Rethinking Sunday Morning

for Faith Formation

Rolf Jacobson

Luther Seminary

Rolf Jacobson

Email

rjacobso@luthersem.edu

Rolf Jacobsen

Late Poet

Laureate

of

Norway

“Seminaries, like all professional schools, are houses of best

practices. They pass on the best practices for ministry to the next

generation of leaders. The

problem is, we no longer

know what the best

practices are.”

Dan Aleshire, Exec Dir,

Assoc. of Theological Schools

“Pastor as Replacement Part”

Three-Zone Model

of Leadership

from The

Missional Leader,

Roxburgh and

Romanuk

Organizational Life CycleAlan Roxburgh & Fred Romanuk, The Missional Leader, Jossey Bass, 2006

Organizational Beginning

Emergent Leadership – New Actions

Green

Zone

Pioneering

Organization

Green Zone Characteristics

1. Loose coalitions drawn by pursuit of elusive

dream that seems out of reach.

2. Tight, focused shared vision.

3. High levels of social interaction.

4. Org life informal, ad hoc.

5. People are usually all generalists.

6. New environments.

7. An absence of hierarchies.

8. Excel in ambiguous environments with

multiple challenges.

9. Learn to be continually adaptive.

10.Strategy not linear but emerges.

Organizational Institutionalization

Performative Organization and Leadership

Blue Zone

Performative

Organization

Blue Zone Characteristics:

1.Structured Corporate Organization

2.Large-scale displaces ‘just-in-time”.

3.Specialization of roles and programs

4.Focus is on ability to perform

5.Org hierarchies displace loose teams.

6.Run by the experts

7.Loss of overall, shared vision

8.Lowering levels of social interaction

9.Rationalized planning replaces

emergent planning

Organizational Decline

Reactive Leadership and Regulative Agency

Organizational Crisis

Confusion and Bridging Leadership

Red Zone

Regulatory

Agency

Red Zone Characteristics

1. Highly anxiety, anger at leaders.

2. Silos.

3. Battles on secondary issues.

4. Constitutions/operations manuals

to assert control.

5. Emotionally/physically opt.

6. Leaders resign.

7.Work harder at the dominant

habits and actions

8. Crisis

“Seminaries, like all professional schools, are houses of best

practices. They pass on the best practices for ministry to the next

generation of leaders. The

problem is, we no longer

know what the best

practices are.”

Dan Aleshire, Exec Dir,

Assoc. of Theological Schools

Asking the Right Question

Butts and Bucks?

Active Member?

Elements of Sunday Morning

• Worship

• Music

• Liturgy

• Sacraments

• Preaching

• Education

• Fellowship

• Hospitality/Welcome

Augsburg Confession

1 God 2 Sin

3 Jesus Son

of God

4 Justifica-

tion by Faith

5 Ministry

Augsburg Article 5

That we may obtain this faith, the Ministry of

Teaching the Gospel and administering the

Sacraments was instituted. For through the Word

and Sacraments, as through instruments, the

Holy Ghost is given, who works faith; where and

when it pleases God, in them that hear the

Gospel, to wit, that God, not for our own merits,

but for Christ's sake, justifies those who believe

that they are received into grace for Christ's

sake.

Worship

God at Work, David Miller

Liturgy

Preaching: Planful and Engaged

The Word: The Narrative Lectionary

• Narrativelectionary.org

• Joy Moore: “preachers [do not] convey to listeners the overarching story depicted in Christian Scripture as narrated from Genesis through Revelation."

Education

• Why Sunday?

• Wednesday?

Fellowship

• Is Fellowship church too?

• Smalkald Articles: “The mutual conversation and consolation of the saints.”