When I was studying at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, the students were expected to take Myers-Briggs type indicator as an assessment tool in Person in Ministry class. I like to analyze and put things in the right boxes, probably more then most. At the same time I have learned by experience that such practices are quite limiting and not always as useful as I would wish. Continue reading Myers-Briggs Revisited in Hell
Tag: evaluation
Kreppur, þroski og sjálfsmyndarmótun
Í guðfræðináminu á Íslandi, ólíkt náminu í BNA, var mikil áhersla lögð í nokkrum kúrsum á kenningar Erik Erikson um þroska og sjálfsmyndarmótun. Þessu tengt voru okkur kynntar hugmyndir um overgangs objekt og fjallað um samspil Guðsmyndar við þroska eða skort. Continue reading Kreppur, þroski og sjálfsmyndarmótun
U-ið
Ég vinn fyrir æskulýðshreyfingu, sem er viðeigandi enda á ég ennþá nokkra mánuði í fertugt. Á vettvangi vinnunnar minnar glími ég oft við hvað það merkir að vera hluti af KFUM og KFUK hreyfingunni, hvað skammstöfunin merki í raun.
Nálgun mín gagnvart U-inu er að það gefi skilaboð um að við séum enn að þroskast, við séum að læra og við gerum mistök. Ég hef þannig væntingar gagnvart umhverfinu sem ég vinn í að það sé vettvangur fyrir nýsköpun, tilraunir og klúður. Það er nefnilega trú mín að bara þannig lærum við og þroskumst, færumst nær því að verða fulllorðin, sem þó vonandi gerist aldrei. Continue reading U-ið
INTJ
Í náminu mínu í BNA var unnið þónokkuð með persónuleikatýpukenningar. Áhersla var lögð á að slíkar kenningar eru ekki óbrigðular eða endanlegar, heldur geta þeir verið hjálplegar til sjálfskoðunar og ígrundunar. Þegar ég hóf námið var Myers-Briggs málið og allir samnemendur mínir voru flokkaðir í eina af sextán persónuleikatýpum. Continue reading INTJ
Kirkjujarðirnar
Ég hef alltaf ætlað mér að fara í rannsóknarvinnu og skoða hvað liggur raunverulega að baki kirkjujörðunum sem voru settar undir ríkið 1907 og liggja til grundvallar samningi um laun presta og starfsfólks Biskupsstofu frá 1997. Það er hins vegar meira en að segja það að skoða þessi mál, enda virðist losarabragurinn hafa verið mikill í þessum málum langt fram á 20. öldina og jafnvel lengur. Reyndar er einhver aðgreining gerð milli kirkjujarða og ríkisjarða í fasteignabók 1942-1944, en hvað er átt við þar er ekki alveg ljóst. Continue reading Kirkjujarðirnar
Upplifun – ígrundun – reynsla
Ég sat í gær áhugaverða ráðstefnu á menntavísindasviði Háskóla Íslands um útinám. Það var um margt áhugavert að heyra faglegt samtal um þætti sem ég hef tileinkað líf mitt, þar sem notast var við fullkomlega “sekúliserað” orðfæri. Þannig rímaði áherslan á naratívuna og persónulega upplifun ásamt mikilvægi ígrundunar fullkomlega við helstu áherslur í því fræðsluefni sem ég hef unnið að síðustu ár. Þó inntak naratívunnar, upplifuninnar og reynslunnar væri kannski ekki alltaf á hreinu í framsetningu fyrirlesaranna í gær, enda að þeirra mati e.t.v. ekki aðalatriði. Continue reading Upplifun – ígrundun – reynsla
Leadership models
Laura Wacker Stern writes on Duke Divinity Call & Response Blog about Struggling with leadership “effectiveness”.
The leadership models recommend constant evaluation in order to measure the “success” of an event, sermon series, or outreach ministry. From formal congregational surveys to first-time visitor interviews, we are encouraged to build accountability structures into our day-to-day church operations. Such evaluations alone are certainly understandable, yet they can create a narrow, data-driven measurement of success. Increased participation in worship, new professions of faith, and additions to the membership rolls disproportionately define a congregation’s faithfulness to the Gospel.
Hver er trú mín?
Á tölvunni minni hefur núna í marga mánuði verið skjal sem ég rakst á einhvers staðar, en virðist verið upprunið í fermingarfræðslu lúthersks safnaðar í Humboldt, Iowa. Continue reading Hver er trú mín?
