Will Mancini, Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, and Create Movement (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008)

Summarised by Darren Cronshaw

In the complexities of a fast-paced world, with overall church attendance declining, where “successful” churches are overbusy with programs, and when we tend to borrow not just sermons but whole vision programs from model megachurches, the need for locally developed and clearly expressed vision in our churches is critical.

Some churches are tired of vision processes every two or three years that goes nowhere, while others are concerned their pastor is not interested in their involvement in the process. Some vision statements end up on walls or in files but are never breathed passionately into the life of the church. A vision process can make for yet another meeting to attend (and who wouldn’t want to have a say in the focus of their church), but does not always lead to a clear idea of what it is striving to produce nor a framework for steering collaborative effort of what to do (and what not to do) in church ministries. Vision is critical to any organisation, and so it is well worthwhile having a clear and fruitful process for developing vision and knowing what to do with it.

Church Unique details a clear process for cultivating, communicating and implementing vision. The underlying assumption is that each congregation is a one-of-a-kind creation. Mancini urges leaders to listen and discern what is unique about their local church and to lead with a clear sense of direction and passion for how they live out every church’s responsibility of glorifying God and making disciples.

He explores common sidetracks (or “thinkholes”) in developing a locally unique vision, such as adding programs, addressing any presenting needs, adopting outdated strategic planning, photocopying another church’s vision from the latest conference, staying in denominational ruts, getting caught up in cultural change for its own sake (BuzzChurch) or refusing to change for a changing world (StuckChurch).

Instead of adding programs for any presenting needs or strategic planning that assumes we know what the next five years will bring, Mancini offers a process for :

1. Recasting a unique vision

o “Unoriginal sin” is the habit of neglecting what makes a church unique and gravitating to borrowing programs and mindsets from what is effective elsewhere (p.9).

o Mancini unpacks some of the weaknesses of Church Growth, Natural Church Development and Purpose-Driven Church, but he reaffirms the importance of visionary leadership assumed in all of them (don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater).

o He discusses the contributions and emphases of Missional Church reorientation; from doing to being the church; from attractional to incarnational (not seating but sending capacity, focusing on living and sharing the gospel where life happens), from seeing people as “lost” and “prospects” to “the people Jesus misses the most”.

o Beware the danger of “growth idolatry: and thinking we are not okay unless our church is growing.

 § “I have wondered if our evangelical fervor to change the world is not driven in some part by the inability to change ourselves”. Gordon MacDonald.

 § “Unfortunately [the church growth movement] fell victim to an idolatry as old as the Tower of Babel, the belief that we are the architects of the work of God. As a result we have the best churches men can build, but are still waiting for the church that only God can get the credit for.” (Reggie McNeal) (Quoted p.38)

o Four “soul fast food” substitutes for well-balanced vision (pp.41-46):

 § French Fried “Places” and locating and limiting our sense of God to particular sacred places or huge capital campaigns

 § Big Mac “personalities”

 § Supersized “Programs” that come and stay past their usefulness and multiply to make a superbusy church

 § Apple Pie “People”, loving the group that knows my name and resisting change and growth if it upsets community.

2. Clarifying vision through a “Kingdom Concept”, a simple, clear “big idea” that defines your unique approach to making disciples.

o This is a high-definition picture of what only your church can do, articulated out of who you really are, and that you as a leader can extravagantly ooze.

o It is not easy to discern, but well worth the effort.

o It comes from understanding your unique strengths and opportunities.

o A problem with some vision statements is they are so long and cumbersome, nobody could remember what they say. We need simple, single big ideas rather than lists of platitudes. This builds on Jim Collins’ practice of the “Hedgehog principle” in From Good to Great; what can we be great at, even the best in the world at, and that will meet big needs.

o “Social sector leaders pride themselves on “doing good” for the world, but to be of maximum service requires a ferocious focus on doing good only if it fits your Hedgehog Concept. To do the most good requires saying “no” to the pressures to stray and the discipline to stop doing what does not fit.” (Jim Collins)

o A big emphasis was the critical need for single-minded resolve. Focus expands but if you start diverse energy dissipates.

o Howard Hendricks illustrates “less-is-more” with a simple funnel. As we accumulate more education, relationships, resources, our opportunities will increase, lining up the top of life’s funnel as things you can do.

Figure 1: The Clarity Funnel

\ X X X X X / All of your “can dos”

\ /

\ /

\ X / Your one “must do”

But we need to move down the funnel to what we must do for God. So need to practice and say “No”. Hendricks concludes “The secret to concentration is elimination”. (pp.59-60)

o Rob Bell in a 2006 Catalyst podcast discussed how to say no to great opportunities. “If your life and energy are spent living in response to the opportunities that come your way, then someone else has dictated your mission; you are essentially at the whim of whatever invitations come across your desk next. I first and foremost search deep and spend lots of time asking, “God, what is it you have given us to do this season?” And that drives everything. So we wait for a clear vision to emerge and then go after it and say “no” to everything else. …. Everything serves the very, very few, simple, intentional, focused things that are the best of the best of the best that God has put on your hearts to do; and we do these well. The good is the enemy of the best; no I would actually say the great is the enemy of the best. Especially to all you listeners out there who have incredible gifts and talents and end up doing five, six, twenty-two, or a thousand and four really good things. Yet there is one or two things that area great that don’t get done or get done with half the energy. It’s not good; it’s not a life.”

