The Sabbatical, Part 2

Hello Emmanuel,

How awesome was Sunday?  3 baptisms, 4 new members and free helium balloons!  Does it get any better?  Oh… yes… and God’s Holy Spirit was present… so, yes it does!  Congrats to Chris, Ginifer and Emma Swofford on their baptisms.  And, in addition to Chris and Ginifer, Will and Beverly Hatfield joined the church.  It was a great day.

As the news gets around about my impending sabbatical (July 1^st – August 11^th), more questions are being asked.  This is the attempt to answer those questions.  Hopefully it is a successful attempt.  If not, fear not.  Email me at pastorjoe@emmanuel-umc.com.  I will answer all questions regarding the sabbatical.  I might even answer other kinds of questions, but you won’t know unless you ask.  Or, if you prefer to get the church’s perspective, you can email Vicki Hensley (sewblessed@fuse.net) or Bill Maskiell (wmaskiell@cinci.rr.com).

As a result of my approach to pastoring a church, only a small percent of what I do is out in the forefront (I’d rather have a strong Vision drive a church rather than a pastor or personality drive the church).  While my preaching and teaching and Sunday morning presence is for all to see, much of my work is in the background equipping leaders, leading meetings, resolving any conflict, counseling couples/families and managing the overall structure of Emmanuel’s leadership.  While there seem to be an infinite number of different ways to lead a church, this is how I have felt called to do so and it seems to be effective.  It is one of the reasons why I believe Emmanuel and I are a good fit for one another.   I feel blessed.

The 6 week sabbatical will, in part, be a time to figure out how to re-approach much of the work I do in the background.  The congregation will not likely see any drastic change in what I do during Sunday mornings.  What is likely to happen, however, is how I approach leadership structures in the church.  While this may help the worship attender relax a bit, it may put leaders in the church in near-panic mode.  Few things are as enjoyable as panicking leaders (but it isn’t really all that bad).

Without boring most of you, let me try to put this as simply as possible.  The current Vision Team structure is getting too small.  Our monthly Vision Team meetings are getting too busy with all dreaming, planning and evaluating of ministry.  In addition, the ministry teams are showing signs of needing more help beyond the scope of the team.

So what do we do?  We can’t keep doing the same thing or ministry will stagnate.  The sabbatical will give me time to figure it out by visiting churches which have gone through the same sort of issues.  My plan is to visit 3 to 6 churches that are busier than Emmanuel to see how they are structured and if it is something we can duplicate. 

In a future MMP, I will discuss 2 other aspects of my sabbatical:  rest and spiritual renewal as well as what Emmanuel is planning for while I’m gone.  Fear not!  I’ll try to make them funnier and less political-science-like.  In the meantime, you can look forward to Shawn’s OMLETTE next Monday.

Maybe he can describe the tediousness of designing the new website, making my MMP’s look ridiculously exciting.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Thanks Barb!!!

Hello Emmanuel,

Today I get to be a bit more serious.  Pentecost is this Sunday (don’t forget to wear red) and the Holy Spirit will be looking to work through us.  So consider the following need at Emmanuel.

Barb Hattar will be stepping back from teaching the pre-school Sunday School class at Emmanuel at the end of May.  For those who don’t know, Barb was instrumental in helping Emmanuel get a pre-school Sunday School class started.  As the Sunday School program grew dramatically from '09-'11, we saw a definite need and Barb stepped up.  It was such a blessing.  We thank Barb for all the work she put in to help and serve.

Though Barb will be stepping back, the need is as strong as ever.  Miss Barb (as the kids refer to her) can have anywhere from a few to 10 kids in her class.  The class time (Sundays, 10:30-11:30) allows the kids to learn the very basics about God.  What has been just as valuable is that the parents have the opportunity to focus on their own worship experience during that same hour.  This has allowed Emmanuel to provide an important ministry to young families, a demographic that has been a big part of disciple-making at Emmanuel.

So Emmanuel is looking for a pre-school Sunday School teacher (or a couple of people to tag team the class).  I’m not going to lie (because Pastors never lie), this takes someone who has a Calling to be a teacher/mentor/guide to pre-schoolers.  On the other hand, being a Sunday School teacher to pre-schoolers has its very unique rewards as well.  It’s awesome to hear their perspective on the world.

