The Community of Stewards
This brief writing is an attempt to document the
evolution of the community of stewards at Santa Margarita United
Methodist Church. It contains the accumulated experience from a 12-month
journey into the exploration of church vision, purpose and leadership.
It is clearly work in progress and should be read as such. This document
is committed to paper as a living document - one that will grow and
change as our experience in the church develops.
The steward model is a somewhat unique model. Focused
on drawing the laity into ministry, in many ways it represents a return
to the apostolic ministry of the early church. It can be contrasted with
the traditional Catholic model, which is clergy centric and has a
minimal role for laity. It can also be contrasted with the current
mega-church model. In the Steward model there is no reliance on a strong
and visionary Pastor, no focus on paid staff, and no central model for
control.
Back to Top ^
The Nature of the Stewards’ Task
The Church today exists in a modern age of ministry.
In this age, virtually all mainstream Protestant religions are in
decline by one measure or another. Many Protestant churches have aging
congregation, are facing declining attendance and are experiencing
declines in giving. Many mainstream Protestant churches struggle for
relevance in our modern age.
The church’s struggle for relevancy results from
many factors which are particularly insightful as we look as the Steward
model.
The loss of a sense of wonder:
One significant factor is the shrinking world in which we live. Today's
church exists in the world that is quite different from that of the
church of 50 years ago. We live in an ever-smaller world, brought
together by advances in communication and transportation. Earlier
generations lived in world in which it was difficult for most in society
to grasp the size of our world or its diversity. Today, communication
and transportation advances have reduced the sense of awe with which
many people held the global community. The sense of wonder is gone. Most
people in our society are increasingly comfortable with their control of
the world around them and their understanding of world events.
The loss of community to our mobile society:
We live in age where people have become increasingly mobile. This
mobility, in which we regularly move from place to place for occupations
or to explore new areas, has changed the way in which we view community.
The failure of the community that our grandparents knew creates a
significant challenge for the church. Historically, churches used to
exist in cities with relatively stable populations where a church member
might attend the same church for 20 or 30 years. Now, many churches are
faced with a transient congregation. That changing congregation has a
lessened the commitment of church members to the church and to each
other.
The loss of time: Today's
church family experiences a life experience which is significantly
different from that of the last generation. The level of activity in
most homes today has increased substantially. In many homes, the advent
of the two earner household has left the family with new challenges.
Parents face particular challenges in areas such as finding
"quality time" with children. We live in a world in which
children have schedules which themselves very busy. Youth are often
scheduled from the start of school in the morning through
extracurricular activities until nine or ten o'clock each night. We live
in world, which is increasingly busy. This busyness creates a particular
challenge for the church. The busyness of life forces out the time that
used to be spent in fellowship with others in the church and time that
was spent in ministry to those in the community.
Personal reliance (our self-help orientation):
We live in an age in which there are self-help publications available
for every possible challenge a human being might encounter. We have
concluded as a society that we have all that we need to be successful,
and it simply hinges on our ability to help ourselves. We become so self
focused that we have forced the mystery of God’s work out of our
lives. This self-absorption creates a special need for the church to
help people step back and understand that the road to salvation is not
in a self-help book.
The Stewards are called upon to restore community in
the church. They are called to demonstrate that there is time in our
busy schedules to attend to the items that really matter. They are
called to rekindle the sense of wonder about our world and the many ways
that God is a work in it. Finally, they are called to model a life which
refuses to find peace in self-reliance.
Back to Top ^
The Changing Church Leadership Model
Leadership roles in the church are changing rapidly.
The ministry of the Ordained, in particular, is changing due to many
factors.
Our modern society of consumers is much more demanding
of a church and of its leadership. This consumer society expects from
the church the same organization and marketing that is associated with
all the other products in the marketplace.
Churches today struggle with much more complex issues
used to be common. The "old" church model would find a church
that was run by a pastor who handled all of the issues and concerns and
challenges of administering the church body. Today, the church, like the
business world, has been impacted substantially by complexity.
Particular complexities that have impacted the role of the ordained
clergy include technology and diversity. Today's technology, including
voicemail, e-mail, and the Internet, together with sound and video
technology used in the church's ministry create an environment in which
the pastor needs substantial assistance to manage these technologies. No
longer can one person handled the administration of the technologies
necessary for carrying out the church's mission.
The church also faces significant issues related to
society’s acceptance of a more significant diversity of traditions and
beliefs than that of past generations. Churches are faced with difficult
decisions which have significant impacts on various constituencies
within the congregation. There are specific diversity issues which
divide the church family into strongly polarized camps.