o “I first and foremost search deep and spend lots of time asking” (Rob Bell)

o Henry Ford said:

 § if he gave people what they asked for, it would have been a faster horse (p.46)

 § The great weakness of all humans is trying to do too many things at once. (p.54)

o Work your way toward simplicity by:

 § Frame the vision first with a Vision Frame

 § Listen till you glisten to people in and outside the church

 § Team the horses and pull together. Repent from doing it yourself. Community is not easy but ten times sweeter and more fruitful.

 · Put “We before me”.

 · “None of us is as smart as all of us” (Ken Blanchard)

 · Use tools to foster collaboration;

o different hats

o respecting personality differences

o 100-80 rule (not 80% team feeling 100% but 100% of team feeling 80% good, even if 20% loss.

 · Work outside in and invite a stranger’s or strategic outsider’s input (as Jethro in Exodus 18)

o “A leader is best when people are hardly aware of [their] existence, not so good when people praised [their] government, less good when people stand in fear, worst when people are contemptuous. Fail to honor people and they will fail to honor you. But of a good leader, who speaks little, when [their] task is accomplished [and] work done, the people say “We did it ourselves!”” (Chinese philosopher)

o Comes from looking to future but also the past. Whispering legacies motivate us, humble us, sharpen us (so Mancini took Lyle Schaller books away for a week to get his heart as a consultant, “I didn’t want to just acquire knowledge; I wanted to get to know a man who has walked before me with a similar calling and vision” (78) – I’d like to do this with Eugene Peterson’s collection)

o To look out for vision use vision detectors to uncover “vision artifacts” of:

 § the church’s creation story, ask “What circumstances led to the start? When did you know God was calling you?”

 § hidden gems of vision vocab; ‘With your church identity, what ideas are shared the most? What words shape things?”

 § hall of fame memorabilia; “What would be top 3 stories? What objects would be in your church shoebox of memories? What defining moments have you had?”

o A “Kingdom Concept” shows how your church will do its mission, shared by all churches, of glorifying God and making disciples. It is the “Great Permission” where you are free to live as God has created and calls you to in your unique context. To identify this organisational sweet spot, look at the intersection of:

 § Local predicament; gives radical full attention to the local and familiar and examines unique local needs and opportunities. (See example of John Hus and the well next to the pulpit, responding to local needs and the spoiled water source p.86). Mancini offers some great questions to help identify these different areas.

 · What are the unique needs in our community?

 · What arena of our community is the furthest from the utopia that God wants to restore?

 · What special opportunities are found in our immediate sphere of influence?

 · What burning issues are alive in the public’s eye?

 · What is the most significant change in our community is the last decade, and what need does this create?

 · What are our community’s largest events, and what opportunities do they present?

 · Because of our specific location, what can we provide no one else can?

 · How did we start and what is in our history that suggests what we could do?

 · What one positive change in our community would have the most dramatic effect in people’s lives?

 § Collective potential; unique resources and capabilities in our team/church. Jesus and We vs Jesus and Me. Lets not minimise individual gifts, but need to look at gifts collectively too. Ask:

 · What would a guest answer to “What did you like best about this church?”

 · What could you promise to a first-time visiting friend?

 · What would people who drive past our church say about it if we stopped them and asked?

 · What would people in our community miss about us if we were gone?

 · How would others describe our greatest strength?

 · What spiritual gifts/ ethnic/ age/ gender, life stage of people tend to come to our church?

 · If we had to do only one ministry outside our church walls, what would we choose?

 · How do new members talk about what attracted them to the church?

 § Apostolic esprit; the particular focus that most energizes and animates our leadership.

 · What are your gifts/ talents/ strengths/ personalities/ calling as a team?

 · What one thing bothers you most about the world?

 · If you knew you couldn’t fail, what one thing would you pursue for God?

 · What do you tend to pray for the most?

 · What give syou energy?

 · What have you secretly believed you would be really good at of you had the chance?

 · What do others say you are good (and not good) at?

 · What projects gave you deep satisfaction? (At different stages of life)

 · What would you want people saying about you at your funeral (who you were and what you accomplished)?

 · Who are your heroes?

3. Articulating vision with a “Vision Frame” that defines your church’s DNA

o “Clarity is the preoccupation of the effective leader. If you do nothing else as a leader, be clear” (Marcus Buckingham) (p.51)

o Clarity makes uniqueness undeniable, direction unquestionable, enthusiasm transferable, work meaningful, synergy possible, success definable, focus sustainable, leadership credible and uncertainty approachable.(p.53-55)

o “We were meant to live for so much more … maybe we’ve been living with our eyes half open”. (Switchfoot, Meant to Live) (p.61)

o How would you describe your church in ten words or less?

o Keep the vision catchable by being:

 § Clear – junior high school rule – understandable by 12 year old kid?