Jóhannesarguðspjall 8. kafli
Sagan um hórseku konuna er áhugavert vandamál Nýja testamentisfræðinga. Sagan er augljóslega (að þeirra sögn) viðbót við guðspjallið og máli sínu til stuðnings benda þeir á handrit þar sem sögunni er sleppt eða höfð annars staðar í guðspjallinu. Continue reading Jóhannesarguðspjall 8. kafli
Könnun á leiðtogum í kirkjulegu starfi
Í kringum 2001 gerði ELCA rannsókn á viðhorfi safnaðarfólks til breytinga í söfnuðinum og til leiðtoga. Niðurstöðurnar sem hægt er að nálgast á pdf-formi á vefsíðu ELCA eru um margt áhugaverðar.
Look at Natural Church Development
Rene Erwich gives an overview of the theological implications of the Natural Church Development in an interesting article called Missional churches: identical global ‘plants’ or locally grown ‘flower’?
Plagiarism
In an interview, she said the idea of an author whose singular effort creates an original work is rooted in Enlightenment ideas of the individual. It is buttressed by the Western concept of intellectual property rights as secured by copyright law. But both traditions are being challenged.
from Lines on Plagiarism Blur for Students in the Digital Age – NYTimes.com via Hamma Library.
Ecclesiology and Evaluation
My dissertation is now available on the Theological Research Exchange Network.
Staff Structure in Congregation
I have concluded that “a staff member reports to a committee” is one of those things that you can say in English but that makes no sense. . . . Committees simply cannot supervise paid staff, because they are not present when the work is done, and it is too difficult for them to speak with one voice. A staff member deserves a boss who works at least as many hours a week as he or she does. Others can participate in the evaluation process or in making policies about staff treatment. But a congregation that wants to remain sane will set its staff up as a single team and hold it responsible for sustaining its own working relationships.
via Leading Ideas: A Resource for Church Leaders.
The problem with this thought from “Leading Ideas: A Resource for Church Leaders” is that the only person that fits the description “a boss who works at least as many hours a week as he or she does,” creates a situation in most congregation where the senior pastor is the staff supervisor, which is not necessarily the optimal situation for the senior pastor.
The Religious Landscape in America
Here, I will look at few issues addressed in the book After the Baby Boomers and/or the US Religious Landscape Survey. Those issues caught my attention when I read those originally two years ago, but it is not an attempt to represent either reading, far from it. I decided to write them down randomly as an invitation to further speculations rather than trying grasp them in any fullness. Continue reading The Religious Landscape in America
Contract or Covenant
In When Moses Meets Aaron: Staffing and Supervision in Large Congregations one of the many issues that are addressed is the difference between contract and covenant. The difference between the two can be helpful in addressing employment in the church.
In the book the focus is on employment contract as an utilitarian in orientation, while covenant attempts to protect the least of these. The covenant focuses on protection by the more powerful and cocreation, rather then maximization.
Pastor and Congregation Evaluation
Evaluation of the ministry and the leadership of a congregation is natural and inevitable. Evaluation happens and a carefully designed evaluation process is vital for the health and growth of both pastor and congregation.
This packet is designed to provide an orientation to the delicate art of congregational leadership evaluation. It provides several evaluation tools designed for specific kinds of congregational situations.
via Pastor and Congregation Evaluation Packet.
This is a material from the Mennonite Church in Canada. I have not been able to take a close look at it, but it seems to be worth mentioning here. The “weakness” of this material seems to be the same as with most evaluation models for churches, it focuses mainly on the Leadership and the pastor in particular.
The Alban Institute
If you want to move the world, move a congregation. The Alban Institute was founded in 1974 as a major resource for American congregations facing the challenges of a changing society. While today’s challenges are even more pressing than they were three decades ago, the opportunities have never been clearer for congregations to be vital communities of faith, health, and leadership. Alban stands at the forefront of knowledge and experience regarding congregational vitality and positive trends across denominations and faith traditions. Our work is helping shape the strong congregations of tomorrow.
Beyond Strategic Control: Applying the BSC to a Religious Organization
Kaplan and Norton have provided a framework to link control to an organization’s vision-the balanced scorecard. This approach provides measures in four areas: (1) Customer, (2) Internal Business, (3) Innovation and Learning and (4) Financial. This article provides a starting point in adapting this method to a church by looking at four measurement perspectives: (1) Members/Attenders, (2) Internal Ministry Processes, (3) Ministering, and (4) Innovation and Learning. An example is then developed using a church’s mission and vision.
Maslow’s Pyramid adapted
There are various versions adaptions found of Maslow’s pyramid of needs. On www.businessballs.com is a helpful one with eight-stages, where the highest step is Transcendence. It can be found here on PDF.