So if you feel the tug from the Holy Spirit and want to explore the possibility or have any questions, let Shawn (shawn.young@emmanuel-umc.com) know.  You will not only make his day, but likely his season.  In addition, he and I can have less stressful staff meetings…. always a plus.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

The Sabbatical, Part 1

Hello Emmanuel,

Before I get into my topic for this week’s MMP, I want you to know we have a lot of stuff coming up in the next few weeks.  Mother’s Day is Sunday and while it is important to celebrate the gift of motherhood, it is also appropriate to understand the difficulties this day represents for many women.  We will explore both sides because… well… God is on both sides.

May 12^th - Karen Scherra, Executive Director of Clermont County Mental Health & Recovery Board will speak briefly on the issue of Heroine addiction in Clermont County.

May 19^th is Pentecost.  You are invited to wear red.  We will also be welcoming new members to Emmanuel!  AND we will be blessing the hands of any healthcare workers who are in attendance.  They need their hands blessed.  They care for a lot of people.

May 26^th is Memorial Day weekend.  We will honor those who have fallen so we can have freedom from oppression.  Also, the Youth will be sharing about their 30 hour famine.

Now for my topic:  The Sabbatical, part 1….

The United Methodist Church encourages clergy to take a sabbatical every 4 years.  A sabbatical is essentially a period of time during which the pastor takes off for various reasons.  In many cases, sabbaticals are used for clergy to refresh, renew and get back in touch with their Call to ministry.  Sabbaticals can also be used to pursue education, to help recover from serious illness or other needs that require extended time off.  They can also be as short as a few weeks or as long as a year.

I am in my 17^th year of ministry and have never had a sabbatical.  Obviously I’m not a huge fan of them.  There’s the egotistical side of me that is convinced the church would simply disintegrate if I took extended time off.  I know this isn’t true at Emmanuel, but it helps me feel important in any case.  And, yes, I know the church has been around 2,000 years, most of it happening without me.  Therefore, my argument is a weak one…… so…..

With the encouragement of the Staff-Parish Relations Team (that’s a nice way of saying they are pushy), I am taking a sabbatical from July 1^st through August 11^th.  There are a few different reasons why this is good timing:

First, quite frankly, I need rest.  I don’t admit this easily.  In normal circumstances I would see no need for a sabbatical of rest.  However, the good news is that I’m not in a normal circumstance.  As far as churches go, Emmanuel is a high energy, fast paced church that has a crowded calendar and relatively fast growth in numbers and spirit (i.e. the first few paragraphs of this article which only lists events in the area of worship, never mind the other 11 ministry teams).  Change happened fast at Emmanuel and my work pace has had to multiply in speed to make sure Emmanuel stayed healthy through it all (particularly in the first 2 years of me arriving here).  Emmanuel is healthy.  I am overjoyed.  I am also tired.

Second, it is time to revision.  Most of you are familiar with the Discipleship Pathway (circle chart).  It is a pathway that has allowed us to grow and develop into a healthier church.  We have approached a size in which the circle chart has challenged the organizational structure of the church.  I’ll elaborate on this in another MMP, but to put simply, our leadership structure is being stretched to handle the quantity of ministry that is being implemented.  We need to reorganize how we dream, plan, and evaluate so that we can have room for more growth.  Otherwise, we could stagnate in ministry and a stagnating church is not a healthy church.  I need to figure out how to get this done to give the church the best opportunity to continue ‘making disciples of Jesus Christ’.

Third, and finally, I need to consider how to re-invent myself.  I can only say the same joke so many times or tell the same story so many times.  While I personally have tried to branch out and stay creative and fresh, I have also found that, based on my previous 2 appointments, I have about 4 years-worth of material.  Add to the fact that Emmanuel is entering territory in which I have never experienced.  Emmanuel is about to face challenges I have never helped a church face.  I better stay ahead of the curve.  The effectiveness of my leadership depends on it.  This sabbatical will give me a chance to spend time with other churches and learn from them.

I will be writing and speaking about this impending sabbatical in the weeks ahead because I know it can be a nervous time for us.  Work is being done to prepare for those six weeks too.  However, if you have questions in the meantime, feel free to talk to me or Bill Maskiell (chair of SPRC) or Vicki Hensley (Lay Leader) about it.  They are smart people (and pushy).

2013 can possibly be a real positive fork-in-the-road for Emmanuel.  Let’s be ready for it.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe