.be/hiCxW2cmJOk

I had arranged to speak to the Frederick District Superintendent upon landing in Dulles International Airport.  A snowstorm was brewing on the East Coast of the United States and right now, it seemed questionable if we were going to make it back by Saturday evening. 

DMin Project

Day Two - Unnerving News.

It was a particularly rainy mission trip to Costa Rica in February 2015.  I had been told that we have had weeks like this our projects were helping to rebuild a camp workers home and step next door neighbor the nearby village of El Mirador. 

The camp hosts were Mary and Marion Woods.  Don Marion was much respected in this,area and has served the Costa Rica Methodist as a missionary for decade he now suffered from dementia and yet was often as we talked through the week he would ask where we were from and how many of us were present, etc.  Conversations were limited. 

On late Wednesday, Jacki received a message via Facebook Messenger that my District Superintendent (DS) needed to speak to me.  The next morning I reached out to him and he shared that I needed to speak to Edgardo Rivera, DS of the Frederick District.  I couldn't believe that they were chasing me down while on a mission trip and I was being asked to accept a new appointment.  I didn't ask to move, my local church didn't ask me to move.  I already decided that I wouldn't take another local church beyond my present appointment.  I didn't know what I would do, but I knew I wasn't interested in a new appointment so in a previous meeting I told my DS that that I would like to stay as long as the bishop desired me to but I wasn't going to take another local appointment. 

My head spun and ran through all kinds of scenarios... my attitude and focus turned inward and seemed to align with the dull rainy weather.  It takes so much effort and energy to move, meet new people, and I have moved enough in my years besides each time I had decided that God had something different for me than another  local church.  

It would be four days before Edgardo and I would connect and I would receive the bishop's invitation. 

Seeing Visions and Dreaming New Dreams

Day one - Doctorate of Ministry (DMin) Project

Two and a half years ago, following a succession of two lead, two interim and two associate pastors in five years, I was asked to return to Westminster United Methodist Church and serve as the lead pastor.  Return?  Yes!  It is unusual to be asked to return to the church you are called out from but it seems that resident bishop decided to set aside tradition and send me back home. 

Six months into my new appointment, I enrolled in a Doctorate of Ministry (Dmin) program at Wesley Theological Seminary which teamed up with Wesley House of Cambridge England.  The program is titled, "Creative Ministry for Church Renewal in Changing Times."  It seemed that the program's focus would work well with my opportunity to return to Westminster.

Last evening, I received word from Wesley's doctorate that my DMin project proposal was approved.  My coursework is completed (well, nearly completed as I have one more final paper to write) and now the work begins to work on my own project.  I have truly enjoyed coming home to Westminster UMC, we have seen God moving mightily as together we are seeing God's vision and we are dreaming new dreams in Joel-like fashion.  We have put into practice some time-honored techniques to revision our congregation and we are seeing 'a new thing' come to light.  I am so excited about what God is doing, the faithfulness of our leadership and congregation that I.have asked and sought approval for our story to become the basis for this DMin paper (more on this in future blog entries) In many ways this is a case study of our congregation and yet it is intended to provide a witness to God's action that may inspire other congregations that find themselves desiring to do a new thing for God and the community they are called to serve.
 

This blog is for the benefit of all of us.  For me to share with you our journey together, to share with you the work of our leadership and our congregation's continued work in our community.  You are welcome to comment on the way as this is our story.

Peace,

PM