Core Leadership Team Nominations

The time has come to begin taking nominations for the new slate of Core Leaders.  Active members of the church are invited to send an email to clt@jwchurch.org to nominate themselves or another for this leadership team. During the month of April, as your Senior Pastor, I will lead candidate interviews accompanied by other current CLT members.  I will present the qualified candidates to the current CLT in early May.  A final slate of candidates will be presented to the church in mid-May leading up to the annual Church Conference on May 21. Members gathering at the Church Conference will approve the slate of candidates who will take office July 1, 2023.

The CLT needs your help to find candidates to interview for this important team in our church.  The following information provided will help you decide whether you fit as a candidate or another active member.  The Clergy Staff (3 Pastors) are a part of the CLT.  The Clergy Staff are always a part of the team unless unemployed by the church.  

Summary of responsibilities:

• Managing the church on God's behalf.
• According to His agenda.
• According to His purposes.

What this entails practically:

• Core Leaders act as the guardrails of the organization.
• Core Leaders are the backstop of the organization. If everything goes off the rails, they help us determine what to do in a crisis.  
• Core Leaders help make organizational decisions that serve the church in how it fulfills the mission.
• Core Leaders are the Board of Directors of John Wesley Methodist Church.

WHAT WE LOOK FOR IN CORE LEADERS

• Involved members - Involved in the life of the church: serving regularly in a ministry area, giving generously, and connecting in a small group.
• Act as shepherds and stewards -  (1) Lead themselves well and (2) steward God’s church.
• Demonstrates strong personal faith in Jesus - Live daily asking (1) “Do I live out God’s purpose and grace in my daily life?” (2) "Is my life a witness to our church and its mission?”
• Great maturity and discernment - Shows maturity and discernment in decision making, and is not in a rush or in a hurry.
• Agenda free -  Leads with God’s agenda and the JW agenda w/out personal compromise.
• Courageous - Ready to take risks, but not in a foolish way
• Chemistry - Ability to have harmony with the existing Core Leaders and the Senior Pastor.
• Engagement in JW mission - leading a small group, ministry, or involved in a shepherding role.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CORE LEADERS

• Available
• Humble
• Listener
• Knows how to ask good questions
• Spiritual Maturity

CORE LEADERS DO NOT:

• Direct or make programming decisions
• Oversee day-to-day operations  (That is the role of the clergy, pastors, & staff.)
• Inspect - They don't walk around on Sunday checking environments or people. Core Leaders should be serving on Sunday mornings or during weekly programming.
• Hiring/firing employees
• Watch staff - When there are issues in the church/with the staff, they don't go into the staff's offices and give their thoughts.
• Discipline - Core Leaders do not function in the role of church discipline of members.

CORE LEADERS DO:

• Support the Mission 
• Budget the resources of the organization
• Oversee the theology of the organization along w/ the Pastors
• Serve in a similar role to a Board of Directors.
• Hold the Pastor accountable - The Lead Pastor is accountable to the Core Leaders and the pastor has given them permission to hold him/her accountable.
• Delegate leadership to the Pastor - If there is an issue with middle school or group life, they don't go to that ministry director, they go to the Lead Pastor and have given him/her the authority to run the organization as he/she sees fit under the canopy of their authority.
• Final say - In most matters, the Core Leaders have the final say concerning the overall direction of the church. Core Leaders are not expected to oversee the day-to-day operations of the church (the day-to-day operations are the responsibility of the Clergy, Pastors & Staff).
• Activated: They are often serving in some kind of discipleship, shepherding or reach ministry within the church.

4 CHARGES TO CORE LEADERS

1. Stay sensitive to Christ's agenda for His church.  Tip: Stay personally involved in ministry.
2. Question to ask: "How can we stay personally involved in the ministry of the church?"2. Be alert and sensitive to anything that can distract us from the vision & mission.  Tip: Continue to connect, grow and activate. Use the invest and invite model of evangelism.  
3. Live a life with the moral authority necessary to influence this organization.
4. Be fueled by the mission and the values.  Tip:  Stay focused on the Core Values in accomplishing the mission.

ASSISTING THE PASTOR
One of the biggest roles of Core Leaders is supporting the Lead Pastor. We have found it helpful if Core Leaders ask the following questions to JW Pastor:

1. "What can I do to help you?"
2. "What can I do to serve you?"

Along with asking the above questions, Core Leaders also help the JW Pastors by:

• Praying for them on a regular basis
• Serving and supporting them
• Owning and guarding the mission, vision, and model
• Understanding that the church is staff-led and Core Leader-guided (by mission/vision/values).

COMMITMENT 

• 1 Year Term
• 1 Monthly 2-3 hour meeting
• As assigned

COMMITMENTS FOR TEAMWORK:

• When there is a gap between what I expected and what I experienced, I will fill it with trust.
• When other people assume the worst about you, I will come to your defense.
• If what I experience begins to erode my trust, I will come directly to you about it.
• The role of leadership is to leverage the tension to the benefit of the organization.
• We enable more growth and foster healthiness by eliminating problems.

TEAM BREAKDOWN
1. Senior Pastor  — Serves on MLT (Chair), PPT & FT
2. Executive Pastor — Serves on MLT, PTT, FT, & ET
3. Reach Pastor — Serves on MLT & Mission Team
4. Chairperson — Serves on MLT & Endowment
5. Pastoral Personnel Team Chair — Serves on MLT
6. Property Trustee Team Chair — Serves on MLT
7. Finance Team Chair — Serves on MLT
8. Endowment Team Chair — Serves on FT
9. At Large — Missions — Serves on MLT & Missions Team
10. At Large — School — Serves on MLT & School Board
11. At Large — Spiritual — Serves on MLT
12. At Large — Spiritual — Serves on MLT
13. At Large — Long Range Planning — Serves on MLT
14. At Large — Generosity — Serves on MLT & FT
15. At Large — Groups — Serves on MLT

TEAM KEY:
MLT — Ministry Leadership Team (formerly Church Council)
PTT — Property Trustees Team
FT — Finance Team
ET — Endowment Team

*** The assigning of CLT members to be the rep. to a team (especially the Missions Team and School Board) will be made in full cooperation with the Reach Pastor, Chair of the Missions Team and the Director of JWCS. The final slate of nominated members of the CLT who relate to the previously mentioned ministries will be a cooperative decision with the Sr. Pastor.

APPOINTMENT AND TERMS OF SERVICE
The Core Leadership Team will be appointed every year at the annual Church Conference. This requires a 50% approval by the bar of active members present at the Church Conference. A slate of possible appointees will be nominated by the membership of the church and finalized by the current CLT. Each CLT will serve a one year term to be renewed with a 50% approval at the annual Church Conference. A CLT member can be appointed to five 1-year terms. In order for a previous member to be reappointed to the CLT they must serve a 1-year absence. Clergy are classified as Executive Level on the CLT. The Clergy never roll off the CLT while employed by JWMC.

POTENTIAL CORE LEADER READING LIST:

• "7 Practices of Effective Ministry"
• “The Butler Way”
• “Questions God Asks Us”