Continuing on the critical theme of leadership in the mainline church-there is a difficult to discern balancing point of retaining our theological history and the legacy left by so many faithful members; yet embracing the reality of a society defined as quick paced with not just change, but chaotic change.

I find very helpful a book by Stephen M. R. Covey entitled The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything.

In his book Covey presents two cores: Character and Competency. And the following behaviors that will build trusting relationships and communities. Communities that will find the ability to move forward with pace and speed:

• Talk straight


• Demonstrate respect


• Create transparency


• Right wrongs


• Show loyalty


• Deliver results


• Get Better


• Confront reality


• Clarify expectations


• Practice accountability


• Listen first


• Keep commitments


• Extend trust

I would like to share another thought from the book: 150 Ways to Spark Innovation During Times of Change. "Package your product like it's the best in the world".

Immediately in the church we can cringe at the thought of packaging a product - yet how often have we gone to a website or picked up a piece of printed material and immediately moved on because of the poor quality of presentation. We live with the reality of a media saturated society and by now must know that people coming to learn about a particular church have certain expectations. (I am very thankful for the emphasis put on the website at PCM.)

Do we believe this incredible Good News of Christ deserves attention to presentation? It strikes me that so many faithful pastors give this attention to sermon preparation and presentation. Are we consistent in sharing beyond our walls with this same diligence?

I look forward to creating conversation on leadership in the mainline church during very challenging times. (I plan on this being a weekly conversation - not merely a quarterly post.)

I found interesting a book by Jeremy Gutsche: Exploiting Chaos - 150 Ways to Spark Innovation During Times of Change:

From this book: "Find a way to make sense out of the noise." How do we in the church help to give a place for quiet and a place to process the excessive information so many are trying to cope with on a daily basis?

More to come.