Learning Change: Congregational Transformation Fueled by Personal Renewal - Softcover

Herrington, Jim; Taylor, Trisha

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0825444551 ISBN 13: 9780825444555

Verlag: Kregel Publications,U.S., 2017

Inhaltsangabe

How congregations can change into missional, fruitful learning communities

"Jim and Trisha understand that profound change roots in individuals before it transfuses systems. Having observed the cycle in themselves as well as in others, they shepherd us into the remissioning work of the Holy Spirit."
--Thomas F. Tumblin, professor of leadership, Asbury Theological Seminary

In a groundbreaking seven-year experience, Jim Herrington and Trisha Taylor led a cluster of churches in a process of personal and congregational transformation that is producing hope and health. Built on a sound understanding of learning organization theory, adaptive leadership, family systems theory, and recent discoveries in the neurosciences, Herrington and Taylor developed and refined a highly fruitful model of church renewal. This model begins with personal renewal in which congregations learn how to become learning communities and ends with church-wide transformation.

Learning Change is the pastor and congregational leaders' field guide to leading change. Each chapter provides training and information, an aspect of the learning change model, stories of real-life experiences in churches, and questions and suggestionsfor taking this information into a congregational context.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

Jim Herrington is an author, former pastor, and conference leader. He is the founder and a team leader at Faithwalking, an organization that teaches, coaches, and empowers leaders to equip their communities to live the fully human, fully alive life that Jesus lived.

Trisha Taylor is a counselor, author, consultant, and speaker based in Houston, Texas.

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Learning Change

Congregational Transformation Fueled by Personal Renewal

By Jim Herrington, Trisha Taylor

Kregel Publications

Copyright © 2017 Jim Herrington and Trisha Taylor
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-8254-4455-5

Contents

Preface, 9, 
Introduction, 13, 
Acknowledgments, 15, 
Part 1 — The Keys to Real Change, 
1. Fully Alive: God's Dream For Us Brian Stone, 18, 
2. Defining Key Concepts Drew Poppleton and Jim Herrington, 28, 
3. Personal Transformation First: What Must Change in You? Drew Poppleton, 40, 
Part 2 — Core Values: Reconnecting to Our Intended Design, 
4. Integrity: Restoring the Design Trisha Taylor and Jim Herrington, 50, 
5. Authenticity: Naked and Not Ashamed Chip Sauer, 65, 
6. Courage: Stepping off the Sidelines Jessica Shut, 79, 
7. Love: Nobody Wins unless Everybody Wins Brian Stone, 95, 
Part 3 — Mental Models: Shifting the Way We Think, 
8. Reclaiming Discipleship: From Membership to the Mission Field John Sparks, 108, 
9. Responsible for Myself, Responsible to Others: From Fusion to Emotional Maturity Michael DeRuyter, 131, 
10. The Power to Change: From Status Quo to Creative Tension Nate Pyle, 154, 
11. High Performance Teams: From Completing Tasks to Solving Big Problems John Sparks, 172, 
12. Understanding Your Congregation as a System: From Reacting to Systems Thinking Nate Pyle, 191, 
Part 4 – Additional Tools for the Journey: Equipping Ourselves for More Effective Leadership, 
13. Recognizing the Vows That Block Us: Learning to Respond Thoughtfully Michael DeRuyter, 208, 
14. Can We Talk? From Discussion to Dialogue Trisha Taylor, 226, 
15. From Good Intentions to Measurable Accountability Jim Herrington, 239, 
Conclusion: From a Program-Driven Institution to a Learning Community Jim Herrington, 255, 

CHAPTER 1

Fully Alive: God's Dream For Us

Brian Stone

I dream of a community that will not settle for good enough, or for the kingdoms of our hands, but will tirelessly fight for the kingdom of God in our neighborhoods, our city, our country and to the ends of the world.

— Nate Pyle

I dream of missional life — a life where fear, doubts, masks, and surface relationships are no longer necessary — a life where I live what I believe, that my child, my family, and others who meet me might learn not by preaching but by example.