Churches today are facing significant challenge due to
their weakened financial condition versus a generation ago. Most
Protestant churches today face more significant budget constraints than
they did in prior generations. This budget pressure is coming from a
decline in membership, as well as a decline in per-member giving in real
dollar terms. While the declining financial state of the church has been
masked somewhat by the faithful giving of older members, there can be no
question the today's church faces budgetary issues as it attempts to
appropriately staff the ministries which it brings to the world. This
weakened financial state makes it difficult for churches to hire paid
staff to carry out ministries, rather putting them in a position to rely
on volunteers.
Finally, the role of the ordained clergy is changing
significantly because of the changing view the congregation has of the
authority of the clergy. The opinions and direction of clergy used to
carry the weight of God in the church. There was a reverence and respect
for clergy which gave them the ability to accomplish significant things
without being subjected to the questioning of members in their
congregation. Today's congregation is not as accepting of the authority
of clergy, placing them in a role where building consensus and
influencing key members in the congregation become necessary activities
in furthering the work of the church.
Today, it would appear to be difficult for single
ordained clergy to successfully lead anything other than a small, rural
church.
These changes in the church and the role of the
ordained clergy bring about circumstances where the ministry of the
Laiety must be reborn. This rebirth will serve a substantial purpose in
the Ministry work of the church. It should, however, be recognized that
this is more than a convenient circumstance. The true driver of the
Ministry of the Laiety lies in the development of disciples, and in need
of those individuals to more closely align themselves with God's will
for themselves and the world.
Discipleship in the modern world is become
increasingly difficult. We need to return to early Christian principles.
Jesus didn't say, "some of you should go to college and on to
seminary. Take on church as its pastor and spread the good news."
Rather Jesus said. Go into the world and make believers.. He addressed
these comments, not to ordained clergy, nor to the religious leaders of
the day, but to the disciples who would carry the torch of Christian
faith.
Back to Top ^
The Changing Model for Church Leadership
There is a strong scriptural basis for lay leadership
in the church. The early part of this document, however, attempts to
frame church leadership in a modern context and to underscore the need
for strong lay leadership to act beside and in unison with the ordained
leaders of the church. For purpose of the Steward model, the role of the
ordained clergy will be defined as consistent with the role outlined in
the United Methodist Book of Discipline. In summary, the pastor's
key roles would be providing spiritual direction to the church, speaking
from the pulpit, and celebrating the sacraments. Depending of the
strength, education, and conviction of the laity, virtually any other
role may fall to the laity. The exact structure and leadership team
within the church will be dependent on the spiritual and personal
maturity of the congregation. As such, it is our intent to create a
flexible structure which will flex and adapt to the growing strength of
the laity.
Back to Top ^
The Selection of Leaders
Church leaders will be invited into the Community of
Stewards through a process involving the existing Stewards and the
Senior Pastor of the church. Potential stewards will be discussed within
the Community of Stewards and, based on a belief that those individuals
would bring the right heart and spiritual characteristics to the group,
such potential stewards would be contacted by the Pastor or by a
designated Steward. Characteristics of the Stewards would include:
Spiritual maturity: Involvement in the faith
community, prayer life, scriptural understanding, financial support of
the ministry. Active support of the church’s ministry through their
prayers, presence, gifts, and service.
Personal maturity: Leadership skills,
judgment, patience, strong personal relationships.
New stewards will be brought into the group throughout
the year. The lay leader and the pastor(s) of the church will be charged
with completing the orientation of new members of the group.
Individuals may leave the community of stewards at any
time. There is no "term limit’ which would dictate that a steward’s
involvement must end after any particular period of time. Stewards may
remain involved with the group as long as they are willing to maintain
the covenant relationship.
Back to Top ^
Spiritual Growth and Discipleship
Stewards are expected to actively pursue personal
spiritual growth and develop church leadership traits including:
- Affirming a personal, ongoing experience of God's
grace in his or her life.
- Committing to a discipline of personal piety,
including daily prayer and bible reading.
- Regular worship attendance and participation in the
sacraments.
- Committing to regular personal service.
- Faithful stewardship of his or her resources.
- Seeking to lead a life of integrity, honesty,
humility, patience, joy, and kindness.
- Nurturing the church, its leaders, ministries and
membership.
- Upholding the core values of Santa Margarita UMC,
including authenticity, community, openness, honesty, and
experience.
Stewards are also expected to be the "keepers of
the flame" of ministry in the church.
