| Transformation director applies past work, new learnings
By Michael Wacht
WEST PALM BEACH — The Rev. Kendall Taylor says
his work as an engineer, pastor and district superintendent have
taught him valuable lessons he plans to apply to his work as director
of the new Office of Congregational Transformation. He also hopes to
continue learning as he works to help Florida Conference churches
grow.
“I have learned…how congregations work as
systems…and some of how to help people through the difficult process
of change,” he said. “I have learned a lot, and I hope to never
stop learning.”
Taylor is currently superintendent of the
Broward Palm Beach District (formerly the West Palm Beach District).
He begins leading the Office of Congregational Transformation Sept. 1.
He was appointed to that position July 1 by Bishop Timothy W.
Whitaker.
Taylor, who has an engineering degree from
Georgia Tech, says his work in engineering taught him analysis and
problem solving skills. It also taught him about systems. “A system
produces what it’s designed to produce,” he said. “If a system
is not producing what you want it to produce, it has to be redesigned.
You have to change the system.”
Taylor said he had to change his way of thinking
about church when he was a pastor. At his first solo appointment he
experienced an increase in worship attendance from 150 to 750 people.
“That was my last statistical gain in worship attendance and
membership,” he said.
As he struggled to help his next congregations
grow, he felt he was working hard, but not seeing results. “I
finally realized I was not equipped to help the church do ministry in
the changed world in which I found myself,” he said. “Everything I
learned in seminary was for a relatively church-friendly world…and
this is no longer a church-friendly world.”
Taylor said he later realized he was also
working toward the wrong goal. He was trying to help churches
establish and maintain a state of equilibrium that would allow the
church to continue effectively for a long time. “Organizations
behave like biological organisms…they grow and evolve,” he said.
“Equilibrium means that an organism has a fixed set of responses to
stimuli. Change is coming. All we can do is adapt to it. But an
organization in equilibrium has lost its flexibility and its capacity
to adapt to change…and those organizations die.”
As a district superintendent, Taylor learned a
new approach to leadership. In 1998 he assigned responsibility for
attending charge conferences to elders in the district. He then went
to churches during a time when they were discussing and planning their
ministries and helped them asses where they were in ministry.
Taylor noticed a trend among his district’s
churches. Most had a few ministries geared toward welcoming. There
were many nurturing ministries and a few sending ministries, but
almost no equipping ministries.
“Almost no churches were doing anything to
equip people, to help them develop their skills and apply them in
ministry,” Taylor said. “They were not teaching that every
Christian has a ministry.”
During the next two years, Taylor helped
churches balance the pieces of the disciple-making process and develop
vision and mission statements that would help them shape their
futures.
As he takes on his new ministry, Taylor says his
focus will be “helping churches become effective evangelists.”
“An effective evangelist is one who, in an
intentional, winsome, loving, caring way, offers Jesus to people and
nurtures those who respond,” he said.
He plans to accomplish that by asking questions,
not telling churches the answers. “I have some of the right
questions in mind to help local churches assess where they are,” he
said. “Then I’ll walk alongside and share with them as they work
through the questions and develop the unique ministries needed to do
effective evangelization where they live.”
Taylor said he will only work with churches that
ask for his office’s help. “I will do my very best to help
churches that want to change,” he said. “I will not be one to go
in and try to force change on churches or pastors. It will be an
invitation to change, not ‘I’m here to teach you to do it right.’
”
Taylor says he does not have all the answers.
“I’m willing to try things,” he said. “Some of them aren’t
going to work, but some of them will. The only bad mistake you make is
the one from which you do not learn. I want to find a way to help
local churches become experimenters…and help all the people share in
the development of ministry through their church.”
Taylor knows he is in for some hard work in his
new ministry. “Change is always painful, and transformation doesn’t
happen without change,” he said. “This is a kairos moment God has
brought us to. Only with his help will we meet the challenges. But it’s
a process that will have wonderful dividends if we stay the course.”
|
