Post by Vicki L. Hall on Feb 3, 2009 14:51:14 GMT -5
Friends, because of the speed with which participants are wrapping up their work these days, we are understandably running into some confusion about what a good ILE looks like.
Below, please find the exact kind of form your ILE needs to be in and the exact kind of tone it needs to take. In other words, For an ILE you need to find a ministry experience in which you were totally thrown out of your comfort zone and left wondering what in the world just happened - but not in a good way. In other words, it's key that you're not the heroine/hero of the piece. Rather we need something that truly left you stumped, without immediate emotional and/or intellectual recourse. Something that left you anxious, shocked, depressed or angry. Something that took you out of your comfort zone, but which, as you processed, when you began writing the ILE, you could then see provided you critical insights into how the system operates. That kind of ILE can then be the foundation for a good teleconference where another participant and myself can further the learnings available from the critical incident.
Here's the example from your manual:
Integrative Learning Experience
Chris Claus
What I want to learn:
I want to test my call to interim Ministry in general and I want to find ways to continue and finish the ministry with Fireproof Church.
The experience:
I began my ministry at Fireproof, a mid-sized church in the Texas panhandle following an unintentional interim by a young female seminary graduate. He predecessor, “Ben Brown,” had retired after 14 years. He lives in the community and worships at
Fireproof. I had asked the governing body for past annual reports and newsletters. This was my first governing body meeting and I had sent out the agenda ahead of time.
Observations:
At the time of the first governing body meeting, Whitney Winer, a long-term member of the church, pulled out a well-worn KJV Bible and read: “Remember them which have rule over you, who have spoken unto you the Word of God: whose faith follow, consider the end of their conversation. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today, and forever. Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines.” (Heb. 13:7-9a) Whitney closed the Bible and closed with the Cattleman’s Prayer. One line said it all. “I rekon I’m prayin’ for a way of life I don’t want to see go down the drain.” Whitney told me that, “this might help you understand how we do things around here.” The governing body agenda of discussing ways to move into the future was immediately sabotaged. Sidney chimed in with, “Yay, Rev Ben never needed old reports to be a good Pastor. All we need is someone to marry and bury us and baptize our kids.” Teddy said, “In all my years as Treasurer, no one had ever questioned his competence.” Kim said, “Rev. Claus needs to know what happened in the past so we can talk about it and not repeat mistakes made with Rev. Sally.” Leslie said that no mistakes had been made with Rev. Sally – she made all the mistakes and was good she had moved on. Morgan never said a word. I felt blasted from all sides. The board meeting became a conflagration that was never brought under control. There has been a back draft of resistance ever since.
Learning:
I think I could have done a better job of joining the system. The culture is not built on paper reports, but on the storytelling and I had not listened to enough of their story to find entry points for change. Viewed from hindsight, I probably should have asked Whitney if I could trade turns for devotions and done them by myself. That might have set a better tone for the meeting. The meeting did reveal the resisters and the one officer who is open to change. I wish I had “ditched” the agenda and simply asked them to tell me their favorite story of being in the church and their most painful.
Theological Implications:
I believe the Good News was abused in this situation. Whitney’s use of the Bible and prayer to advance an agenda for the status quo was inexcusable. My sin is that I did not protect the Gospel from such misuse, not did I take appropriate control of the meeting. I didn’t trust God enough to change my focus on the future to the present fear, anger, and perhaps even faithlessness of parishioners. I think the story of the Golden Calf in the Wilderness of Sinai would describe the situation at Fireproof. They are taking the “gold” of the past and melting it down in the fire of a false altar in order to worship it. When Moses confronted them, he expressed anger, ordered a purge of the people, and went back to God and interceded in prayer for them. I don’t find much, if any, good news in this situation.
Integrative Link:
I thought interim ministry would be service the people would welcome and that I would be appreciated for the new ideas I could bring. I had a good plan for Fireproof. The level of resistance puzzles me and I’m wondering if I’ve missed something important to my work and their work as a congregation in transition. I’m frankly not sure how to proceed with the congregation and I’m not even sure I’m suited for interim ministry.
