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Just want to share a pattern I have noticed in my three decades of church experience, much of it in leadership. 1) I take on a new calling.
2) I assess the landscape and understand the strengths and weaknesses of the various Wards, or my own local Ward stewardship.
3) Put a plan in place, often with the participation of assistants or counselors and sometimes the entire quorum or members in the group I’m leading. Get buy-in from the people above me…
4) We work the plan. There is INSTANT results that show up in some areas. Other areas remain dead, in spite of our efforts, until I am released — and this can occur over a period of years and in spite of ongoing effort.
I have seen this over and over again. Essentially, in giving leadership, you hit a nerve with the most committed people, and others, who don’t buy into your vision, and don’t respond to attempts to “unfreeze” their attitudes, remain in their same behavior patterns until they are released and new people come on the scene.
So, there is a massive plastic ceiling/barrier when it comes to upward progress. And its exacerbated when the leaders above you simply MUST act in order to clear out systemic problems that prevent your stewardship from progressing — but won’t. As W. Edwards Deming, the Harvard quality guru said. “80% of the problems are with the system, not the people”. Our system of calling Warm Bodies to positions rather than people with passion, of conscripting people into positions soley based on organizational need rather than co-missioning church and individual motivations, and the emphasis on control is part of this problem.
So frustrated right now at how I had to drag everyone across the finish line today, except the two professional teachers I brought in for our council. No wonder I question the efficacy of paying full tithing to the church when I can invest it into my own organization and see the people I work with turn that money into something longlasting and visible. Where effort, and only a fragment of what I pay in tithing, generates a nearly 100% return on resources invested.
It seems to me that we rely on the doctrine to keep people active, praying, paying and obeying, and let operational improvements and conscious continuous improvement as an organization (local level) fall by the wayside. Not sure what to do about this, as I know that when I put forth supreme effort like I did with this month’s teachers council, I will see a brief jump in improvement with some teachers, and then the same old same old from the majority of them….
What do you mean by warm bodies? So I am just thinking that maybe the calling/conscription model is something that worked much better in times long ago. I think that in previous eras the church was much more of the center for the community than it is now. People that were asked to serve would be more likely to feel honored. It would be a position of respect and trust. I believe as our communities become more secular and inter-twined it becomes less “honored”. I know SD that you have mentioned before that Leadership in church positions does not seem to count in career aspirations.
Many things the church does seem to have grown out of tradition and the church tends to perpetuate them long after they have lost their usefulness.
Roy wrote:
So I am just thinking that maybe the calling/conscription model is something that worked much better in times long ago. I think that in previous eras the church was much more of the center for the community than it is now. People that were asked to serve would be more likely to feel honored. It would be a position of respect and trust.I believe as our communities become more secular and inter-twined it becomes less “honored”. I know SD that you have mentioned before that Leadership in church positions does not seem to count in career aspirations.
Many things the church does seem to have grown out of tradition and the church tends to perpetuate them long after they have lost their usefulness.
It’s the gerontocracy. One thing that really shakes up and revitalizes organizations is a change in senior leadership. When the people at the top are there for life, it makes for very slow change.
The decks appear to be stacked against change inspired at the grassroots level, no? 1) The church is a very top down organization. People look up the organizational chart for improvements.
2) The church is perfect. It’s hard to get inspiration and new revelations if you believe you already have all the answers.
3) Combine 1 & 2 and you may see good ideas that die before they have a chance to grow because they do not conform to what is found in a handbook or because they go against accepted tradition.
4) Lay clergy that follows the conscription model. I think there are a lot of members out there that don’t enjoy their calling but perform in the calling out of a sense of duty. Passion is probably going to be lacking in that model.
Take just these factors, maybe even one or two of them, and I can see how the general membership gets a little lax on ensuring continual improvement. It’s the nature of the beast.
Continual improvement? That’s someone else’s job aka, “I’m waiting on a church program that…”
“That’s not the way the brethren have instructed us to do it.”
“I just accepted this calling because that’s what I was asked to do but I’m counting down the days until I don’t have to do it anymore. Improve? I just want to survive this one.”
SilentDawning wrote:
It seems to me that we rely on the doctrine to keep people active, praying, paying and obeying, and let operational improvements and conscious continuous improvement as an organization (local level) fall by the wayside. Not sure what to do about this, as I know that when I put forth supreme effort like I did with this month’s teachers council, I will see a brief jump in improvement with some teachers, and then the same old same old from the majority of them….Jesus noted, “…for the poor always ye have with you…” I take that to mean that Jesus was acknowledging one of the realities of our world. We can work extra hard and see a brief jump in improvement among the poor but without constant vigilance things will go back to the same old same old.
nibbler wrote:
Jesus noted, “…for the poor always ye have with you…” I take that to mean that Jesus was acknowledging one of the realities of our world. We can work extra hard and see a brief jump in improvement among the poor but without constant vigilance things will go back to the same old same old.
Very insightful comment Nibbler!!! And it makes matters worse when, in your volunteer selection processes, you stack your ward positions with people who, in the passion department, are poor.
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