If you missed our first post on regional associations please check it out here.

In this post we are going to discuss the first “C” to help regional associations (Episcopal Dioceses, Conferences, Synods, Presbyteries) move out of scarcity and tunnel vision and into slack mode, allowing for clarity of purpose and clear alignment. This first “C” is Clarity. There are a few contextual definitions of clarity but for our purposes we are looking at organizational clarity.

In Ann Latham’s book “The Power of Clarity” she writes: 

Clarity requires knowing, with specificity, what you are trying to accomplish, how and with whom, and with the ability to focus so you can be successful. Harnessing the power of clarity, does not just involve the way you communicate, it also involves the way you think and interact.

While this definition is business-focused in nature the same is true for regional associations. We must have this type of clarity to do what God is calling us to do as the church. 

The Landscape assessment allows responders to reflect on the work of their regional association. When over 40,000 people in the data base are asked where they would like their regional association leadership to put energy in the future, we see three consistent top priorities:

  1. Take a leadership role with churches that are struggling
  2. Equip clergy and other leaders in congregations with strategies to enable them to reach new members
  3. Develop a discernment process to rethink how to be a vital church in their specific region. 

The mandate is resoundingly clear – congregations need help, resources, and wisdom. This type of work can only happen if the regional association has clarity around what needs accomplished and how we are going to get that done. And none of that clarity can occur without alignment.

The Why 

Over a decade ago, Simon Sinek wrote the book “Start with Why.” Sinek frames out his Golden Circle theory examining what inspires action and drives leadership success. The Golden Circle comprises three components: Why, How, and What. The Golden Circle helps any organization better understand why they do what they do. Most regional associations get mired in the “What” – the list of all the programming, committees to do tasks, and meeting agendas they have. Sometimes there is clarity around the “How” – what makes what we do unique and important. But the “Why” is often where we need clarity.

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Over the years of running assessments and conducting listening sessions in regional associations across the country, one thing is very clear. Too frequently, even people who are very engaged in the work of the regional association cannot clearly name the why of its existence. If we can’t name the why for the existence of something we begin to question why it is needed. 

A regional association must be able to name clearly its purpose. It must be able to answer why should anyone, usually congregations it was built to support, care about the work of the regional association? So, the why has to answer the question why do we exist and what is our stated purpose.

It important to remember that creating a nebulous and overreaching “why” is not going to engage people or help staff know how to align their work. A regional association who shares that their purpose is to convert the world to Christ is not truly thinking about their why but is instead overreaching, and failing to acknowledge the top reasons that congregations even care about the work of the system. Perhaps even more concerning, this is also not a measurable why. How could a staff person determine if the work they are doing is converting the world without clear numbers of how many conversions, in how many places, within a set period of time? And is count data really what will engage the system? 

Clarity allows for a why that “taps into the part of the listener’s brain that influences behavior, making it a powerful tool for inspiring and motivating others.” How Great Leaders Inspire Action: Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle, July 2023, Meridan University MBA. For a regional association the why needs to examine why do we matter to the churches we serve and what do we need to do exceptionally well to do that work?

The What and How 

Once that clarity happens alignment is then created with the Why. And the question becomes, with each step, if the behavior exhibited in the work of the regional association was replicated in the churches we are serving would it move them toward or away from our purpose of creating healthy, vital congregations? 

With this clarity, the what and how center around the why so that we are not just doing work because it is on a checklist, we are evolving, adapting and remaining relevant. We can say yes when alignment is clear and no when it is not. Staff structures and committees continue to clarify their purpose so we can ensure the structures and assignments make sense for the work ahead. This is how we begin to diminish burn-out in our staff and committees and can look at gift discernment, having the right people in the right places. 

There is nothing simple about this. It is hard work. But it is work worth doing in this season for regional associations supporting congregations. This work creates a culture that renews the mind, empowers leaders, rewards collaboration, and is authentic. That is the type of culture that makes people want to engage and leads to the very thing God is calling us to be, transformed.

Romans 12:2: Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.