Congregational Life Centre
Our mission is to encourage possibilities
Saying Thank You
Clair Woodbury
As I
write this, we are getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey, cranberry,
garlic mashed potatoes, chocolate pie, and pumpkin pie. I am remembering
Dietrick Bonhoeffer's words, "Your congregation is your gift from God.
Love them." At least that's the way I remember it from his book Life
Together.
Years ago I attended a New Church Development seminar in Houston put on by the United Methodist Church. The young minister of a thriving church he had built up from two dying congregations shared one of his secrets. Each morning he handwrote a thank you note to one member of his congregation. Two would be work, he said, but one was a spiritual reminder that he was not alone in ministry. His congregation was filled with leaders — partners in responding to the needs of the community and the well-being of the others in the congregation.
The business guru Ken Blanchard is famous for his book The One Minute Manager. It begins with something we often find awkward - sharing in a personal way with someone we think has done a great job. He calls it the "one minute praise." His first advice is don't wait — do it immediately. Here's the rest of the recipe:
1. Tell people what they did right - be specific.
2. Tell people how good you feel about what they did right, and how it
helps the organization and the other people who work there.
3. Stop for a moment of silence to let them "feel" how
good you feel.
4. Encourage them to do more of the same.
5. Shake hands or touch people in a way that makes it clear that you support
their success in the organization.
The process may seem a little strange at first, but it works.
Joyce Madsen and I have written four books together. We know authors typically don't get a lot of feedback, and that's fine. But this week, we got an order for Wings Like Eagles from a Lutheran minister in Ohio. That triggered our curiosity - how did she learn about us? It appears a fellow student in a D.Min. program, recommended the book to the group and said she followed it quite closely with her Anglican congregation in BC, and her congregation is thriving. That is a thank you that made all the time put into writing and hours of editing worthwhile.
A thank you is a wonderful thing. It can come in many forms, but it never ceases to work its encouraging magic.
Wings Like Eagles
How to be a Thriving Congregation in the 21st Century
by Clair Woodbury and Joyce Madsen
Wings like
Eagles is the name we gave this book because we want congregations to
soar with all the energy and passion, all the tranquility and spirituality
that eagles bring to their magnificent flight. This book is for those who
want to reach out to people in their community, who are willing to risk
being different, and for those who take Jesus' offer of new lives for old
seriously.
Read a sample of the book at Wings Like Eagles.
Order from the Congregational Life Centre for $14.95 plus postage.
"Leadership Ventures" Congregational Life Newsletter. October 2011. Volume 18 No. 2.