The Ezra Team

Greetings! 

This is a fairly lengthy update that will summarize what the Ezra Team has been up to and where our work is headed for the remainder of the year. As always, your feedback, questions, or concerns are greatly appreciated! The Ezra Team is working to lay the foundation for the future of what God will do through Rosenberg FUMC. However, we have no authority to make final decisions or alter official church policies and expectations. Any final decisions are in YOUR hands as church members, faithful supporters, and/or leaders. I’ve spent the last 4 weeks focusing in worship on the Food, Family, and Faith framework as a way to think about what the church is doing when it’s doing its best - we meet basic needs, in a way that builds relationships, that reflect God’s love for us. That framework helps name the broad direction in which the Ezra Team intends to go.

Below, I’ll share a more specific and practical list of things we’ll do to start moving in that direction. I’ll also share 3 priorities that will shape how we hope to accomplish our tasks. Again, we aren’t a committee that can make final decisions. We are doing the hard and slow work of discernment to help our whole church family catch a glimpse of our preferred future. Ezra tells the story of God’s people building for the future on the foundation of all that came before. That is our task as well. As our work gets more practical and as we begin to finalize any recommendations that would require official approval or votes, we’ll search for more formal or official ways to get feedback and conversation (perhaps conversations with committees or a town hall style gathering). For now, you can call (512-468-2233) or email (jeremy@fumcrosenberg.net) any time to share your thoughts!

• Jeremy 

Recapping Our Conversations Thus Far:

1. A Next Step Priorities document was developed last summer in response to the church’s shared recognition that we need to make changes; and it expressed the clear desire of the church leadership to prioritize making a bigger impact in ministry over cutting costs and pulling back (though both are necessary). 

2. The Ezra team was conceived primarily as a way to have the conversations necessary to take steps in that direction. 

3. I shared the Food, Family, and Faith framework as an expression of the most consistent words I’ve heard in conversations about what has made this church so successful and impactful in the past. That framework is a very rough outline of how we can begin to think of the “why” that undergirds our decisions and priorities. 

4. The Food, Family, Faith framework is also the focus of Sunday’s sermons between 4/18 and 5/9, which can be viewed on our church Youtube page. 

5. From our early conversations and in light of the above framework also came a clear sense that we are called to invest in and grow where we are planted as a Missional Hub church (I created the linked pdf. There are hundreds of ways to differentiate types of churches; this was created as a tool to have meaningful conversation around what we are called to do/be). 

6. The team then did some research to get a sense for a) what type of mission and assistance work is already being done and, thereby, b) who potential partner organizations might be in the future, and c) where our unique contributions might fit in.

7. We then explored initial thoughts and concerns related to the areas of Leadership, Membership, Stewardship, and Partnership (these were the 4 areas identified in the original Ezra Team document in which there are key questions we hope to address). 

8. A few other tools and articles have been discussed along the way to consider how to make change and what alternate ways of doing things might look like. All of this discussion set the context for our work of defining a group “to do” list and the relevant priorities for how we’ll go about doing that work.

The Team’s to do list for the rest of the year:

1. Clarify Our Why  - we’ll work to finalize a mission statement or some other way to name the core sense of what we are called to do and why our church exists. Clarifying our “why” is essential for being able to prioritize, strategize, and make good decisions as a church.

2. Community Values - we’ll define a clear set of values for how we, as a church and as leaders, do all that we do.

3. Individual behaviors - we’ll name a set of values/behaviors that clarify who we, as church members and followers of Jesus, are and what growth will look like if we’re successful in doing what we say we’re trying to do.

4. A pathway for growth - we’ll create a simple pathway with concrete steps to help everyone clarify where they are now and how growth can happen. A sample that I worked on but was never implemented from a previous church can be found here. Another example from a large Methodist church in Houston is here.

5. Develop an org chart - we’ll seek clarity on who does and/or ought to do what and how we can best structure/coordinate the work of staff, leaders, members, and everyone else. 

6. Develop a facility stewardship model/plan - we’ll put numbers on paper to name what it costs to run our facilities and offer suggestions for what may be best to rent/sell/better use.

7. Evaluate our policies - the church will need to reconsider all its policies in light of the above mission, values, and priorities. The Ezra Team won’t write policies (we don’t have the authority and likely don’t have the time to make actual changes anyway), but we will take a look at our current policies to start the conversation regarding what kinds of changes might better reflect our mission and values going forward.

8. Consider implications for worship - we’ll consider what changes might be implied by the rest of our work. Again, we won’t have time to get very detailed, but our worship service(s) have been in need of some direction and clarity for a long time.

Priorities (how the Ezra Team will approach its work) - Each priority and a simple definition will be offered. I’ll also share a couple of historical problems/challenges to which our group is responding and name something constructive that we hope to build/build upon. 

1. Empower and Equip, far more than Authorize and Do  

   1. A brief definition - Church programs and leadership aren’t here to provide services and dictate exactly what gets done. We want to instead cast a clear vision and mission, train leaders, facilitate what people are passionate about, identify and talk about a shared sense of purpose, and clear the way for what matters most. There will be and always have to be policies, expectations, and guidelines for what must and what cannot be done (such as how money is spent or who can work with kids); our priority is to ensure these things create clear boundaries for ministry rather than restrict or control it. Everyone who wants to support the work of the church should be able to find a way to do so that fits their gifts and desires; creating an exhaustive task and job list ahead of time or requiring specific approval for every new idea doesn’t create the space or give permission for people to do so.

   2. Challenges we’ve faced - few things sap the passion out of someone more than a complicated approval process, aimlessness, or the feeling that hard work has gone nowhere. Conversely, a centralized, authoritative push in the wrong direction can spark division and conflict (at least the attempt at a second campus is an example of that dynamic in our not too distant past). The more we can set a direction, put necessary rules in place, and equip folks to take it from there, the more likely we are to see impactful, innovative, and life changing events and programs spring up.

   3. The legacy on which we’re building - almost every one of the most impactful and important memories that are shared about this church relate to an event or ministry that grew when someone got an idea, felt passionately about seeing something done, and figured out how to make it happen. We hope to develop policies, structure, and training that facilitate this process and create the space for such ministries/events to flourish and make a difference. We desire to help our members and neighbors find their next step to go deeper rather than think we have all the answers already. 

2. Simplify what must be done so that we can focus on the purpose that gives us life 

   1. A brief definition - Administrative or business work like budget and policy setting, maintenance, HR for the staff, etc is necessary and vital work. However, this “business” type work is the kind of work that lays the foundation for the “ministry” work we are actually called to do - feed people, build relationships, worship, study, etc. We need to simplify the foundation work as much as possible to create more time and space for fulfilling our unique purpose. We also need to give people clear guidelines or boundaries for what does and doesn’t need permission so there are far fewer bottlenecks and far more opportunities to put our gifts to use. The goal is not to take jobs away, but to build flexibility into our structure so that we can all better utilize our unique gifts in a way that brings us joy in service of our common purpose. 

   2. Challenges we’ve faced - We’ve heard it expressed from multiple dedicated volunteers and church leaders - they desire to serve and lead the work of the church… but just don’t ask them to sit through committee meetings and stare at reports! Having to struggle to fill every open space also leads to people being asked to serve in a capacity that doesn’t match their knowledge, skills, abilities, or desires. Given our limited numbers and the respective roles of “business” and “ministry” work, the more we can simplify the former, the more we’ll be able to dedicate the time, resources, and people needed to be successful in the latter. It’s also very hard to be strategic about decisions that require partial approval from multiple groups.

   3. The legacy on which we’re building - our church is similar to most other organizations in that a handful of dedicated volunteers do a majority of the work, a large group of folks is willing and ready to help with specific things when asked, and there are some who come occasionally but aren’t interested in a larger commitment. Simplifying what must be done helps structure ourselves in a way to embrace that reality and free up more of our dedicated volunteers to do the kind of work where they can see the difference being made rather than simply doing what must be done.

3. Intentional growth with eyes wide open 

   1. A brief definition - Church growth doesn’t happen just because we think it would be a good thing. And when growth happens, it always brings some level of change. To make a significant difference, we have to intentionally focus on processes more than postcards. That means creating structures and teams that guide people in and teach us how to grow rather than simply sending out an invite and assuming people can take it from there. Being fully welcoming also means valuing some else’s experience at least as much as our comfort. Something as simple as reciting the Lord’s Prayer or not knowing if members are required to give financially can feel very uncomfortable for someone who has never been in church before. To intentionally grow, our first instinct can’t be one of defensiveness about what we’re used to. Our first step is to help people find meaning and purpose in what is essential and to figure out what non-essential items we might need to give up. 

   2. Challenges we’ve faced - Many of the best events or programs that have happened were not set up in a way to lead to something else. No matter how successful programs were, there wasn’t sustainable growth in other areas of the church. This has played a role in the extent to which even the most successful programs were also viewed as a drain on church resources. It is also true that the demographics of our membership and regular participants at core church events have remained stable even as the demographics of our surrounding neighborhoods have dramatically changed. Failing to connect events to a next step and the challenges of changing demographics have played a significant role in our church’s decreased attendance and financial income over the last decade.

   3. The legacy on which we’re building - the vast majority of our regular attenders and members are here in large part because of the profound sense of welcome and hospitality that they experienced upon arrival. Welcoming a new demographic group or welcoming people who rarely if ever attend church requires some new habits, processes, and language; but that sense of welcome is a way to build on the essential legacy of who we are rather than to do something new. We can’t assume people have a deep knowledge of how church works or what we expect of them; but we can assume that every child of God desires to feel a nonjudgmental sense of hospitality.