Progress Report from 3rd meeting

The immediate and most important result that I want to report is the Alignment Task Force is working from a timeline that would have us present a preliminary alignment plan or rough draft at Annual Conference, June 2010. Then our goal would be to present the final proposal at a called session of the Annual Conference in Fall of that same year. This would allow us to focus carefully on one of the most important shifts in our conference history, aligning our structure, a structure that includes staff, districts, the processes and systems of the entire annual conference. We would implement the plan after Annual Conference 2011.

Some thoughts about our process:
We are looking carefully at what other conferences around the nation have done, are doing, and are getting ready to do. There is a tsunami of change happening in our denomination, both as a result of crises but also an expanding vision of our mission. There is great hope and enthusiasm out there today. It is a season of learning and willingness to change.

Our consultant Gil Rendle continues to guide us as does input from these many conferences, leadership from those conferences both in conference offices as well as in local churches.

We are researching the present reality of our own conference, both in our structure as well as in data that reaches back many years. That reality has some positive points, but in the light of world change and increased population the last 20 years in our conference, we don't feel like we have come close to our potential. This must change and to change a reality, the system that produced it must change. Our faith, passion, and mission is unquestioned as a church. The concern is our system. Let's change it.

We are also examining some of the alignment possibilities, structuring and focusing. These possibilities help us work with concrete ideas as we examine our existing structure. What is working here, in other places, what is not working, what needs to end, what needs to begin. What might we look like if we were shaped by our mission, and what structures must we have as set in place by General Conference and our Judicial Council. As you can see, this is quite a task.

We hope to define an outcome, one already somewhat in place by the clarified mission statement for our denomination as well as by the Central Texas Conference's claimed mission. As we focus on a clear mission, we then must define the system that is able to produce that outcome. What do you think the outcome of the local church ought to be, the conference, the Methodist Church? We must begin with the end in mind. There are two typical ways institutions and churches operate, they either watch the old die as they desperately seek to maintain it, or they are actively building the new. What are we going to build? This is a high risk, high reward season.

What we do must be within the boundaries of The Discipline and the financial constraints of the conference.

Thanks to Bishop Mike Lowry, Dr. Georgia Adamson, Dr. Bob Holloway, and a creative task force of folks from a variety of places in the journey of serving God in the Methodist Church. They have already done a great deal of work and will do more.

We will be involving many other leaders in the conference as this process moves rapidly forward. You can begin your involvement by praying, signing up for posts on this blog, and commenting as you feel led. This is our conference and we are in an exciting season as we prepare for a renewed future. We have ownership of our conference and ownership means we each, clergy and lay, are responsible for its success or failure.
Mike Ramsdell
Task Force Chair

Sharing In God's New Thing (Isaiah 43:19)

Greetings to all from the CTC Alignment Task Force,

The Alignment Task Force was formed in response to a resolution “To Live Out the Mission of the Church,” approved at the June 2009 Central Texas Annual Conference session.

The task force has met twice.

The first time was September 24, 2009, to organize and to clarify our charge. Bishop Mike Lowry called us to order and stated that the group was selected with the intention of mixed representation of younger and seasoned lay leaders and clergy without being restricted to geographic representation. Makeup of the task force was also guided by outside consultant Dr. Gil Rendle who advised avoiding representation by conference leadership positions — people who might unintentionally be inclined to “protect” current status rather than approaching the alignment from a fresh perspective.

Rev. Mike Ramsdell, senior pastor of First UMC of Mansfield, is chair with the following members: Rev. Louis Carr, Jr., Rev. Ken Diehm, Rev. Beverly Gilliam, Tom Harkrider, Rev. Bob Holloway, Bishop Mike Lowry, Rev. Dawne McAlpin, Priscilla Monson, Rev. Bryan Patrick, Rev. Todd Renner, Jim Scoggin, David Scott, Kim Simpson, Rev. Daniel So, Pat Stroman and Rev. Estee Valendy.

This task force is charged with examining the conference alignment of resources and the organization of the Annual Conference and districts to ensure faithfulness and fruitfulness in ministry that we might make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We will be representing over 300 churches and more than 160,000 members. Outcomes from this group will comply with the denomination’s Book of Discipline.

Our purpose is not to strengthen or restructure what we have, but to create something new.

We met the second time October 28, 2009, with Dr. Gil Rendle serving as consultant/coach as we move through the process. He is a familiar figure on the scene of “organizational change” as he works with The College of Bishops and Texas Methodist Foundation.

Rather than attempting to provide a verbatim record of the meetings, the decision was made to provide a series of “bullet points” that indicate the direction and progress that we will be making.

Let me offer just a word about our attempt at transparency. There is open and frank discussion in the sessions with Gil Rendle serving as moderator and facilitator. The level of excitement is high at the prospect of creating (with God’s help) something new. For several of us, this is not our first rodeo. For others, it is the first time they have felt the freedom to move beyond the walls of tradition. Mike Ramsdell, Gil Rendle and Bishop Lowry have been active enablers in that excitement.

At this point, our decisions will reflect these bullet points:

• Accumulating data for understanding.
• Resourcing the mission of the church.
• Investigating the key outcomes we want.
• Communicating with transparency.
• Gathering samples (qualitative and quantitative) of successful churches.

These five points are the basis for our next meeting. We welcome comments on this blog and will take all as participatory dialogue. If your comment appears here, please know that you have been heard even though individual replies will not be possible.

The next meeting of the Task Force will be held on December 10,2009

RESOURCE LIST - This is a partial list of materials that the task force is reading/referencing for its understanding of the evolving church and world.

“Systems-Liberate Your Organization Today!” - Andy Stanley DVD Set (Conference office will purchase copies to be available for check out)

“The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why” – Phyllis Tickel

“Hit the Bullseye: How Denominations Can Aim Congregations at the Mission Field” – Paul D. Borden

“Revolution” – George Barna

“Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church” – Reggie McNeal

“The Hole in Our Gospel: What Does God Expect of Us?” – Richard Stearns