District Executive's Page

TJD Home

· Anonymity

· Misinformation & confusion about role

· Evaluations

· Inactive

· Overactive advocates

· Fear of confronting congregation & minister

· Too much focus on what’s wrong & ignoring what’s right

· Criticisms about past recognitions

· Naysayers

· Transitions

· Better communication

· Differences in words & meanings

· Differences between secrets& confidentiality

· Exist to criticize or be an advocate

· How to use Com properly & lack of role clarification

· Nit picking evaluations & developing discernable & measurable objectives

· What to do about anonymous complaints?

· What is the complaint – the specifics?

· What is the procedure to follow?

· Who made the complaint?

· How to avoid triangulation?

· How do you document, research, background the complaint?

· What are possible solutions, if any?

· How to bring about compromise?

· What if complaint concerns, or is brought by a member of the committee?

· How to educate the congregation, board & minister effectively?

· How to teach difference between minister & ministry?

· How does COM self educate?

· How to differentiate between old Ministerial Relations Committee Model & new COM model?

· How to change language?

· What means of communication exist?

· What happens if congregation & minister don’t agree on COM definition?

· How does new COM become effective quickly?

Processing of Questions:

· Evaluate, change if needed. Mission statement by congregation

· Does shared ministry appear?

· If not, explain what shared minister is – why not?

· Letter of agreement between congregation & minister includes shared ministry

· Why have a congregation s/b in mission statement

· Develop role clarification between minister & shared ministry

· define overlap – gaps

· Evaluation of organizational structure eg Sunday services, caring & sharing

· Identify existing areas of shared ministry to help shift paradigm

· One COM per congregation regardless of # of ministers

· Define secrecy vs confidentiality

· Can we understand difference with examples?

· Why are secrets detrimental?

· When & why is confidentiality necessary?

· When & why (under what circumstances) would confidentiality be broken? With whom?

· What place does confidentiality play between minister & board president?

Processing of Questions:

Secrecy

· avoid truth

· outside proper process

· deception – distrust

· focus on end – justify conspiracy

· protect truth

· protects people, within in process – concern for feelings, harm to others

· does create power dynamic some not appropriate to know – confidential information

· respect UU principles – worth

Need to educate to value of confidentiality sometimes best for entire congregation not to know details

Need trust between personnel & COM

· Do we have it?

· Do we want it – in every area

· What are boundaries between shared ministry and PM

· What does success look like in SM?

· How do we measure it?

· How do we set up smart objectives ie Specific, Measurable, attainable, time limited objectives?

· Processing of above:

· Go to each Committee

· Educate that each job in ministry

· Get Goals of Committees that are Specific, Measurable, attainable, time limited objectives?

· Measure/evaluate – Do it better next year

· Where to start?

· Define COM (what it is and what it is not)

· Why is COM needed?

· How is COM supported/incorporated into church structure?

· What are COM duties? How often does COM meet? Chair roles? Length of service/tenure/appointment, process?)

· Ministers role

· What is COM process? (internal problem resolution)

· Congregational town meeting

· Board of Trustees/Minister