TRUSTED LEADERS

Even though I prefer to speak more in terms of "us together" when referring to Waterloo members and staff, I'm going to use some We/You language here, simply to differentiate between the two groups. I just want to point that out in order to be clear that your Pastors are NOT in support of an "us vs. them" culture, so please don't take the following in that spirit.

That said, here's what you (we?) had to say about Leadership in our church survey... Take a look, then drop some Qs or thoughts in the Comments box below!

 

Q: I am convinced my leaders pray and wait on the Lord before making decisions for our church.

A: 4.14 out of 5

Comments:

It seems that overall, you highly trust your leaders' practice of praying over each decision. We're super glad to hear that, because it's the truth! We pray before making decisions, we pray while making decisions, and we pray while acting on those decisions! And we covet your prayers for us!

 

Q: I believe my leaders want to make the best spiritual decisions for me and my family.

A: 4.40 out of 5

Comments:

You indicated that you believe your leaders want what's best. We definitely do! When we say we exist to Connect People to Jesus, this is part of what we mean. Being connect to the Family of God is a first step in thriving and flourishing as a believer and a person. As spiritual leaders, we are tasked with making the best decisions possible for everyone we are called to shepherd.

 

Q: My leaders move too quickly incorporating change.

A: 2.88 out of 5

Comments:

We're split fairly evenly here. Judging from the comments, several are happy with the pace and others are not so comfortable. Obviously our goal is for everyone to be on board with any change, and we're working on our communication to try to help with that! You can help by watching for announcements, reading newsletters/emails/texts, and participating in church-wide meetings. I really believe we can work together to stay on the same page!

 

Q: I regularly lift up our church leadership to the Lord in prayer.

A: 3.95 out of 5

Comments:

We thank you! Our church spends a healthy amount of time supporting its leaders in prayer. Is it greedy to ask you to pray even more? We'll take it!

We can't hope to serve our church family without God's guidance. God responds to your prayers for us, and we covet those deeply.

 

Q: I have great trust in the leaders of our church.

A: 4.13 out of 5

Comments:

This is a humbling number. Most of our church trusts the leaders. And speaking on behalf of your Ministry Staff, I can tell you we don't take that lightly. 2 Timothy and Titus give a brief glimpse into the responsibility a spiritual leader carries; we constantly try to shepherd humbly, gratefully, and carefully, knowing we have to give an account for your spiritual formation!

 

Q: I support our church leaders by having conversations directly with them whenever I have a concern.

A: 3.92 out of 5

Comments:

It's always the right thing to speak directly with someone with whom you disagree (Matthew 5:23); it's probably never the right thing to talk about them with someone else first. I know each and every one of us on staff is available to you and open to hear your feedback. I encourage you to reach out if you have an issue - we can't fix what we don't know about, and we'd love to have the chance to make it right!

 

Q: What blind spots do you see among our church leadership? How might we correct those?

Some of your comments:

"I think our church leaders move with wisdom and are prayerful about decisions made for our church."

"I feel like (sometimes) we look at the big picture more than the pathway to the big picture."

"Regular communication...helps dispel concerns and criticism."

"I think people are starting to get a little lost in the middle with how big the church is growing (and growth is a good thing)."

"Some decisions have been made without allowing for the body to have input."

"We need more female representation."

"Our church has much to be grateful for concerning our leaders. Much is performed quite well by faithful people."

"...It feels like we are trying to be bigger than we really are."

"...WRBC has a solid vision and consistently refers back to its mission, which is encouraging."

 

Q: Regarding TRUSTED LEADERS, what else would you like us to know?

Some of your responses:

"Our leaders make this the smoothest-running church that I have ever attended."

"Communication from our leaders has gotten better over the last few months."

"I trust that church leaders are doing what they see as best and I am consistently in prayer regarding my responses to you and praying for you."

"I think our leaders are doing a great job but I don't tell them that enough."

"I believe our church leadership is working very hard to grow and nurture our church. I do have some concerns about changes made in the past year pushing volunteers to the limit."

"I...want to acknowledge that I have not done a good job of communicating with y'all when I have had issues...I will strive to do better at (that)."

GOING DEEPER

What are your thoughts? How would you respond to some of the feedback above? What questions does this bring to mind? How can we do better at trusting each other?

We want to hear from you! Fill up the Comments below!

Blessings, brothers and sisters - we love you!

Pastor Ron