Today is February 7, 2012

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Are You A Change Apostle In Your Church?

Definition:  “A Change Apostle is a church leader, employee, or volunteer that passionately seeks out opportunities to improve the delivery of services and programs provided by the Church. They challenge the current process and rally support to implement change that aligns with the purpose of the Church.”

I'm not going to beat around the bush:  you generally have to solve alot of problems to actually implement change (and when I say actually I really mean just moving the needle in the direction you intended).  Change is a challenge, and it takes good people to make change happen.  Change Apostles must possess three things in order to be effective at driving change in a Church.

1.  Purpose.  Every church has a vision of what it plans to accomplish.  Its a shared vision for the future and all strategic initiatives (programs, services, goals, etc.) are based on this vision.  Change Apostles embrace that purpose, and see the bigger picture, even if it means they must sacrifice programming in their ministry in order to support that vision.

2.  Passion.  Change Apostles embrace the purpose.  They enthusiastically seek out opportunities and challenge the current way of doing things.  They love what they do and express it by taking action.

3.  Perseverence.  Change isn't easy and at times it can be a long hard road to overcome resistance.  Change Apostles have the fortitude to transform resistance and reshape it into momentum.

 

So, do you think you have what it takes to make positive changes that result in long term sustainable growth in your Church?  Perhaps the first step would be to check out the "Change Apostles" program in our membership site (or you can purchase it separately in our e-store).  This course provides the right level of instruction and tools to either enhance your current personal change management capabilities or train up Change Apostle apprentices from within your group of church staff and volunteers.

The first module of the Change Apostles program is set to be released on April 19th, 2010.

Finish Strong,

Andrew

Filed Under Sample Articles, Training Series Tagged With change apostle, change management, Passion, perseverence, purpose, resistance

TLCLL#1 – Wet Monkeys

Nobody really likes to experience change, unless of course they are in a pit (but then perhaps God is at work and at that point change is a really good thing).

Organizations must keep up with the changes in the environment around them.  As our culture and society changes, so must our Church.  We simply cannot expect to sustain our Church (or even grow for that matter) if we are stuck in our ways and ignore what is going on around us.

There is a story I like to use during my initial visit on any change consulting engagement that helps to hit home the need for change.  This story has been around for awhile so its no secret sauce stuff.  There is a Word version in the member’s download area that you can use for your Church staff.  Here’s a video of me telling the story…

Here is the link to the download…

[Content protected for Free members only]

Filed Under Sample Articles, TLC Lean Lessons Tagged With change, change apostles, consulting, video, wet monkeys

TheLeanChurch.com News

Our site has been up and running for several months now and we have been busy with several things that I would like to bring to your attention.

First, we have just finished migrating our mailing list over to Aweber.com.  There are still some of you that have yet to confirm your email subscription.  I encourage you to do this as soon as possible so that you will continue to recieve email updates outside of your website membership.

Second, there has been a major release on the theme we use for theleanchurch.com, and as such, there are a few bugs in formatting and programming that we need to address.  Please be patient with any anomolies you encounter and report them back to andrew@theleanchurch.com.  I will do my best to address them as quickly as possible.

Third, we are very busy developing the new premium level membership content.  This content is designed to help you apply the Lean principles in your ministry.  I’m excited about the prospect of this and I intend to guide you through it with a series of bi-weekly webinars.  Watch for updates on this in the near future.

Finally, we intend to offer an affiliate program to promote theleanchurch.com.  The affiliate program will allow both individuals and organizations to earn a regular commission on any members that sign up for the premium membership through their promotional efforts.  We will provide a comprehensive set of promotional tools to assist affiliates in this area.  The affiliate program will be rolled out in conjunction with the premium level membership/content.

I would like to personally thank you for your interest in theleanchurch.com.  If you have any questions, comments or suggestion - please let me know!  I would love to hear from you!

Sincerely,

Andrew Hunter

Filed Under News & Events, Sample Articles Tagged With Affiliate Program, Andrew Hunter, Anomolies, Bugs, Conjunction, Email Updates, Formatting, Lean Principles, Level Membership, Membership Content, Nbsp, Promotional Tools, Suggestion, Webinars, Website Membership

Churches Are In The Business Of Helping People

Check out this video interview that sets an example of how, more today than ever before in our generation, people need the love and grace of God’s body.  Here is a church that used a creative way to “pay it forward”.  Sometimes we just need to get back to basics and think outside the box.

Finish Strong,

Andrew

Filed Under Assimiliation, Sample Articles Tagged With Business Check, Business People, Churches, Grace Of God, Helping People, Love God, Nbsp, Pay It Forward

The Beulah Project

Beulah Alliance ChurchI am excited to announce that TheLeanChurch.com has teamed up with Beulah Alliance Church in Edmonton Alberta Canada to investigate the application of Lean within their operations.  As we look at ways to introduce Lean to Beulah, we will formulate a documented system that fits the unique aspects of Church operations.  Each engagement will be recorded  under the “Beulah Project” and will be made available to all members.

The initiative kicks off in early September with a high level strategy discussion with the senior leadership team of Beulah Alliance Church.  From there we will train a group of Beulah leaders to better understand the lean tools and concepts.  During that time we will flush out some potential Lean projects and identify one that best aligns with the Church strategic ends and helps build momentum for the Lean deployment.  Pastor Rob Chartrand will sponsor the exercise for Beulah Alliance Church.

Everyone is excited to start this new initiative and tackle the challenges of implementing this process of continuous improvement within the Church.  I’ve witnessed a leadership team at Beulah that is second to none and I feel the TLC Beulah Project will provide our members with valuable insight and content for deploying Lean within other Church organizations.

Stay Tuned, and Finish Strong.

Andrew Hunter

Filed Under Beulah Initiative, Sample Articles Tagged With Andrew Hunter, Beulah Alliance Church, Challenges, Chartrand, Church Organizations, Church Strategy, Continuous Improvement, Deployment, Early September, Edmonton Alberta Canada, Exercise, Implementation, Initiative, Insight, Late August, Lean Tools, Level Strategy, Momentum, Nbsp, Pilot Project, Quot, Second To None, Senior Leadership Team, Tlc

Hello from TheLeanChurch.com

Hi everyone,

My name is Andrew Hunter and I am the founder of TheLeanChurch.com.  My vision for this site is to provide Church leaders with training, advice and instructional resources to help streamline the internal processes that drive the operations of their church.  TheLeanChurch.com will adapt the principles of Lean Thinking into a set of tools and applications specifically designed for Church Ministry.

I have been blessed by God in so many ways in my life.  20 years ago I would never have guessed that I would be here today applying my knowledge and skills to better Church operations.  As I look back on the path God set for me I realize that every experience and opportunity I’ve encountered have led me to this place in my life for a purpose.  I’m thrilled to embark on TheLeanChurch.com and I pray that God will bless this project and use it for His glory.

I hope that you join us as we develop and deploy a set of tools and processes that will help churches across the world to run efficiently and effectively.  If at any time you have questions, you may contact me at andrew@theleanchurch.com.

Finish Strong.

Filed Under News & Events, Sample Articles Tagged With Andrew Hunter, Array, Beulah Alliance Church, Church Leaders, Church Ministry, Churches, Contact, Edmonton Alberta Canada, Implementation, Instructional Resources, Internal Processes, Lean Principles, Lean Thinking, Nbsp, Path God
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