They will work together to seek and follow a common
vision for the ministry of SMUMC and will gather together regularly for
the purposes of group devotion and evaluation of the ministries of
SMUMC. They will be charge with discernment of where the spirit is
leading, the visioning of what "can be", and mapping out an
ever-changing plan for achieving God's will for our ministry. Stewards
will have cultural perceptiveness, compassion for the lost and hurting
in world, an eye toward innovation, and the ability to look for the big
picture of the kingdom of God. Stewards will have the ability to work
from plan that is always incomplete, leaving room for God's ongoing
work.
All Christians by virtue of their baptism in Christ
are ministers and stewards of the grace and mysteries of God. The
Community of Stewards of SMUMC is unique expression of this doctrine of
the priesthood of all believers. All are called to be in ministry in the
world. Some may feel a particular call to this emerging ministry
according to their particular gifts, availability, passions, and dreams.
Back to Top ^
The Community of Stewards
Methodism has historically entrusted the overall
ministry and leadership of the church to laity, reserving only
preaching, the sacraments, and supervision of the church to the office
of ordination. Santa Margarita UMC seeks to maintain a healthy balance
of laity and clergy accountability in the spiritual life, visioning, and
administration of the congregation by nurturing a body of stewards who
possessed the necessary gifts, passions and faith for leadership in the
church. Stewards are more interested in making disciples than in making
decisions.
The Stewards serve several purposes. Their first and
primary purpose is to tend the flames of faith and purpose in the
church. They are also called to vision new ministries and empower
ongoing ministries. They are to establish short and long-term strategies
for reaching the dechurched and the unchurched in the community. They
are to develop leaders to lead those ministries. They are responsible
for communicating the church's core values, and for advocating for those
in physical and spiritual need. Finally, the stewards are responsible
for modeling of faith in Jesus Christ that is authentic, growing,
passionate and contagious.
Stewards are above all else servants of Christ. They
are committed to ensuring that the work of Christ in the church is
accomplished to the glory of God and will make necessary sacrifices to
this end. In addition, stewards are partners with the clergy and will
share accountability for the ministries of the church. The community of
stewards will maintain the continuity of vision and leadership through
appointment transitions. Finally, stewards are representative of the
laity, giving voice to the dreams, hopes, needs, and stories of the
people.
The community of stewards is responsible for:
- Communicating and implementing a ministry plan,
delivering the plan to the people, and sharing the call and
ownership of ministry
- Recruiting and equipping other for service to God.
- Standing in the gap. When get when tasks must
become accomplished quickly or when others cannot be recruited.
- Helping to continually shape a church structure
which values and supports personal motivation, unity, ownership,
freedom, integrity, and learning.
Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God serve
one other with whatever gifts you have received.
Back to Top ^
Key Functions of the Community of Stewards
Establishing and maintaining a ministry vision
and core values for the church community. Stewards should on
ongoing basis, revisit the ministry vision and core values.
Supporting the senior Pastor. One of the key
functions of the community of stewards is to provide a group which
will surround and support the senior Pastor in the leadership and
direction of the church.
Visioning new ministries. It is the
responsibility of the stewards to maintain a list of potential new
ministries, which the church might undertake. This visionary list or
dreams list, should be hung on the wall at each meeting of the
stewards and updated every time they come together as a group.
Enabling current ministries. Another key
function of the community of stewards is to provide support and
encouragement for, as well as active participation in, current
ministries. An ongoing list of developing ministries should be
maintained by the stewards, hung on the wall at each meeting of the
stewards, and discussed regularly to ascertain which developing
ministries the stewards should be actively involved in nurturing.
Developing guidelines for new ministries. The
Stewards should develop and maintain guidelines for the church to use
in evaluating and establishing new ministries. A Ministry needs list
should be maintained by the stewards, hung on the wall at each meeting
of the community, and discussed regularly.
Evaluating the effectiveness of current
ministries. The stewards should be actively involved, at least an
annual basis, in evaluating the current ministries of the church. This
evaluation should be done in the spirit of developing ministries to
their fullest potential. It should recognize that all ministries have
a lifecycle, with new ones being born, existing ministries maturing,
and some ministries coming to the end of their term at various points
in the church's life.
Developing church leaders. Last, but not
least among the core function of the community of stewards, is to
support the senior Pastor in the development of church leaders. A
process should be established for the identification of potential
leaders, the training of leaders, and the support of existing persons
in leadership positions.
Back to Top ^
The Relationship of Stewards to One Another
The community of stewards exists as a trust-based,
small group in which members enjoy close personal relationships. A key
aspect of the committee of stewards is their commitment to regular
prayer and devotion together as a group. The nature of this trust based
community allows the stewards to function in a manner which provides a
very permission giving environment for the church. Several
characteristics define the relationships between the stewards and
processes by which they lead the church.