Below, please find the exact kind of form your ILE needs to be in and the exact kind of tone it needs to take. In other words, For an ILE you need to find a ministry experience in which you were totally thrown out of your comfort zone and left wondering what in the world just happened - but not in a good way. In other words, it's key that you're not the heroine/hero of the piece. Rather we need something that truly left you stumped, without immediate emotional and/or intellectual recourse. Something that left you anxious, shocked, depressed or angry. Something that took you out of your comfort zone, but which, as you processed, when you began writing the ILE, you could then see provided you critical insights into how the system operates. That kind of ILE can then be the foundation for a good teleconference where another participant and myself can further the learnings available from the critical incident.
Here's the example from your manual:
Integrative Learning Experience
Chris Claus
What I want to learn:
I want to test my call to interim Ministry in general and I want to find ways to continue and finish the ministry with Fireproof Church.
The experience:
I began my ministry at Fireproof, a mid-sized church in the Texas panhandle following an unintentional interim by a young female seminary graduate. He predecessor, “Ben Brown,” had retired after 14 years. He lives in the community and worships at
Fireproof. I had asked the governing body for past annual reports and newsletters. This was my first governing body meeting and I had sent out the agenda ahead of time.
Observations:
At the time of the first governing body meeting, Whitney Winer, a long-term member of the church, pulled out a well-worn KJV Bible and read: “Remember them which have rule over you, who have spoken unto you the Word of God: whose faith follow, consider the end of their conversation. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today, and forever. Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines.” (Heb. 13:7-9a) Whitney closed the Bible and closed with the Cattleman’s Prayer. One line said it all. “I rekon I’m prayin’ for a way of life I don’t want to see go down the drain.” Whitney told me that, “this might help you understand how we do things around here.” The governing body agenda of discussing ways to move into the future was immediately sabotaged. Sidney chimed in with, “Yay, Rev Ben never needed old reports to be a good Pastor. All we need is someone to marry and bury us and baptize our kids.” Teddy said, “In all my years as Treasurer, no one had ever questioned his competence.” Kim said, “Rev. Claus needs to know what happened in the past so we can talk about it and not repeat mistakes made with Rev. Sally.” Leslie said that no mistakes had been made with Rev. Sally – she made all the mistakes and was good she had moved on. Morgan never said a word. I felt blasted from all sides. The board meeting became a conflagration that was never brought under control. There has been a back draft of resistance ever since.
Learning:
I think I could have done a better job of joining the system. The culture is not built on paper reports, but on the storytelling and I had not listened to enough of their story to find entry points for change. Viewed from hindsight, I probably should have asked Whitney if I could trade turns for devotions and done them by myself. That might have set a better tone for the meeting. The meeting did reveal the resisters and the one officer who is open to change. I wish I had “ditched” the agenda and simply asked them to tell me their favorite story of being in the church and their most painful.
Theological Implications:
I believe the Good News was abused in this situation. Whitney’s use of the Bible and prayer to advance an agenda for the status quo was inexcusable. My sin is that I did not protect the Gospel from such misuse, not did I take appropriate control of the meeting. I didn’t trust God enough to change my focus on the future to the present fear, anger, and perhaps even faithlessness of parishioners. I think the story of the Golden Calf in the Wilderness of Sinai would describe the situation at Fireproof. They are taking the “gold” of the past and melting it down in the fire of a false altar in order to worship it. When Moses confronted them, he expressed anger, ordered a purge of the people, and went back to God and interceded in prayer for them. I don’t find much, if any, good news in this situation.
Integrative Link:
I thought interim ministry would be service the people would welcome and that I would be appreciated for the new ideas I could bring. I had a good plan for Fireproof. The level of resistance puzzles me and I’m wondering if I’ve missed something important to my work and their work as a congregation in transition. I’m frankly not sure how to proceed with the congregation and I’m not even sure I’m suited for interim ministry.