— Edie Pekich Lenz

I was born with a dream inside me. So were you. We were designed to dream of the epic life God created us for — the abundant life, the fully human, fully alive life that Jesus lived.

Along the way, we exchanged that dream for a seriously compromised version, characterized by the pursuit of comfort and convenience — the pursuit of the American Dream. We wanted to learn to dream again, to hear the call to join God in bringing shalom to our broken world.

Every person is born with a God-sized dream inside them. We were designed to dream of the epic life God created us for — the abundant, fully human, and fully alive life that Jesus lived. This is the life we were created to live, and when we are living in this way, our congregations and communities are being transformed into places of mission, and fruitful and faithful living.

As church leaders, it's easy to forget our dreams and move away from our true calling. Do you remember your dreams? When I was little, I pinned a towel around my neck like a cape and dreamed of being Superman. As a teenager, I dreamed of being a rock star. As a college student, I dreamed of being the kind of English teacher with whom students would clamor to study. Reconnecting with our childhood dreams helps us ignite our imaginations and allow ourselves to go to the "what ifs" and "could it bes" we all possess. Connecting to our childhood dreams helps us set aside the tyranny of congregational maintenance and opens up a spiritual space where we allow God to show us once again the full life he is calling us to. God created you full of potential and to dream big dreams for the Kingdom!

Practice and Reflect

So, I invite you to stop and set aside some time (an hour would be ideal) to get away and remember with God the dreams you had as a child and adolescent. It might feel hard to find the time. You might need to cancel a meeting. You'll definitely need to turn off your computer and your smart-phone. Take your journal, your Bible, and go someplace where you won't be disturbed or distracted. You can pray this prayer, or one like it, and then quietly sit with God and remember. Journal whatever God brings to you.

Holy Spirit, I invite you into this space with me. It has been years since I have allowed myself to remember the dreams you planted in my heart long ago. Would you remind me of those dreams? Give me the courage to imagine them again.

When I did this exercise and remembered my dreams to be a superhero, a rock star, and the world's best teacher. I was struck that I had a deep desire to have an impact in the world and to influence others — even when I was young! In that moment, God again stirred up in me a dream to make a significant impact for the Kingdom.

Dreaming Differently

Somewhere along the way, we stopped dreaming. We went from having big dreams about how we would have influence and change the world to settling and buying into the lie that we couldn't make a difference.

Some of us got hurt along the way. We were told, taught, or otherwise bought into the lie that we weren't good enough, smart enough, bold enough, or creative enough. We believed these lies and began to form a life around this diminished view of ourselves. And we settled.

We gave up on our dreams of making a difference and settled for dreams that were small and safe. We decided to find a job, make a living, and play it safe. We began to seek our significance in the accumulation of things. We learned to dream what the world around us supported and encouraged. In Romans, Paul tells us that we "exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator" (Romans 1:25).

Many of us settled or accepted someone else's dream for us. In either case we got something less than God's intention for our lives. What makes a lie so powerful is that it seems so right. Making more money to buy a better car, a bigger TV, a nicer house, and a smart phone with unlimited texting — we dreamed of these things hoping that they would satisfy us.

This lie permeates every area of our lives in ways we are not even aware. It even impacts the church. In the church tribe I am part of, it was often said in jest that some of the best reasons for being in ministry were the tax breaks, pastoral perks, a great health plan, and one of the best denominational pension plans in the United States. Really?

But the lie doesn't impact pastoral leaders alone; it impacts entire congregations as well. The church I serve is fifty-eight years old as I write this. It was started out of a dream to bring the gospel to a community in desperate need for transformation. Along the way, however, the dream lost to the power of the lie that success for the local church was found in the world's definition of success — increasing membership and financial stability along with the comfortable consumption of religious goods and services. As a church we learned to make great church members, but had no...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Kregel Publications,U.S.
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2017
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0825444551
• ISBN 13: 9780825444555
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Auflage: 1
• Anzahl der Seiten: 272
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar