Lay Leadership at Pullen

Pullen Tomorrow Task Force Report

June 5, 2003

(Deacon Council “action plan” edits September 14, 2003)

I. Introduction

One of the principal questions being addressed by the Pullen Tomorrow Task Force is whether the church’s process for selecting lay leaders can be improved. In our discussion of the perceived issues within this question, we have identified related questions, and restate our mission on this topic as:

Improving Pullen’s process of selection, preparation, and transition of lay leaders.

II. Issues

• Identifying and recruiting people who are gifted in leadership skills and willing to serve in leadership roles within Pullen’s church structure.
• Training and supporting leaders
• Transition and continuity between generations of leaders

III. Historical Perspective

Throughout its history, one of Pullen’s greatest strengths has been its emphasis on strong lay leadership. Over the years, many gifted and willing Pullenites have given sacrificially their time and talents to ensure that the missions and ministries continued for future generations of searchers and seekers. To be a lay leader within Pullen has traditionally been viewed as both an honor and a high responsibility.

The process most often used to identify leaders at Pullen has been one of self-identification. While there have been attempts in recent years to “call out” and train leaders, much of the emphasis around identifying and recruiting leaders has been focused on a combination of self-discernment, those who are willing and “have the time”, and “leader by default”. In the past, when there was strong commitment to sustaining the institution and individuals felt a sense of loyalty to their denomination, great leaders emerged and these methods of securing leadership tended to suffice.

IV. Present Situation

1. Pullen has created a “flat” organizational structure that requires many leaders to keep the church running.

The numerous and diverse activities that distinguish Pullen Memorial Baptist Church are supported by a staff of ten and a dedicated core of some 400 lay volunteers. The seven-council structure with its supporting committees requires over 200 volunteers when groups are “staffed” at minimal levels. Over 80 lay leaders fill roles within the educational system of Pullen, teaching children, youth, and adults. Another 100 or so participate in mission groups, bringing the total number of “slots” that sustain the workings of the Pullen community to close to 400.

2. A small group of people takes on the heaviest burden of the responsibility.

Even with the large number of participants in councils and committees, in most cases, the reality is that the chairpersons of the groups do the bulk of the group’s work in the time between meetings. Taking on the leadership position of a group is a major and often time-consuming responsibility. In most councils, committees, and mission groups, leaders are selected once the groups are assembled. In some groups, leadership capability can be readily identified and the necessary guidance enthusiastically given. In others, leadership may be accepted by default, perhaps with less creative results.

Effective leadership of every group is essential to sustain Pullen’s activities; even so, eleven individuals, by nature of the responsibility of the positions they fill, can be identified as the core leadership at Pullen. These include the leaders of the seven councils (Administrative, Congregational Care, Coordinating, Deacon, Education, Missions and Outreach, and Worship), the leaders of the Personnel, Finance, and Building & Grounds Committees, and the church treasurer. Having strong and effective leaders in these positions is critical, and the time and energy demanded of them can be considerable.

3. Many folks feel unprepared or lack the confidence to take on a lay leadership role.

Pullen deals with significant, sometimes controversial issues, which can often require much of lay leaders. As members of the congregation at large or as participants on a committee, we see people thrust into roles that seem to require composure, skill, and wisdom and are relieved that we’re not the ones being called on to provide that very public leadership.

There’s no training or preparation in place to “groom” new leaders or educate the willing in the unique set of skills required for church leadership. Often the people who have managerial or leadership roles in their professions are the first to accept group leadership roles in church, simply because they have had the experience and therefore know they can do it. Many others who accept leadership by default are surprised to find that they, too, have untapped leadership skills, and are effective lay leaders. Though it’s fortunate when Pullen accidentally finds these successful leaders, this is not a good practice, and the church needs to be more intentional about nurturing and educating leaders.

4. Nominating committee has a hard job in soliciting; matching skills, interests, and gifts to positions is difficult.

Presently at Pullen, recruitment of volunteers for the committees and councils is the responsibility of the Nominating Committee. Some people do step forward and offer their service on a particular group; however, the majority of the positions are filled by recruitment. The major push for volunteers typically takes place in the fall, only once each year, in preparation for the upcoming church and calendar year. When the Coordinating Council appoints members to the Nominating Committee, an effort is made to name individuals who seem to know a lot of folks in the church. Even so, Nominating can’t know everyone, and there is no good way to identify the interests and energies of our members. An additional difficulty is that some people want to be asked to serve, and others don’t want to be solicited but prefer to plug in where they feel led—there’s no way to know which type a person is when it comes to recruiting them as a leader.

5. Some people just aren’t interested in participating beyond coming to worship.

There is a broad continuum of level of involvement. Some people may not even be aware of all the service that goes on “behind the scenes” to make Pullen what it is. Others may be fully aware of it and simply choose not to contribute for various reasons.

V. Definition and Clarification (what do we mean by “leadership” and who’s doing it?)

We have identified three levels of participation by lay leaders, plus Sunday School teachers, and mission groups, for a total of about 400 people:

• The “core” group in a given year consists of the chairs of the 7 councils and the chairs of Finance, Personnel, Building & Grounds, plus the church treasurer
• The at-large members of the 7 councils (less the 7 chairs), the “rising” chairpersons of Finance, Personnel, B&G committees, the current chairs of all other committees, and the church clerk.
• Members of committees who aren’t chair, with positions filled at minimum levels
• Sunday School and Wednesday night teachers
• Self-selecting mission groups

Mission/Interest Groups: over 100 people	Teachers: 80 to 85 people	Stage 1 Leader: 130 to 140 people	Stage 2 Leader: 79 people	Stage 3 Leader: 11 people
There is no set number of participants for an “official” mission group or special interest group. Many who participate here also serve in other leadership roles as well. These groups come together through shared commitment to an issue, cause, or mission. Nominating committee does not fill positions in these groups; they are entirely self-selecting.	Approximate number of volunteers by age group: Children: 45 Youth: 13 Adult: 13 Wed. night: 8 Most teachers share positions, rotating by week or month so that no one has full or ongoing responsibility for preparation and teaching. Many who teach also participate on committees.	Members of committees, approximately 130 based on minimum membership per the church bylaws. Does not include the chairs of committees and rising chairs of Finance and Personnel counted in Stage 2. Plus other (stand-alone positions) Asst. Librarian Asst. Clerk Asst. Treasurer Trustees	At-large members of councils: Admin-6 Cong. Care-6 Coord-6 Deacons-12 Education-6 Missions-6 Worship-6 Chairs of committees and mission groups: About 28 Church positions: Clerk, Librarian Archivist Identified rising chairs: 2 for Personnel 2 for Finance 2 for B & G 86 total; less the 7 council chairs=79	Chairs of councils: Admin Cong. Care Coordinating Deacons Education M & O Worship Chairs of key committees: Personnel Finance B & G Church officer: Treasurer

The preceding table listing leadership groups at Pullen does not include ad-hoc groups or search committees, which are named from time to time, or participants in the music ministries, all of which contribute greatly to the character and community of Pullen, but don’t necessarily fit in the typical flow of ongoing church leadership.

VI. Implications

With the demands and pace of 21^st century life in America, church participants often feel limited in the amount of service they can offer to the faith community. Pullen’s Nominating Committee finds it increasingly difficult to fill the leadership positions of the current church structure. Having no preparation to bring new leaders along to the advanced positions of responsibility, there is a tendency to recycle those who have the time and inclination for leadership from one group to another—with the potential for “burning them out”. If leadership positions go unfilled, the ministries of the church will eventually suffer from lack of support.

VII. Vision

If we accept that most Pullenites love Pullen as it is and would not want to see its ministries, missions, or its community identity fade, how can we ensure that our leadership structure continues to support the work we do as a faith community? A few key ideals are evident:

1. We’re at our best when we keep “new blood” in the leadership system. The combination of the “institutional memory” of long-time members and the new energy from those newly acquainted with Pullen creates and perpetuates the special community magic that we all associate with being part of this church.

2. Share the secret joy of advanced leadership responsibility. We need to promote the idea that deeper involvement in the church provides opportunities for deeper connections. Many who’ve reluctantly taken leadership roles were amazed to find they received far more, in terms of other spiritual and personal rewards, from the experience than they put into it; these are stories worth telling. Our experience of community is deeper when we take ownership and become involved.

3. Wouldn’t it be great to have willing and eager leaders rather than drafting them or resorting to “I’ll do it if no one else will”. This can happen if we encourage folks to “step up their game” to the next level. We need to nurture and prepare members for roles with greater responsibility and visibility, and publicize the fact that the spiritual payback for the deeper investment is well worth the sacrifice.

4. Everyone can understand how the church structure enables the functioning of the community and can easily see where their gifts are best asserted. Rumor has it that some people are confused and intimidated by the church structure and therefore reluctant to take on a leadership role. It should be easy for a new or newly energized Pullenite to find a place to invest their time and talents, and to connect with a group that is doing work that they will find rewarding. All participants should understand that the beautiful community we all enjoy as Pullen Church only exists because of the substantial labor of love poured into it by literally hundreds of volunteers. With clear awareness of this, most will genuinely desire to do their part to sustain the institution.

VIII. Conclusions and Recommendations

In order for Pullen to continue to “do church” in a way that serves the needs of its members and the community at large, it must sustain and nurture a pool of trained and competent lay leaders. We need to continually encourage movement of “worship-only” participants to the rewarding experience of committee work; but it’s not enough just to get the 200 plus positions filled. We need to match people to the positions where they can flourish. We need training geared at moving leaders from each stage of responsibility to the next: from committee member to chair of their committee or to an at-large position; from at-large council member to chair of a council or key committee. With those goals and the aforementioned visions in mind, this Task Force makes the following recommendations:

1. Assemble a roster of all those who have served on each council, committee, or group during the past five years, update it yearly, and use it to identify leaders. Ideally this information would be maintained on a computer in the church, but not in the church office, so that it would be readily accessible by the Nominating Committee and others. The data should be cross-referenced and retrievable either by group (everyone who’s been on X committee) or by individual (list all groups on which X member has served). The Nominating Committee would be responsible for updating the roster each January with the new slate of volunteers for the year.

2. Develop and use a roster of individual interests and group service outside of Pullen. The survey done by the Pullen Tomorrow Task Force during the recent church directory photo sessions provides a great start. This information should be collected from new members as they join (see #3), and from regular participants over a period of several months through mailed surveys, post-worship information booths, and other creative methods. Knowing what causes, vocations, and activities interest a person can assist the Nominating Committee in matching people to positions. Access to these data should likewise be cross-referenced so one could easily get a list of, for example, artists, lawyers, or Spanish-speakers at Pullen. Input of this additional information from new members would be done in the database by staff along with the basic data that is already captured for demographic and financial tracking.

3. Revise the initial information request form that is provided to new members. Include memory-jogging or multiple-choice questions that reveal prior volunteer experience in other churches or non-profit organizations. Perhaps list the general functions of various committees and councils at Pullen—rather than specific group names—to allow one to relate areas of interest without necessarily having to know what group might tap into that passion.

4. Form an ad-hoc Information Committee to “jump start” this data collection process. It’s possible that the capability to capture the information above already exists in the church’s database, or could be accessed by purchasing a report-writing add-on to the current software. Ideally, the Microsoft Access database (external to the main software) created for the PTTF’s survey data would be combined with the main system so that one source serves all information needs. A couple of months of focused work by knowledgeable people could produce a more thorough collection tool, establish the means and methods of recording the data, and identify the optimal ways of attaining and utilizing reports. This committee should include some technological experts as well as some “seasoned” Pullen members who know a lot of other members and their interests, with staff support from the Administrator. To the degree that it’s not being done, we suggest that these two rosters of information be updated, made more readily available to the Nominating Committee with minimal interruption of staff, and used in the recruiting of lay leaders.

