Lancaster Community Church
Initially, I observe various members of the church community acting independently of the church as a whole. With the available information, I cannot yet tell if these are all larger issues, or just personal concerns of individuals. Moreover, I do not know enough about any one of the topics to have a clear path forward.
As the newly-called pastor at Lancaster Community Church, I will assume some degree of honeymoon period with my congregation. I have already made a list of (6-7) items that need to be addressed – eventually. If this list represents my concerns in totality, then I have plenty to discuss with my Leadership board in two days. That conversation is my next step.
Since nothing on the list is life threatening, I can introduce this collection of concerns to my Leadership Board as my ongoing agenda. I can utilize the resources of the Board to better understand the history of each item, as well as get a sense for the congregation’s sense of call in each area. For example, maybe the Board is well prepared to sell/donate the van to reduce expenses. However, picking up a dozen or so members each week for worship may be an important ministry of the church.
As the new guy, I need to tread lightly for a period of time – perhaps several months or more – to understand our current topography prior to diving into problem-solving mode on any particular item. My gut reaction is that new leadership expectations need to be set. However, aside from issues that present as safety/health related, I need to be patient enough to understand what I believe to be problems.
This approach will allow me to build consensus with leadership and – hopefully – the congregation. This consensus will then allow me to delegate ownership of specific items to members of the church community. Ultimately, that kind of ownership is a healthy step towards sharing leadership with the pastor.