The Cultivator's View

Leadership is about seeing the world from God's perspective...
               ...pausing from the action for spiritual discernment (reflection)...
                              ...continuing with renewed energy and direction.

Cultivating work is about getting a higher view to see the patterns from God's perspective. I design process for churches to find their unique answers to these questions:*

Who is God calling us to be? (identity)  What is the community in which God has placed us? (context)  What is God calling us to do? (ministry and mission)  How is God calling us to best organize what we do? (structure)

Cultivating an environment where people can live into God's call involves change at a deep level. This means learning new attitudes and behavior over time, a process fueled by spiritual discernment. This learning happens through reflection... leading to new action... leading to further reflection. Congregations engage in this learning most effectively when they are captivated anew with God's calling for them, rather than out of a sense that "we need more members!"

What is the learning?

Learning about the congregation's identity and purpose in light of                                 God's calling.  Learning about the context-- how to reconnect with the community context                                  and experiment with this reconnection.  Learning how to implement the renewed purpose through strategic planning                                  and examining best practices

In attempting change, churches sometimes start by adopting another church's best practices. But without the original DNA behind the development of those practices, it is often ineffective and fuels conflict or frustration. My work is designed to cultivate learning through a consideration of each congregation's particular faith tradition, the demographics and stories of the community context and an integration of the Scriptures, theology and the social sciences. When the time is ripe in our process, examining best practices is one tool at our disposal.

Congregational revitalization is an iterative process, and thus my goal is to train the congregation to continue the cycle of learning, experimenting and planning long after our consulting work is completed.

*Adapted from The Essence of the Church: A Community Created by the Spirit, by Craig Van Gelder. (see Books page).