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This is the fourth and final installment on a think-piece for rotation.org on the subject of
CE Committees HELP or HINDERANCE?
by Neil MacQueen

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, September 12, 2000 7:00 PM
Subject: CE Committees

Dear Neil,

I don't know if you remember me or not. I spoke to you about coming to our church in ___ PA. Our church is struggling with a lot right now and CE is definitely one area. The pastor and the associate are both teaching classes on Thomas Bandy's book "Kicking Habits" and they have some awesome ideas. I have also been reading your articles at rotation.org about how CE committees can be part of the problem. I am presently working 40+ hours for parttime pay and trying to smile my way through it. I want to learn as much as possible about how to move our children's programs in the right direction. I am the staff resource for the Children's Ministry Group, which reports to CE, but functions exactly like CE. It's like they get it but they don't . I have been talking with them about the strengths and weaknesses of Children's ministry here and how there is a lack of central purpose. My concern is that they are starting to "get it" and now I don't know what to do next!

God Bless,
Lisa


Hi Lisa...
You have a lot on your plate. Let me share the following observations with you:

Restructuring without a vision and support is deck chair rearranging. In other words, they're "getting it" is important. In a lot of churches, the staff person "gets it" and drags the volunteers along for the ride. Few will "get it" or give you permission to restructure, revamp, spend money, whatever, unless these things happen:

a. YOU have a well thought-out vision, a plan to share it, and the experience to implement it
b. Their confidence in your leadership
c. They 'catch' your vision

How do you help others catch your vision? Or, to put it another way, -how can you help each other create a vision?
It's hard if you yourself haven't given time to developing your own vision. (Rotation Model is a piece in the vision). Indeed, many in CE are so caught up in the nuts and bolts of programming and "repairs" that they have little idea what they would do if they had all the permission and money to do it!

What you are describing is a program first in need of soul searching. That rarely happens Thursday nights at 7:30 under "New Business." In our book on the Rotation Model, my co-author and I wanted our first chapters to be about vision and confession, not nuts and bolts. We wanted folks to see that our changes came from within our dreams and confessions about Christian education. Yes, we were concerned with nuts and bolts. But the nuts and bolts will change over the years, and indeed are different in many churches. The best part of the Rotation Model is it's sense of urgency about the work and it's willingness to confess.

For you, let me suggest a "CE Leaders and Visionaries Retreat." The name alone will attract credibility and convey authority to the conclusions. A retreat will also take advantage of the second most powerful force you have going for you (the first being God), and that is "bonding to a common cause." People go the extra mile for each other, for people they come to know, not dates on calendars and committee reports. Shared experience, shared lives, and shared trust are things which committees don't do well creating.

The envisioning process and bonding that can come out of such an experience will also identify to the leaders in the church who else is invested besides just you. Most leaders listen to groups much better than to individuals. We're just built that way.

Some dreaming should take place before the retreat. During the retreat, small groups should flesh out their dream programs and present it to the others. It's important to note what kind of retreat I'm suggesting. This isn't a retreat where people just sit and listen to speakers. This is a retreat where people get knee to knee and talk about the importance of kids, teaching Bible stories, their own hopes and disappointments. Over the years I've found that people respect passion for ministry, even if they have different ideas for pursuing that passion. Your retreat should have ample opportunities for people to share with each other. Help people support you, not a nameless program. And be ready to support them in their hoped for outcomes.

Some churches don't need this kind of planning event. They just let their CE people do whatever they want with a lot of trust and not much fuss (I'm in a church like that now). Some churches, however, especially those with a history of "politics & process," need to feel that your latest direction comes out of a PROCESS, not just the latest, greatest idea you have thunk up.

You asked 'how we got permission in our church.' Our church didn't have a "permission problem." They were ready, but didn't know what they were ready for. And when we did present the details, we showed how an improved Sunday School could benefit many different constituencies. The stewardship and new member folks, for example, didn't care to focus on specifics of our change, they only needed to hear that we were going to make our program attractive to church shopping visitors. The pastor only needed to know that happy kids meant happy parents willing to come to church. Older adults were thrilled with our emphasis on Bible literacy. The Rotation Model offers many facets that shine in different directions.

Over time, we let the program tell its story to the congregation. The main way we did this was through new member classes. They would stand up and say why they were joining our church. Most said it was because of the children's program. We didn't have to say a thing. We just needed to create the opportunity.

Which leads in to these final two points.....

1. Success creates the opportunity to extend changes.

In my experience, including Rotation startup, small succeses will breed bigger ones. Those you need 'permission' from now will be glad to give it as success becomes evident. To this end it is important to communicate your success. Many churches report on upcoming things all the time to the near exclusion of trumpeting things that went well. Just read your church newsletter and you'll see what I mean. People need to know what's working. Most want you to succeed. Success is a source for more permission.

2. Some changes can happen 'defacto' without permission.

De facto change just happens and nobody really notices or says that much. Weekly meetings turn into quarterly meetings on a trial basis, then permanently on a quarterly basis. In between, the real work is done in small groups of two or three people who coordinate through a staff person or designated coordinator. People are busy and most don't really like committee work. What they like is teamwork, in part because teams fill a need for fellowship and friendship that committees rarely do. (Some leaders are control freaks, though. They may resist loosing the month forum to show they are in control. Time to find a new leader.)

==Two teachers decide to outfit their rooms as workshops and 'rotate' their classes between their two room. Other teachers catch on.

==A computer is brought in by the teacher. This information is reported rather matter-of-factly as is the enthusiastic reponse of the kids. Then a second used computer is donated. Now a request for a software budget is almost a lock because a track record is already in place, the idea isn't that new and there's a teacher's face on the project people will be inclined to support.

==Summer Sunday school, traditionally a time of "doing creative things, or doing what you can" is done as a Rotation Model. Everything is up and running. Come fall it can easily be used for the Fall. Decisions are always easier when little effort is required to implement them.

==Change is often about getting used to something on a small scale so that it feels normal after a while.

<>< Neil MacQueen

Workshop Rotation Model http://www.rotation.org
Sunday School Software http://www.sundaysoftware.com

Questions to ask on that retreat or in the planning process:

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