Page 6 - Presbyterian Connection Newspaper

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The Power of Intention Behind Leadership
6 fall 2017
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By the Rev. Dr. Peter Coutts, Certi ed Executive Coach of the International Coach Federation. For the past
four years he has been the General Presbyter for Calgary-Macleod Presbytery.
Over the past four years, I have had a coaching and consulting minis- try among clergy, congregations and presbyteries. The blessing this ministry has been for me is the gift of time to reflect on and refine my thoughts about what really matters in leadership and congregational life. If I were forced to boil it all down to one single, essential generalization that provides the greatest leverage for increased vitality, effectiveness and a better future it would be this: make the shift from being people of habit to people of intention.
If you think about it, the entirety of Jesus’ ministry was shaped by inten- tionality: in his teaching and messag- ing, in how he formed his disciples as people of the way, in his prayer practices and ultimately in the pur- pose of his incarnated life. We see it in his crossing through the gender, social, class and political bounda- ries of his day. A great exercise is to read John 11 through 18 with an eye to how Jesus was so very inten- tional about what he did in those last weeks before the crucifixion. Jesus was not simply the victim of other people’s decisions sending him to the cross—he orchestrated a series of events that ultimately led to a spe- cific event on a specific day.
The obvious intentionality of Jesus raises a question for us as people of the way: how intentional is our min- istry as clergy, congregations and presbyteries? Clergy who have little intention in how they conduct their ministry tend toward maintenance ministry. Congregations of habit that simply repeat the annual calendar of activities so often suffer from entropy and diminished hope. Too many pres- byteries see the cycle of their lives as reacting to emerging crises in con- gregations interspersed with periods of welcome respite while taking care of the administrivia along the way. So what does more intentional ministry look like? Here are three stories that arise from my past four years.
I worked with a minister who want- ed to improve her preaching. Her initial inclination was to read some books about preaching, watch some videos of preachers and think about places to find sermon illustrations.
I asked, “How do you structure the time of your week for sermon prepa- ration?” It turned out that there was no intentional structure. “Things pop up every day that need my involve- ment and I like to be responsive to the needs of others as they arise. But I have to confess that it often means sermon writing is left until Saturday.”
“Okay, I get that,” I said, “but how important is the need of the congre- gation when it comes to their wor- ship?” That question changed eve- rything. Today, this minister always has three weeks of sermons in the works: outlining the sermon three weeks away, writing the initial draft of the sermon two weeks away and fine-tuning the sermon for Sunday. She also has set blocks of time each week for uninterrupted prep work. The minister didn’t have to change how she preached—she just had to become more intentional about how she prepared. Congregants have been delighted by the changes, find- ing the sermons more meaningful and inspiring. The minister also finds preaching more fulfilling. Today she figures she spends as much time on sermon prep as she did before but the structured use of her time now helps her craft finer sermons.
A quarter of the congregants of Westminster Church in Calgary par- ticipated in a three-week workshop. It explored how societal change has led to congregational decline and why our passive approach to the at- tractional church model is failing us in these changing times. Through
the workshop, participants came to a conviction that their congregation’s well-being will be diminished if they simply continued to do church the way they’ve always done it. Conse- quently they developed an intention to change. Westminster Church is now participating in a congregational renewal program facilitated by the Vi- tal Churches Institute (made available through the initiative of the Life and Mission Agency). Westminster has found that it is not easy for a con- gregation to re-imagine itself. Nor is it easy to be a church in the transitional time between the congregation they were and the congregation they will be. Because the transitional time is unsettled, and at times uncomfort- able, there is always some tug that wants to pull a congregation back to the familiar and habitual. But West- minster’s will to move forward is stronger than that tug.
Several years ago the Presbytery of Calgary-MacLeod began to assess our habit for congregational visita- tions, wanting them to be more com- prehensive, effective and more fre- quent. In other words, the presbytery wanted to become much more inten- tional. They came up with a strategy to do this: create a staff position for it. A part-time position was soon conceived that also included coach- ing and resourcing clergy, sessions and congregations, strengthening the congregation-presbytery relationship and being the “first responder” in crises. The 13 congregations of the presbytery were asked to increase
presbytery dues to cover the new $50,000 expense, and they did. I think that over the past four years the General Presbyter has mostly fulfilled what the presbytery hoped for in the position, but I’m sure that my opinion is biased.
I recently viewed on YouTube a wonderful motivational talk given by academy award winner Denzel Washington for a group of aspiring actors. He said, “Dreams without
goals are just dreams, and they ul- timately fuel disappointment. Goals, on the road to achievement, cannot be achieved without discipline and consistency.” Hear his encourage- ment to be intentional: set goals and pursue your goals with discipline. Jesus did this and so too can clergy, congregations and presbyteries. I believe greater intentionality will im- prove anyone’s leadership capacity, no question.
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Example
See the difference in taxes paid if you were to sell
$50,000 in shares and donate the proceeds vs. donating the shares directly to the church.
1. Value of the shares & donation receipt
2. Original purchase price of shares
3. Capital gain
4. Taxable gain (line 3 x 50%)
5. Donation tax credit (calculated at 46%)*
6. Tax on capital gain (line 4 x 46%)*
7. Net tax savings (line 5 – line 6)
8. Cost to make gift (line 1 – line 7)
*Rates vary by province
Sell shares, donate proceeds
$50,000
$20,000 $30,000 $15,000
$23,000
$6,900 $16,100 $33,900
Donate shares to the church
$50,000
$20,000 $30,000 $0
$23,000
$0 $23,000 $27,000
Please seek professional advice to tailor gifts to your circumstance.
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