3 Services

Last night (Monday, 8/20) we had a Leadership Council meeting in which we had excellent dialogue around the decision to move to 3 services this fall. The decision itself has pros and cons, but the heart of the dialogue revolved around the desire to create a culture of open & candid communication throughout the church. Overall the issue is around appropriate process for decision-making (creating ownership through process) as well as honest feedback around what people are struggling with. Much of our communication and gatherings focus on how God is moving through New Hope and centering on the great stories of transformation that we all enjoy.

God is moving and people are being transformed; however, there is a feeling among some that we don't create an environment for enough candid conversation around what things we are struggling with. For whatever reason there can be a tendency for individuals to be struggling with issues or certain decisions, but these items do not get communicated to higher levels of leadership. The crux of the issue is uncertain: is leadership unapproachable? are people afraid of not having faith for questioning decisions? There are a number of potential reasons, but as leaders we need to make sure that we are welcoming concerns and issues; it might not be enough to say we have an "open-door policy", but instead we might need to create other welcoming opportunities.

There is a lot to digest with this; but leadership is commited to having these conversations because ultimately they result in better decisions, greater ownership, and deeper trust in relationships. Romans 12:8 calls those with the gift of leadership to lead with all diligence; this means we are willing to continue improving our leadership including allowing people to hold up mirrors so we can see our blind spots.

As a staff today, we continued the conversation including all new information & perspectives we have received and the decision was made to continue pursuing three services on 9/9. In addition, the staff recognizes the need for volunteers in certain ministry areas (specifically the technical area) and will each work to provide leads for potential volunteers or alternative solutions. Finally, as a staff we will commit to pray that God will expand our tentpoles and that the lord of the harvest will bring in laborers.

Thank you to all who continue investing in New Hope. Conflict on the process is welcome as long as we stay unified in the purpose. Based on the discussion last night and those involved, I know we are all focused on the same purpose: To honor God by making passionate followers of Jesus Christ through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we must embrace conflict as long as the motivation stays on living out our purpose. I'm honored to serve along side each of you. For what it's worth, my door is always open.