The covenant relationship. All members of the
church who join the community of stewards agree to be bound in
covenant relationship with each other. This common relationship is one
which fosters an environment which enables personal discipleship. This
covenant relationship underlies the integrity of the stewards as
church leaders. The common commitment of the stewards to personal
discipleship is the defining feature of this group. As stewards,
individuals agree to spend time each day in prayer. Stewards each
commit to give generously to church, regarding tithing as a minimum
expectation for the return of God's generous gifts for his work.
Finally, each stewards as a prerequisite for ongoing involvement in
the community of stewards, will develop a written personal spiritual
growth plan with the Senior Pastor on at least an annual basis. This
spiritual growth plan will be reviewed privately by each steward and
the senior Pastor at least quarterly throughout the year.
As stewards, each individual will make every effort
to join the biweekly meetings of the community of stewards. These
meetings will include significant time spent in prayer and devotion.
Each meeting will also all set aside time for Ministry development in
the church. It is anticipated that the first Stewards’ meeting of
each month will be committed to a period of devotion and overall
discussions of the Church’s ministries. The second meeting of each
month will be a working session at which the four major ministry areas
will spend time in support of their ministry functions.
A final commitment of each individual stewards is to
participate in an annual retreat at which time the stewards will
undertake a period of personal spiritual renewal and will seek to
revisit the vision and core values of the church. This annual retreat
will be the key time for visioning major new ministries, and
establishing a framework in which they may be explored.
Decision-making. The community of stewards is
an empowered, permission giving body in which each steward is
empowered to support and enable ministries of the church without
bringing every issue for deliberation by the community. While it is
anticipated that most decisions to be made for the church will be made
by small groups of stewards, some significant matters will warrant
discussion and review by the entire community of stewards. In these
instances, when significant ministry decisions which have long-term
implications for the congregation need to be made, the community of
stewards will complete this decision-making through a consensual
process. Major decisions, should not be made in a manner which will
divide the church or cause significant factions within the church to
vie with one another for approval. Decision-making through majority
vote provides many opportunities for decision-making to be destructive
to the trust that is required within the community. It would make
little sense for a matter of great significance to the church to be
decided by a vote of seven to six within the stewards. In the interest
of maintaining a strong community and using discussion and
deliberation to strengthen the body, decisions by the stewards will be
made through consensus. If the stewards are unable to reach consensus
on a significant matter, such matter shall remain before the group
until consensus is achieved.
Problem resolution. Issues or problems, which
arise between stewards, shall be settled as the New Testament would
direct. Any steward with an issue or problem with another will take
the issue to the other party involved. Failing to resolve the issue,
the two stewards will involve the pastor or lay leader in their
dialogue. Any issue or problem not resolved at this point will be
brought before the full body of stewards by the two parties not in
agreement.
Ministry leader appointments. From time to
time, the community of stewards will adopt and maintain a model for
church leadership which has defined positions of responsibility. Any
model for church leadership will require that individuals be placed in
specific positions, for some period of time. Our current model will be
built around Ministry Leaders in each of the four key ministry areas
laid out in the next section of this document.
It is the expectation that most church leadership
roles can be filled through the acceptance of volunteers from within
the community of stewards. It is anticipated all significant church
roles will be filled by stewards. In the event a church roll needs to
be filled, but there are no volunteers from within the community, it
is expected that Stewards will identify and approach others within the
church and ask them to fill the roll. It is anticipated that the term
of service for a Steward in a given leadership role in the church will
be for a period of up to three years, with the individual being asked
to reaffirm their interest in continuing to serve each year. It is
expected that a steward will not spend more than three years in a
given church leadership role. Only in rare situations where there is a
compelling reason for the steward to continue to serve in a specific
capacity will a leader’s term be extended beyond the standard three
years. Such appointments beyond three years shall be reviewed and
approved by the overall community of stewards.
Ministry evaluations. The stewards will
develop and maintain a consistent process for the evaluation of all
active ministries of the church. Such evaluation of ministries shall
take place on at least a semi-annual basis.
Back to Top ^
The Relationship of the Stewards to the Church Leadership Structure
The community of stewards has a broad role in
establishing vision and direction for the church. It is also responsible
for maintaining a leadership structure appropriate to the church’s
size and direction.
Within the circle of the community of stewards.
There are three distinctive features to church leadership. First, the
committee of stewards is organized and led by the senior Pastor and lay
leader of the church. The stewards will be organized around key ministry
areas. The community of Stewards shall include the Chairman of the three
standing church committees required by the book discipline. (Those
committees are the staff parish relations committee, finance committee,
and the trustees.)