 § Concise – one breath rule

 § Compelling – resonance rule – do people want to repeat it because delightful to say?

 § Catalytic – actionability rule – inspire members to act rather than leave to paid ministers?

 § Contextual – bouquet rule – communicate biblical truth from garden of Word?

o A vision frame includes:

 § Missional mandate; what are we doing?

 § Missional motives; why?

 · “You won’t do ministry that really matters until you define what matters.” (Audrey Malphurs)

 · Your church can’t be anything it wants to be but it can be everything God wants it to be. (Max Lucado)

 § Missional Map; how? (e.g., Luke 10) – need a simple process for mapping out the disciple-making process – see Thom Rainer’s Simple Church and the different icons Mancini has collected. Be a Starbucks, providing a stunningly clear, quality process for missional living, rather than Walmart putting on as many programs as possible.

 § Missional life marks; when are we successful? (Don’t crossfire.)

 § Vision proper as Mountaintop + Milestones; where is God taking us? Not in a lofty one-line or one page dump, but with stories of what the mountaintop looks like (e.g., We are a place where no one stands alone … who is your 2 am friend?”) and measurable milestones (“We will have 10 small groups with 70% with apprentice leaders and 60% of the church committed to one”) … What is “the most important need or opportunity at this time in your church”? – use a survey ideally.

(This Vision Frame material got rather detailed, a chapter on each, which I would plan to return to when and if working on these matters in detail.)

 § When sharing vision about the missional mountaintop, use this checklist:

 · Do I frame the larger need and speak to the fear of loss?

 · Do I promise a better world in which people will want to live?

 · Do I create urgency and induce action?

 · Do I enlarge faith and challenge the imagination with audacious, God-sized goals?

 · Do I clarify the biblical basis and show how God’s heart is pleased?

 · Do I build an emotional bank connection based on shared history? (p.185-8)

4. Advancing vision by ensuring vision is aligned and integrated and redefining how various people and groups can work together.

 · How can we get traction after developing and as we articulate vision?

 · He exhorts overprogrammed churches to bury their ministry treadmill in preference for three or four things to commit to.

 · “It may be that the day of judgment will dawn tomorrow; in that case we will gladly stop working toward a better future. But not before.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

 · Alignment is different in churches established for > 15 years and newer entrepreneurial churches.

o Established churches need to refocus by moving from confusion (pulling in all directions) to communication to coordination to collaboration.

o For newer churches the path is to stay focused through growth and go from dissipation to oscillation to expansion to acceleration.

 · “Collaboration is the point where individual ministries and leaders have checked their ego at the door and are actively seeking to serve the mission by serving one another.” (p.199)

 · Ministries can be promoted or closed depending on whether they fit the map:

o Catapult it

o Combine it

o Contributize it

o Cage it

o Cut it out

o Attunement is like making waves (like Krazy George started on Oct 15, 1981) which takes steps which include:

 § Developing leaders who get the vision

 § Intentional communication that grabs attention

 § Assimilation and helping people attract and keep people

 § Give people tools for evangelism

 § Host compelling environments (for worship, connection and service)

I appreciated and collected the variety of phrases and definitions by which Mancini described vision:

 · A new picture of God’s better intermediate future. (99)

 · The better intermediate future God has entrusted to you. (110)

 · The labourer saying “I’m building a cathedral, and it’s going to be one of the most beautiful cathedrals of all time”

 · See a better possibility, a vision of a preferred future. … New ideas, new aspirations, and new mental pictures of what could be. (72)

 · The place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet. (Frederick Buechner re vocation, which Mancini relates to vision)

 · The big compelling of God (Oswald Chambers)

 · There is an itch about something that must be done that animates their lives. They cannot let it go! … such a vision does not come from trying to have one … it simply comes! God has so demonstrated Himself that they are filled with a picture of something that must be done. (Dwight Smith) (p.74)

 · The art of protecting the past as we champion the future. (p.76)

 · A contagious longing for what God wants to do. (171)

 · The Church’s living language that anticipates and illustrates God’s better intermediate future.

 · Your travel brochure that builds anticipation and excitement. (178).

 · What if we had nothing to prove and nothing to lose? (234)

Will Mancini is founder of Auxono which consults with traditional and emerging churches and ministries to ‘navigate leaders through growth challenges with vision clarity’ http://www.auxono.com> >. He invites church stories to o rposting your Kingdom Concept at churchunique.com http://www.churchunique.com>

Church Unique is an excellent resource for pastors, consultants and leaders who are serious about discovering what is unique about any church; bring its ministries that are going in all sorts of directions into a unified, collaborative, shared direction; and focusing it to break out of their status quo and transform the future.

It is one of an excellent series of books from the Leadership Network which identifies and connects innovative church leaders – others are worth checking out as well. See http://www.leadnet.org

Darren is BUV’s Coordinator of Leadership Training. Church Unique is available from BUV or Christian bookstores for $39.95.

Darren

(Rev Dr) Darren Cronshaw