Question: 1. Select a leadership-needy ministry or church. The church or ministry may be one that you participate in, or one in your community. Evaluate the ministry for the following strengths and weaknesses:
• Describe the major paradigms in operation at the church, which seem to govern the shape and form of the ministry - what makes it "tick?" What are the origins of these paradigms? Are they shaped by the people, the local culture, a denominational culture, or other internal or external factors? Are they associated with church forms for ministry that produce an associated strength or weakness for the church or ministry?
• Note the formal core directives that are in place for the ministry or church - does the church have a written vision, purpose or mission statement? Does the church have written core values? Are these core directives written out? Do they seem to exist on paper only, or are they actively being worked out in the ministry, guiding its form and direction?
• Describe to communication of core directives within the church or ministry - does the leadership communicate them to the people in the ministry? Do the people know what the core directives are? How do they communicate the church or ministries core directives?
• How does the church or ministry mobilize people to serve in fulfilling its core directives? Does the church or ministry have sufficient human resources and sufficient financial resources to carry out its core directives? What percentage of the people associated with the ministry are actually participating in the work of that ministry? What is the attitude of the people working within the ministry - are they tired, inspired, worn out, or on fire to serve?
• Does the ministry or church have a strategic planning mechanism which guides and focuses the human and financial resources it has toward the fulfillment of its core directives? Are the goals and associated strategies written down and/or communicated to those working within the ministry? How are they communicated? How are they updated? How efficiently are they directing the focus of church or ministry resources?
2. In a reflective paper of 7 - 10 pages, evaluate the church or ministry you have chosen by answering as many of the questions listed above as possible. If the church or ministry is one where you have major responsibilities in leadership, interview others in the ministry (other leaders and members/participants) to collect data to answer these questions objectively. If the church or ministry is one in the community, for which you have no direct leadership responsibility, your answers should be based on interviews with key leaders and participants in that ministry.
3. You may decide to use the ministry or church chosen to be the subject of your post-session assignment, acting in the role of a ministry consultant. If the ministry or church is not one where you have major leadership responsibility, you must secure written permission from a key leader to use the church or ministry as the subject of this consulting work. You may also choose to change the name of the church or ministry, as well as its leadership and participants, for the purposes of this assignment, to protect their privacy
4. Turn in your written reflection paper for this assignment by email on Saturday, OCTOBER 24, 2014, through the "Assignment Tool" in Blackboard. Bring a copy of the paper to class with you, as it will be used in group discussion within the class, and as a backdrop for class lecture and discussion.
5. Be ready to comment and discuss the particulars of your ministry or church focus in class during the lecture and discussion time.