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Size & Structure |
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Size & Structure |
NCD Process / Archive / WHF |
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INTRODUCTION Researchers have found a correlation between a church’s size and its structure. Despite denominational peculiarities, churches of a similar size tend to operate according to a similar structure. This body of research can help WHF recognize which hurdles are typical for a church of our size. More to the point, we can learn what factors have helped other churches move forward and what factors are associated with failure. Significantly, attendance at WHF has hovered at about 100 for many years. There is good reason to believe that we are operating at the capacity of our current structure. We don’t grow beyond 100, because we can’t accommodate more than 100 people. Before we lay all the blame on the meager 10 spaces in our parking lot, we should note that researchers expect churches to hit a barrier when attendance reaches 100. Structurally, a church of 100 tends to be focused on community. At the same time, we are brushing up against the need for a different structure (one that accommodates more than 100 people). We find ourselves on a frontier. At this point, we can either fall back to what is familiar, surge forward to what lays ahead, or try to build something new while simultaneously maintaining what has worked for us in the past. Frankly, I think our tendency has been the latter. In this approach, “the same small network of leaders often becomes stressed as it tries to keep everything going.” Sound familiar? We need to have a conversation about how we want to organize WHF. Do we want a structure that supports an intimate community? Do we want a structure that supports excellent programs? What follows is an outline of the two cultures that lie on either side of us. I know this is a lot of reading, but I hope it will facilitate the conversation. “COMMUNITY” CHURCH A church with an average attendance of about 100 is small enough to maintain a “community” feel. If the group gets much larger than 100, it becomes almost impossible for everyone to feel like they are part of a single “village.” For example, the “Elders Prayer” at WHF would not work for a church of 500 or 5,000. In fact, we already feel some tension about the amount of time that it takes for us to function as a very large “small group” during our meetings for worship. Role of the pastor in a “Community Church” At this size, the pastor tends to serve as a “hub” for communication. At WHF, for example, people call the pastor to get a current phone number or email address. I also coordinates the use of the building, put announcements in the bulletin, email a weekly summary of worship, coordinate the prayer chain, etc. It’s routing for people to give me the task of broadcasting information to the larger community. At WHF, there is another way in which the pastor serves as a communications hub. The pastor is the primary contact person between WHF and other organizations. This includes ongoing relationships with Wildwood Preschool, two Brownie groups, Alcoholics Anonymous, Nicotine Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, Maplewood Grade School, Maplewood Neighborhood Association, etc. The pastor also tends to be the primary contact for workers who come to the door (e.g. the fire marshal, the furnace repairman, etc.), spiritual seekers, activists seeking a sponsor, and other inquirers. In a church of around 100 people, the pastor is also expected to provide a significant level of pastoral care to members of the community. Since the cultural emphasis is on “community,” the pastor should know what is happening in the life of just about everyone connected to the meeting. At WHF, I am the clerk of the “pastoral care team,” routinely visit people in the hospital, I call upon people by name during Elder’s Prayer, I keep track of those in crisis, etc. I believe there are many at WHF who would like to see me invest even more time in this area. How does this fit our vision for ourselves? Do we want the pastor to operate primarily as communications “hub” and provider of pastoral care (even if this means fewer programs)? Role of ‘lay leaders’ in a “Community Church” When they look at a church our size, researchers expect that most of the power will reside in the hands of “non-clergy” church leaders. This is a fairly touchy subject in the church – especially a church like ours. We reject religious hierarchy. Because we’re Friends, it’s uncomfortable to be seen as “holding power.” Another complicating factor for WHF in particular is our history as a “church plant.” Because Erica and I have been here since the founding of WHF, the lay leaders don’t have the experience of (to put it bluntly) “hiring and firing” a pastor. While I haven’t seen any research to back me up on this, I think it is safe to assume that being a church plant may skew the dynamics of power. I think it’s possible that ‘lay leaders’ at WHF routinely underestimate their power. How does this fit our vision for ourselves? Do we want the lay leaders to shoulder most of the power in our community? Has being a “church plant” left us with an out-of-kilter power structure that needs to be addressed and corrected? The plus and minus of remaining a “Community Church” On the positive side, remaining a community-size/style church will ensure a fairly high level of intimacy in our corporate life. Since WHF has been in this category for the last decade or so, we will probably find this milieu comfortable and familiar. In order to maintain the status quo, we should acknowledge that our community is “full.” With a handful of Friends leaving the meeting this fall (the Zimmermans, Derek, Matt & Niki, the Fieldhouses), we actually have a few vacancies to fill. After that, we will once again be at capacity. If we decide to settle on this side of the frontier, we are, in effect, telling those who might find a spiritual home at WHF to look elsewhere. Our culture can’t really accommodate any more. We will also have to relinquish some of our expectations for quality programs. Frankly, a “program” church is larger than a “community” church. The resources of a larger group make it possible to hire additional staff and coordinate a greater range of programs. “PROGRAM” CHURCH A church with an average attendance between 150 and 250 is probably a “program” church. At this size, people can come and go from the meeting for worship and remain anonymous. The church is able to offer quality programs for children and youth. For lack of a better term, “production values” for worship are very high. People find community in their small groups, Sunday school classes, or other “subcategories” of the church as a whole. Role of the pastor in a “Program Church” At this size, the pastor’s primary focus tends to be on planning and strategy. The pastor works with other leaders in the community to develop a range of high quality programs. My