In recent blogs we talked about Creating a Culture of Renewal® graduates, but for the next couple of weeks, I’m honored to share some profound experiences from current Creating a Culture of Renewal® participants.

Experiences that led to positive, life-changing results that likely wouldn’t have occurred without the leadership journey that is Creating a Culture of Renewal®.

I offer these testimonials with the hope that you’ll find them helpful in your own work with your congregations and communities.

This week, we’re looking at how Pastrix Carmen Daugherty crafted a Vision Statement that opened up their church community to those who might have been unsure of their welcome, assuring them a safe space to gather. Carmen’s experience can help you expand your vision, give you renewed belief in your leadership skills, and open your eyes to the possibility of your leadership becoming one that truly co-creates miracles with God.

Laser Focus

Creating a Culture of Renewal® (CCR) helped me use our Mission Statement that predated CCR to craft a laser focused Vision Statement for our programs.  This Vision Statement compliments the Mission Statement; it is easy to remember, and easy for members to repeat as compared to the lengthy Mission Statement.

Our working Mission Statement is “We are the Kaleidoscope. Inspired by the vast wealth of human diversity, we seek to reclaim our trust in Love by gathering in intersectional community to explore the sacredness of all lives, voices and stories.”  It is a beautiful mission statement, but it did not have the two qualities we needed: specificity and being memorable.  Using the tools I acquired in CCR I crafted this Vision Statement: “Kaleidoscope provides Safe, Sober, Social spaces for queer people of all ages to gather in community.”

A Jesus-Like Dream

The new Vision Statement contains the five elements of a Jesus-like dream, which Rebekah writes about in her book, “Dream Like Jesus”. It begins with the assumption that we will achieve creating a third-space for the LGBTQIA+ community.  A third-space (that does not include a bar) does not exist in Indianapolis so the Dream is way bigger than we are.  The Vision terrifies me because it is big and bold and I do not want to fail.  The Vision has inspired and unified our members and the third-space for LGBTQIA+ people is an example of the expansion and flourishing of the Kin-dom.

This Vision Statement has been a game changer.  When our members tell others about Kaleidoscope or are asked what Kaleidoscope does, they are quick to share our Vision Statement.  It has also helped members feel more confident volunteering at public events which allows more people to participate.  This continuity also keeps our message consistent in the community.

A fear that could easily have derailed me from starting Kaleidoscope as a ministry of the church was the negative reputation the church has in the LGBTQIA+ community and with younger generations.  In addition, starting Kaleidoscope could have jeopardized my future ordination as it was previously against the Book of Discipline to affirm “practicing” LGBTQIA+ people in leadership, marriage, or as clergy.  Our Mission Statement while beautiful was also “safe” for the church setting where we started because it did not mention LGBTQIA+ specifically.  Intersectional community could be anyone.  While this served us well in the beginning, the recent changes in the organization required a laser focused Vision to keep everyone moving in the same direction.

An example of our Vision at work would be when a member approached us after the election and wanted Kaleidoscope to organize a protest.  Obviously, we knew that this was wrought with potential problems for our 501(c)3 status, but there was also a lot of energy from the members surrounding this idea and they did not care about our nonprofit status.  Fortunately, we were able to point to our Vision statement and explain that while we encourage people to participate in protests, organizing them does not align with our Mission or Vision statement.  We told the members if they wanted to organize a protest, they could invite Kaleidoscope members, but that we would not be organizing one.

Our new Vision Statement has dramatically enhanced our ability to plan, organize, and resource our current programs (ministries).

Pastrix Carmen used the resources that were made available to them throughout their Creating a Culture of Renewal® journey to craft a Vision Statement that made a real, profound, and life-altering difference in their church and community.

Creating a Culture of Renewal® is a proven and effective clergy leadership program that can bring about real change to your leadership, your congregation, and your community, too. I encourage you to take advantage of our free interactive seminar, How Christian Ministries are Achieving Success to learn more. Last Minute registration ends for Creating a Culture of Renewal® on September 8th, so you’ll want to take advantage of a free seminar and register today!

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