One church's experience

Restructuring seminar delivered by (a church leader who has done it and lived to tell the tale'

"If all you ever do is all you've ever done, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got." This old proverb was on the overhead as the participants entered a seminar for congregational leaders recently.

Leading the seminar was Cam Shapansky, the last congregational chair at Wanner Mennonite Church, near Kitchener, Ont., who currently works for the Californiabased Blue North Strategies organization. The church-restructuring seminar was billed as "a real life example from a church leader who has done it and lived to tell the tale!"

Shapansky became the leader of Wanner's first ministries team, a four-person group that replaced the much larger church council. Besides the church council, all the committees were reshaped into ministry teams, moving from more than 80 elected positions to only 16.

He described the process Wanner followed to restructure after the church had developed a new congregational vision, priorities and guiding principles after discovering that there were many people in the congregation who were nearly burned out and ready to leave after years of service.

On the other hand, he said that others who wanted to serve couldn't find ways of using their gifts. One woman who wanted to decorate the sanctuary for worship was shunted from one committee to another, to no avail. Under the new structure, though, Shapansky said she was blessed to go and work.

The new teams were given job descriptions with blank areas "to write their own ideas and tasks," he explained, noting that terms were shortened and leaders were tasked with finding their own replacements, a responsibility not for the faint of heart.

Quoting John Kotter, he underlined the need for a "burning platform," a term used in business management and change. "The congregation needs to have come to the place where the status quo is not an option," he said.

When challenged on this "negativity," he noted that Wanner had begun by looking at its human assets and then worked towards finding ways to free these people for service. Many times during the implementation process leaders had wondered about going back to the old structure, he admitted. He reported, though, that now over a year into the change process, people are beginning to find the new structures freeing.

The seminar was offered by Associates Resourcing the Church and Conrad Grebel University College, Waterloo, Ont., as part of a course leading to a conflict management and congregational leadership certificate.

[Sidebar]

Ross Shantz of Wilmot Mennonite Church, New Hamburg, Ont, discusses church restructuring issues with keynote speaker Cam Shapansky at a church restructuring seminar at Conrad Grebel University College.

[Author Affiliation]

STORY AND PHOTO BY DAVE ROGALSKY

Eastern Canada Correspondent

WATERLOO, ONT.