The valuing process is also used to help people put the dagger of constructive criticism back in its scabbard. Have you ever noticed that the term " constructive criticism " is generally used by the criticizer and even when solicited often leaves you feeling stabbed rather than inspired to make changes? In contrast, we have continually found that a valuing process provides the inspiration to make continual improvement in the direction of increasing value. In this process we do not avoid problems. Rather we seek to establish a mindset that enables solutions to be discovered, for we have also found that problems cannot be resolved from the mindset that created them. Likewise we do not gloss over poor performance, rather we are seeking to create an environment that will energize performance in the direction of enhancing value.

Below is a comparison of the questions that are traditionally asked in Mutual Ministry Reviews and in a Mutual Ministry Valuations.

Comparison of Traditional and Valuing Ministry Reviews

Parish Goal: To revitalize and re-energize the 10:00 am worship service.

Analysis of the Methodology

The traditional method is vulnerable to a wide variety of responses that may or may not be helpful in either celebrating accomplishments or in planning for the future. If the worship has been revitalized the review will probably be positive and may lead to some helpful information and enthusiasm to continue the worship development. On the other hand if very little has been accomplished, even if much effort has been expended the review is likely to result in blaming and judgment of those supposedly responsible for the failure. The two subsequent questions of the rector and vestry are also likely to provide focus for the blame and lead to defensiveness. In this environment little energy will be found to create inspiring worship in the future. The subsequent changes that are made to reach the goal will in all probability fail because they are made from a motivation of defensiveness and fear to avoid further judgment rather than a loving desire to provide inspiring worship.

In contrast the valuing approach seeks to discover those times when the worship has been inspiring. Even if the performance has been poor and the goal largely unmet the people are focusing their attention on the desired goal and discovering even the rare occasions when it has occurred. At the same time these instances, even if few in number, are providing valuable information on what needs to be done in order for parishioners to be inspired in their worship.

Beyond the simple gathering of information the telling of stories in the valuing process enables a congregation to hold in their corporate consciousness examples of how they function at their best. This corporate consciousness of valued best experiences is the fertile ground upon which the Spirit of God can grow the future church.

Diocesan Coaches are available to assist in developing mutual ministry valuation resources. We do not provide a “canned " process as we have found that the valuing process needs to be tailored to the specific needs of the congregation. We do however offer the following recommendations for those engaged in a review and valuing of a congregation's ministry. Most of these recommendations also apply to more traditional ministry reviews.

Things to Consider When Conducting a Mutual Ministry Valuation

1.    A ministry that is valued will be easily sustained whereas a ministry that is not valued will wither and die.

2.    An MMV is not a performance appraisal of the pastor or priest, it is the valuing of the entire congregation's ministry.

3.    For clergy seeking to review and develop their personal ministry we recommend a coaching model that provides opportunity for 360 degree assessment and ministry development goals. Please refer to the coaching page for more information on innovative strategies for personal and professional growth.

4.    MMVs or ministry reviews are not a method of conflict resolution. While MMVs can be conducted amidst creative tensions, they do require a degree of trust and acceptance and are entirely inappropriate when factions within a congregation are seeking the removal of personnel.

5.    When conducting MMVs it is preferable to use a neutral third person as a facilitator. One of our goals is to train parish clergy in the appreciative philosophy and process so that they may provide MMV facilitation for each other within their dioceses or regions.

6.    If you plan on using a facilitator involve them in the entire planning and process and not just in the final review of the findings.

7.    The most effective MMVs occur after a clear set of goals, with plans for accomplishing the goals, time lines and mutual expectations have been clearly articulated to the entire congregation.

8.    The most damaging ministry reviews occur when there are none or poorly articulated goals and plans. In these instances ministry reviews are too vague to be helpful or are potential conflict igniters when they degenerate into a blaming game for poor performance.

9.    If the congregation doesn't have a well articulated mission and strategic plan rather than trying to conduct an MMV we recommend that the parish engage in a strategic planning process. We have found that a parish wide appreciative inquiry process to be an effective method of developing both the mission and the commitment and enthusiasm to carry it out. Please see the Appreciative Inquiry pages for more details.

10. The questions you ask will determine the answers you get.
Some questions just shouldn't be asked. For example: Consider a congregational survey question in which the parishioners are asked: "In the past year when has the Pastor not been available to you?" This question will never allow discovery of how available or compassionate the Pastor has been. Even the most available pastor in the universe will fail this test. A much better question is the positive one: "In the past year when has the Pastor been available to you?" Even if the pastor has been rarely available to the congregation the positive question enables the people to gather the examples of availability and then they can ask. "Now, what do we need to do so that the Pastor can do more of the things that enable him or her to be available?"

11. Ask questions that help you discover what needs to be accomplished and not why something wasn't accomplished. Seek to catalogue valuable accomplishments rather than failures, for the failures generally will only tell us what not to do but will not necessarily inform us what to do.

12. Just conducting a survey and tabulating the results is not an MMV. The results are only important in as much as they help a congregation hold in mutual consciousness the things that are valuable about belonging to the congregation. Mutual story telling is more effective than surveys for changing congregational mindsets.

13. Effective Ministry will result in enjoyable MMVs and lead to a whole lot of celebrating and thanksgiving. Compare the seventy returning to Jesus after being sent out on mission. Lk.10:1-24

4. Natural Church Development

Natural Church Development is a way of understanding church health and growth that views the church as a living organism. The focus is not on numerical growth, but on improving the health of the church, with the understanding–impressively documented by research–that when a church is sufficiently healthy, numerical growth will follow.