Action Plan - Group I. Computer Records

Recommendations 1, 2, 3, and 4: These recommendations all relate to databases and online record-keeping and should be accepted and coordinated under the temporary leadership of Pat Thomas, who has already revised the new member form (#3). We suggest that the ad hoc Information Committee have Ben Franklin as staff and 2-3 additional members and report to Admin. Council.

We acknowledge the potential need for purchasing an approx. $300 software package to implement these recommendations. Also, we request Patsy Govert, as chair of Coordinating Council, ask every council to submit an accurate, up-to-date list of their memberships and the memberships of their councils to Ben Franklin by the end of October so that the webpage can accurately reflect to the Nominating Committee the names of those concluding a term of service. We suggest that the Nominating Committee be responsible for entering and updating this data annually.

5. Publish a new or revised brochure highlighting each committee, council, group, and opportunity for service. This should be an overview-level listing of every group, including its function and responsibilities, description of its membership criteria, term of service, meeting schedule, etc. The headings of the document on the “about us/committees” page of Pullen’s website provide a good start for the list of groups, their composition, and responsibilities.

6. Update the “Places for People at Pullen” booklet and make it widely available. This should be a catalog or directory of lay leadership positions, providing a thorough description of each group’s role within Pullen and the skills or interests common to its participants. Ideally it would include summaries of recent projects, accomplishments, or undertakings. The “Places” documents is about 10 years old, but provides an excellent beginning; the policies and procedures documents that groups have been asked to provide to Archives might be a perfect source for more recent information. The updated document should be made available in hard copy in various places at the church, and on the Pullen website.

We suggest that responsibility for the publications listed in #5 and #6 go to an ad-hoc group consisting of two members each from the Administration, Education, and Congregational Care Councils.

7. Periodically feature a committee, council, or group in Pullen News or a worship focus. Encourage the Coordinating Council to reassert and follow up on the idea of having a group write a “what we do” newsletter article on a rotating basis. Last year, the idea of highlighting a group during the month they hosted the welcome reception faltered after only a couple of months. It seemed like a good way to educate members about different groups and their function, and something like this should be pursued.

Action Plan - Group II. Publications

Recommendations 5, 6, and 7: These recommendations all relate to publications and communications and should be accepted and coordinated under the temporary leadership of Anne Dahle, with Jack McKinney as staff. An update of “Places for People at Pullen” (#6) can serve as the source for a condensed version in a new streamlined brochure (#5), with the help of members experienced with desktop publishing.

#7, asking for monthly newsletter articles from councils and committees, will actually begin in September. For example, the Deacons and Coordinating Council will share 1 ½ pages for articles about their work, Worship and Congregational Care the same, etc. This returns to an earlier communication plan which produces a newsletter within the required page limits. (Patsy Govert will be asked to communicate this plan to each Council Chair via her Coordinating Council members.)

8. Develop and implement a “Pullen Leadership Institute” – a training process that prepares and supports lay leaders. There should be two phases of training, designed to empower participants to move into deeper involvement and greater responsibility in the life of the church. Keeping with the success of the well-received “Pullen 101” theme, we suggest:

Pullen 201

Offered: once each year in the early fall, at the start of the Nominating Committee’s high season.

Goal: to interest Pullenites in investing their time and energy in the work of the church

Overview: a half-day gathering and invitation to service, perhaps billed also as Pullen “job fair”

Target audience: new member, not involved on a committee, interested in a new venture or exploring a different area of service, attended Pullen 101 (though not a prerequisite). Invitation to the event to be publicized widely.

Course outline:

I. General introduction to how things get done, why committees are important, personal stories of meaningful group interactions, overview of the general functional areas. Each person will choose a general area of interest and break into 2 or 3 smaller groups for part II.

II. Descriptions or presentations of several committees or councils in a related interest area, with a preview of each group’s meeting schedule, its typical activities, future plans, etc. Current members of the groups could perform skits, show pictures, answer questions, or use creative means to get people interested in joining their group.