The relative role of the stewards versus the three
standing committees shall be established through discussion between the
stewards and the respective committees. Is expected, however, that the
relationship shall be one in which the stewards set church direction and
policy. The three standing committees will provide support and
enablement for the church's programs. It is anticipated, for instance,
that the role of the trustees will be to primarily safeguard the assets
of the church. The role the finance committee will be to handle the cash
collections and disbursements of the church and to report on such
transactions. It is anticipated that the staff parish relations
committee will identify and support the paid staff required to carry out
the Ministry of the church.
As a starting point, the community of stewards have
identified four key ministry areas around which we will organize. Our
ministry areas will include nurture, worship, evangelism, and outreach.
The nurture ministries exist to provide
fellowship and discipleship training to the body of the church. These
ministries include many small groups, Bible studies, and fellowship
groups. They include religious education, including programs targeted at
children, youth, and adults. Youth fellowship, men's fellowship, and
women's groups within the church fall within this nurture category.
The worship ministries include all facets of
the worship life of the church. This ministry area includes the
traditional worship service, the contemporary worship service, and any
new worship services which might be developed. This area includes the
traditional music program, including the choir. It also includes all
other worship music, whether provided by praise band made up of church
members or professional musicians. Worship planning as well as the
worship calendar are the responsibility of the worship ministries.
Outreach ministries include all service
ministries focused outside of the church's congregation. This area
includes ministries which provide food and clothing to those in
immediate community. It includes ministries which provide opportunities
for church members, whether adult or youth, to venture into the field to
complete mission work. Finally, this area has responsibility for
organizing all volunteer mission activities which church members may
participate in.
The evangelism ministries include all programs
focused on carrying the word of God into the community. This ministry
area also has responsibility for promoting the church's ministries
within the community and informing the community about opportunities to
be involved in the church programs. This ministry is responsible for
internal and external church communications other than the 24/7 and the
church newsletter. This ministry area includes our video ministry as
well as the church web site.
It is anticipated that each of the four Ministry areas
identified about will be shepherded by two or more stewards. These
stewards, or Ministry Leaders, will have responsibility to support and
enable the existing ministries of the church in their areas. The
stewards will also be empowered to support and enable new ministries
without, in most cases, any formal action on the part of the community
of stewards at-large.
The stewards responsible for each Ministry area have
three primary functions.
- The first is two maintain a current inventory. All
of the church is Ministry programs within that Ministry area. This
Ministry inventory should include at a minimum description of each
program, and identification of the leaders of that program, and
verification of the active church members involved in that Ministry,
and the current and anticipated future funding needs of that
Ministry.
- The second function of the stewards in vault in
each Ministry area is to support the current Ministry. That support,
should include personal development planning for the Ministry
leader's and the identification of the next round of leaders for
each Ministry. This support function also extends to coordinating
communication support for Ministry. A final responsibility of the
stewards responsible for each Ministry area will be to provide
fund-raising support to the ministries which they shepherd.
- A final responsibility of the stewards responsible
for a given ministry area is to work with the Ministry leader's
within that area to collect and explore new Ministry ideas. That
exploration of Ministry ideas may often extend to bringing such
visions to the community of stewards at-large for discussion and
exploration. Stewards are also responsible for identifying and
enabling new Ministry leaders, as no new Ministry may begin without
appropriate leadership in place. Is expected that only in rare
circumstances will stewards themselves lead new Ministry areas
directly.
Back to Top ^
Regular Meetings of the Community of Stewards
It is our hope that Stewards would be more focused on
ministry than meetings, on making disciples rather than making
decisions. Toward that end, we have structured a simple but effective
monthly meeting schedule. Members of the community of stewards will meet
twice a month.
The first meeting of each month will be focused on
enabling the ministry of the church. It will be lead by the lay leader
and the various stewards serving as Ministry Leaders (nurture, worship,
evangelism, and outreach). All stewards are encouraged to attend, but
attendance by those not currently serving as Ministry Leaders is
optional. This meeting will be a very open meeting, with Ministry
Leaders inviting those involved in carrying out ministry work in their
area to come and explore current and possible ministries. Church members
and others interested in becoming more involved with the various
ministries of the church would be encouraged to attend through
announcement in the newsletter, bulletin, and on the website. The
meeting will begin with a time of devotion, followed by concurrent
breakout meetings for each of the four ministry areas. The groups will
come back together for the last 10 minutes of the meeting to share one
or two things they talked about and to close in prayer.
The second meeting of each month will be a gathering
of all stewards. This meeting is more spiritual than tactical. It will
be primarily a time for devotion, building community, visioning, and
seeking answers for major issues the church is dealing with. This
meeting will be lead by the lay leader and the senior pastor. All
stewards will be expected to attend.
Back to Top ^