commitment to the NCD process is an example of my work in this area. While plenty of people at WHF care about our meeting, few of them have time or energy to do think comprehensively about the relative strengths and weaknesses of our meeting. Structurally, I work closely with the clerks of Elders and Stewards. I routinely help other groups and committees work on programming, too. I write Discussion Guides to support the small group program. I believe there are many at WHF who would like to see invest more time in preparing classes and other programs. When I prepare the message, I easily devote 20 hours of labor to a single meeting for worship. This is a huge time investment, and is more characteristic of a “program” model. Of course, it’s also true that others routinely bring the message (and these others may devote significantly less time to the work of preparation). Our openness to many voices is characteristic of “community.” Our expectation for excellence is characteristic of “program.” How does this fit our vision for ourselves? Do we want the pastor to develop programs and support other leaders in the work they are doing (even if this means less pastoral care)? Role of ‘lay leaders’ in a “Program Church” When average attendance is between 100-200 people, the pastor shares power with lay leaders. When attendance climbs above 200, an increasing share of the power falls to the pastor. As I mentioned above, a discussion of power seems very timely. For a church to successfully transition to a “program” model, the responsibility for successful programs must be spread over many shoulders. Consequently, these questions become essential: “How will gifted and motivated people be selected, equipped and authorized to serve as department heads? Does the pastor have the skills needed to forge these leaders into a staff team? Who will help the average member identify gifts for ministry (inside and outside the congregation), and who will make sure that every form of volunteer service to the congregation is a spiritually rewarding experience?” Tall order, huh? Small groups, Sunday school classes, and other opportunities for community become essential. Those connected to the church will find intimacy in these smaller settings. This, too, will require an investment from lay leaders. How does this fit our vision of ourselves? Do we want lay leaders that are “equipped and authorized to serve as department heads?” Do we want lay leaders to serve as the “hub” of sub-communities withing the church? The plus and minus of becoming a “Program Church” Our impulse is already toward program. The first step in our current round of the NCD discussion was to list every program. We want quality programs for Sunday school, All Church Retreat, small groups, etc. Even though we talk about quality programs, we seem to have limited energy for making them happen. Are we willing to move from wanting programs to committing ourselves to them? Another big question is whether or not we are willing to change our expectations for community. Are we willing to lose the feeling of being “one big village?” Are we willing to relocate our sense of intimacy to a smaller group? CONCLUSION In order to move forward, I think we need to make some tough decisions about our future. What sort of church are we called to be? What do we need to embrace and what do we need to relinquish in order to move in the right direction? I think we need to talk frankly about power. I think we need to be clear about what we expect from the pastors and what we expect from lay leaders. What do you think?
APPENDIX ON POWER What do these anecdotes tell us about how power is used in our community? 1. The Fundraiser - RM felt led to organize a Fundraising Committee during the planning process for our new Community Building. JP agreed to help, because the work sounded fun and worthwhile (and for the sake of her relationship to RM). As their first fundraising event, these two Friends planned an Ice Cream Social for the neighborhood. Neighbors would be invited to come, meet people from WHF, learn about the project in their neighborhood, and enjoy some ice cream (in exchange for a donation, with a minimum suggested price). The pair did some background work (e.g. contacting a local grocer and potential musicians, and setting a date). Then they brought their idea to business meeting. At the business meeting, people expressed approvoal for the idea, but were opposed to charging money for the event. As a result, RM and JP found themselves involved in planning a party that wasn't a fundraiser! 2. The Remodel - At the outset of a much-needed remodeling project, RG asked the business meeting for input. At the business meeting, people asked RG to gather some information and report back. RG spent hours getting the requested information. After making his report, people at the business meeting came up with NEW ideas that they wanted RG to investigate. This meant a second round of research AND a delay to the project. Because of the delay, all the original bids expired. 3. The Mission Trip - NC felt led to provide our youth with a cross-cultural trip. NC did some backbground work, talking to people in WHF and around the yearly meeting. As plans for traveling to Cuba came into focus, NC contacted the Elders Committee. After talking with NC about the proposal, the Elders wanted more time to consider the matter. Meanwhile, TC (a member of WHF who had been speaking to NC and felt enthusiastic about the possibility of a trip to Cuba) decided to bring his sense of leading directly to the Business Meeting -- after all, no OTHER person or group who has wanted to travel in ministry has sought approval from Elders. 4. The Big Idea - Someone in the meeting floats a Big Idea, hoping that some other group or individual will Make Things Happen. For example, LR has encouraged many of us to climb up into the attic space above the Nursery and consider the potential use of that space. BS has many ideas for how we might improve the buildings and grounds of WHF. 5. The Candlelight Service - On a year when Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday, the Music Committee announces to the Business Meeting that they do NOT plan to organize a Christmas Eve meeting for worship. JP decides to coordinate an ad hoc planning committee for those who would like to do *something* on Christmas Eve. The Elders approve, and JP begins to work with enthusiastic volunteers to organize a variety of events. 6. The Photo Copier - One Sunday morning, the photo copier stopped working. MH did some background work, researching our extended warrenty and gathering information about how we might replace the broken copier. MH proposed a course of action to several key leaders, hoping to receive their authorization for action. No authorization was ever given (or denied). The one response was a request for more information (which was provided). Eventually, MH was able to fix the broken copier, which solved the immediate problem. | |
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