Christian Schwarz, head of the Institute for Church Development in Germany, developed NCD.  After years of studying churches in Germany, he conducted a worldwide study in an attempt to find the principles of healthy and growing churches that would be true across cultures and regardless of theological persuasion.

His concept is based on the belief that the church is an organism and that God's principles for growth in the church should be similar to growth and health in other parts of creation.  It is not based on natural theology—that somehow we can know God or God's ways apart from Jesus Christ.  Rather, it takes into account the processes of nature as it looks at how churches grow naturally. His terminology is sometimes unusual because it is based on these natural growth principles.

A Definition

Schwarz defines natural church development as "releasing the growth automatisms, by which God himself grows his church". "Automatism" is a transliteration from the Greek word translated as "all by itself" in Mark 4:28 (New International Version). The concept is that, in nature, given the right conditions, plants grow "with no apparent cause" other than what God has built into that plant. Schwarz believes that in churches, as well as in plants, God has programmed into their genetic code the qualities that will make them healthy and allow them to grow. The key is that we as human leaders must learn how we may best cooperate with what God is already doing. Schwarz claims to have discovered the principles of natural church development from three sources: 1) empirical research, 2) observing nature, and 3) studying Scripture, with the Scripture being the final arbiter of truth. Throughout his ministry years, he has been interested in church growth. That interest led him to study materials produced by leaders in the church growth movement. He also studied at the School of World Mission at Fuller Theological Seminary. He became somewhat disillusioned with many of the "principles" espoused by this movement, however. He noted that many of them were based on case studies of one or only a few model churches (and often very large churches). He concluded that principles should be drawn from looking at many model churches—different sizes, in different cultures, in a variety of contexts (both in freedom and under persecution). From many models, one should be able to abstract the common principles, then individualize those principles for any church in any context. He concluded that improving the quality of church life should be a better stimulus and predictor of quantitative growth.

The Eight Quality Characteristics of Healthy Churches

The eight qualities Schwarz uses to define healthy churches are:

1. Empowering leadership—leaders focus on equipping and training other Christians to do ministry; leaders are committed wholly to church growth.

2. Gift-oriented ministry—ministry tasks are distributed according to the spiritual gifts of the people; nearly every Christian is using his/her God-given gifts to build up the church.

3. Passionate spirituality—the spiritual lives of the church members are characterized by prayer, enthusiasm, and boldness; most members live out their faith with power and contagious enthusiasm.

4. Functional structures—the forms, practices, and structures of the church are designed to most effectively accomplish ministry in this time and place (form follows function); church structures are evaluated as to whether or not they contribute to the growth of the church.

5. Inspiring worship service—attending worship services is inspiring and uplifting to those who attend; worship is a high point of the week for the majority of the congregation.

6. Holistic small groups—there is a continuous multiplication of small groups that meet the real needs of people; the loving and healing power of fellowship is experienced in these groups.

7. Need-oriented evangelism—evangelistic activities relate directly to the needs of the people the church is trying to reach; nearly all Christians use their spiritual gifts to help fulfill the Great Commission.

8. Loving relationships—relationships among the members of the church are characterized by a high level of loving affection; Christ's love permeates nearly all church activities.

From the research project, Schwarz and Schalk have standardized the data from each country. Based on answers to a questionnaire completed by the pastor and 30 lay leaders in a congregation, a profile can now be generated of that church's quality index for each of the eight characteristics. Identification of these eight quality characteristics has generated the most attention for Schwarz's research. For anyone undertaking even a cursory study of the Scriptures and of church growth literature, there are few surprises in Schwarz's findings. Many leaders of the church growth movement have identified most or all of these qualities through intuition or observation of significant models of growing churches. What is significant is that no one else has gone to such lengths to find an empirical basis for the validity of these qualities. Schwarz concludes that none of the eight characteristics can be missing if a church is to be both healthy and growing and that addressing and improving these qualitative characteristics will result in quantitative growth as a natural "by-product". He also discovered that there is a 99.4% probability that any church anywhere in the world that scores 65 or above in all eight of the characteristics will also be a growing church. In fact, he has not found a church yet that disproves this hypothesis.

The "Minimum Factor"

Schwarz recognizes that congregations have limited energy; therefore, they should direct that energy strategically where it will have the most impact. He recommends that once a congregation has discovered its index on the eight quality characteristics, it should then focus its attention on its "minimum factor." The minimum factor is the quality that has the lowest score. This concept is contrary to most strategies of organization development which encourage building on organizational strengths while all but ignoring the weaknesses. Because Schwarz sees these eight characteristics as the "vital signs" of church health, he contends that ignoring areas of weakness will prevent a congregation from reaching its full potential. He illustrates this concept with a visual aid he calls the "minimum barrel" (NCD, 53-54). This barrel has eight staves at different heights. He writes the name of the quality with the lowest score on the shortest stave, the highest score on the longest stave, and the others appropriately in between. He then pours water into the barrel until it starts to run over the side at the shortest stave. The water represents the outpouring of the blessing of God's Spirit of new people into a congregation. One would not want to stop the flow of these blessings. But the barrel (and, by analogy, a church) will only be able to hold more blessings when the areas of lowest quality are addressed and increased.