III. Call to action-provide signups for interest and pass on to Nominating

Pullen 301

Offered: once yearly in the fall

Goal: to call leaders to “step up to the next level” and empower them to do so

Overview: a half-day training for current lay leaders who are interested in or willing to explore the possibility of increased responsibilities

Target audience: broad invitation to all current members of councils, committees, and mission groups, plus targeted invitations to chosen individuals who show leadership potential.

Course outline:

I. Refresher on how things work and why committees, councils, etc. are vital, history of significant lay leadership “success stories”, personal examples of the deeper experience of community gained by chairing/convening a group.

II. The task of leadership-what it means in church in general, at Pullen in particular, and how leadership in church culture is not the same as in business or other circumstances. Gain awareness of church polity, unique considerations and sensitivities when leading volunteers in a faith community.

III. Practical tools and skills for leading a group: decision-making models, setting agendas, running a meeting, delegating tasks, tips for distributing minutes and notices

IV. Call to action-committee members rotating off and ready for council at-large? Nominating needs to know.

Post-Graduate Resources

I. Pullen Leadership Handbook

A printed document that could be used as text for Pullen 301 and given as a resource to chairs of groups, this book would give a reminder of the cultural and practical tips for leaders.

II. Advisors and mentors. Develop each year a list of former group leaders who agree to be available to advise new leaders on issues of cultural and practical leadership etiquette. Parameters regarding the extent of this assistance should be clear, and should be limited to a quick phone call or email for advice on how to handle a situation or where to go to find information on a topic.

Implementation of such a training program would be a cross-functional endeavor that impacts the entire church structure at every level, and is not an obvious fit for one particular group to take ownership. We suggest that the planning, curriculum development, advertisement, and execution of these three sessions be handled by some combination of all or part of the Coordinating Council, Administrative Council, and the Nominating Committee, with staff support from the Minister of Outreach and Adult Education. Members of other councils and committees would need to participate in the actual events as spokespersons for their groups and to share personal leadership stories.

9. Encourage the 10 key groups to identify their next year or two years’ leadership early. The naming of a “vice-chair” or similar term that designates the person who will assume leadership is critical to the effective transition of a group from one year to the next. The vice-chair should use their year in that position as a mentoring opportunity, observing closely how the chair directs the activities and deliberations of the group.

10. Give groups the explicit freedom to structure their leadership and call forth their leaders in ways they find suitable. Although at Pullen we have historically used the term “chair” to refer to the leader of a group, other designations such as “convener”, “president”, or “moderator” have been used, and in some cases seem more appropriate. Some groups at Pullen have moved to a shared leadership model with multiple leaders dividing the roles and tasks according to their gifts. Groups may find that securing leadership is easier if the title of the position is perceived as less threatening and the burden is shared with one or more other leaders. Simply making groups aware that alternative leadership models are possible and acceptable could open them to creative ways of achieving their goals.

11. Offer a seminar or discussion series that looks at lay leadership/staff leadership issues. Possible topics to explore include: the balance of lay/staff leadership and the goal of personal balance within the roles of lay and staff leaders. Identify the current and historical realities at Pullen, as well as considering in general how these issues play out in churches.

Action Plan - Group III. Leadership Training

Recommendations #8, 9, 10 and 11: These recommendations relate to identification, naming and training of leaders at various levels. The Deacons suggest that Jack Lemons, now responsible for Leadership Day, be the temporary leader of a team to work with Cathy Tamsberg and Nancy Petty as staff on planning the proposed Leadership Institute. We add to the Task Force’s recommendations one additional suggestion, item 11, and ask that the team consider the best venue for this topic-- be that inclusion in the curriculum of the Leadership Institute, or promotion as a separate event.

We suggest that Patsy Govert, on behalf of Coordinating Council, add to her communications with each council (see #7 and Group I.) a copy of recommendations #9 and #10, especially requesting the naming of a vice-chair in preparation for 2004 leadership.