Simple Church, Clarity – Part 2

Every ministry needs a blueprint. Providing a blueprint will bring clarity to the church’s ministry process. In this post, we will continue to look at the five essentials of clarity from the Broadman & Holman book, Simple Churchwritten by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger. For more information on Simple Church, please see the other posts in this series:

FIVE ESSENTIALS OF CLARITY:

1.  DEFINE YOUR PROCESS.

2.  ILLUSTRATE YOUR PROCESS.

3.  MEASURE YOUR PROCESS. Michael hammer said, “If the process is not measured, the people in the organization will not embrace the seriousness and urgency of it.” See Notice What’s Happening With People for information on measurements tools and techniques. To say it plain and simple….

What gets measured, gets done!

4.  DISCUSS YOUR PROCESS.

For the process to be woven into the identity of the church, it must be discussed. Frequently. Clarity is not realized without consistency. (SIMPLE CHURCH, Page 125)

  • View everything through the lens of your process. The process should not simply be “one thing you do” at the church, it should be “what you do”!
  • Test your leaders on the process. The leaders should be so comfortable and familiar with the process that they are able to verbalize it easily and diagram it on a napkin quickly when asked to do so.

5.  INCREASE UNDERSTANDING.

Understanding does not come easily. It does not occur with a one-time magical act of communication. Increasing understanding is hard work, and it must be continually monitored.  (SIMPLE CHURCH, Page 129)

  • Articulate corporately. The process should be constantly repeated both verbally and in written form by the leaders. The pastor(s) should work the process into sermon illustrations, teaching lessons, newsletter articles, and blog entries when appropriate.
  • Share interpersonally. The process should be shared across the table as well as across the room. The staff and volunteer leaders should promote the process as a natural part of their personal conversations.
  • Live personally. The staff and volunteer leaders should personally participate in the process if they hope to lead others to do so. Their personal participation will help them to lead with integrity and familiarize them with the process even further.

In the comings weeks, we will examine other aspects of the book, Simple Church.

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