Case Study Week 2 Forum

Eustis Case study week 2

Eustis Case study week 2

by Beth Eustis -
Number of replies: 2

Case study #1

I notice a lot of fear here and a some very old ideas.

1) Regarding attendance, I would not let that worry me. The number of people I saw in July doesn't mean much. Summer attendance tends to be less.

2) Regarding the van, I would want to know why we need a van, does it actually get used?  If so, Is there a line item in the budget for this van? Since it's very old, would there be money in the budget to purchase a new one as opposed to making expensive repairs? If it's not being used, then perhaps we could sell it for parts and use the money for the general fund.

3) Regarding the $210,000, I would want to know if they are spending from this account and not from the general fund and if so, why. If there isn't enough money in the general fund, I would want to know more about how they put together a budget.

4) For Mary, I would reassure her that I'm not planning to make changes right away. That I want to spend my first year getting to know everyone and let them get to know me. Then we could talk about making improvements where we feel  changes are needed.  For Jose, I would tell him not to panic, that we would work together, one step at a time.

5) I would be amazed that such an eclectic congregation would want a white lady like me to be their pastor. I would want to get to know them as much as possible and get their feedback as to how I can best serve this congregation and our community.

6) I would tell Marjorie that there is no guarantee that children attending a pre-school in our church would mean that they would join our church. I have seen this happen before. Not to mention, that there would be a lot of standards that we would have to meet, including installing a proper playground and up to code restrooms. I would also explain how a good website can bring in new families and I would also tell her that my approach to bringing in new families is to teach our congregation how to grow as the body of Christ.

7) I would want to know who Ralph is? The treasurer? Or a concerned member of the congregation? If the treasurer, then I would want to see the numbers and see where we are. If a member of the congregation, I would tell him that I will speak to the treasurer and the council and figure things out. I would also try to calm him down and reassure him that it's MY job to worry about how to pay the bills.

8) I would want to know what the Leadership Board does and get to know them and their ideas, and share my own ideas with them.

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In reply to Beth Eustis

Re: Eustis Case study week 2

by Betsy McGeorge -

Beth,

I imagine things work very differently in different denominations. As a pastor in an American Baptist congregation, I would never tell someone it's my job to make sure the bills get paid. It may be part of my job to grow the congregation so that the bills can be paid, however.  Also, based on my profile, they probably wouldn't hire me if they were looking for someone to handle all the administrative tasks. I don't even know where I would fit that in between visiting, counseling, studying and preaching. I would certainly be open to them asking my opinion on things, but not running the show. I think we've discussed this before, though, that in an AB congregation, the pastor is not the boss...the congregation/board is. This would definitely be something I'd have to consider and research very strongly before changing denominations.

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In reply to Beth Eustis

Re: Eustis Case study week 2

by Michael Wilson -

Beth,

Excellent insights.  I think that noticing fear/anxiety in a system and then making choices about it is crucial in terms of leading in a situation.


Part of our Emotional Intelligence work is in noticing our own anxieties in a situation and then being able to make choices about what to do instead of either being frozen or angry.


I also like your observation about "old ideas," by which I think you mean "potential solutions that may or may not have been tried before."  It raises the excellent question of what to do when the solutions that other people propose are ones that we believe will not work.

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