Hello Friends,

There have been a number of rumors floating around in the community regarding the leadership of Neighborhood Church. We want to take a few minutes to fill you in on what’s going on. We as a staff team are really excited about the transition and what the future holds.

We’ve spent the past few months meeting and praying and seeking the Lord on how to best equip the people the Lord has brought together to be a part of our church body and how we as a staff can more efficiently work out of our talents and giftings. After some thorough discussion and prayer, we’ve decided we’re going to pursue a flatter organizational structure and move away from the hierarchy we’ve had in place. We recognize that we have not been fully functional since we set up a structure where nearly every decision needed to be made by Larry Lane. We love Larry and his wisdom and insight but there are a number of things we’ve asked him to do that he’s not gifted in.

So, we’ve made a few changes. We’ve shifted the day-to-day pastoral responsibilities to Andrew and other staff and key leaders.  This is for two reasons:  First, it frees Larry to engage the community and the region to a greater degree on behalf of our church. This is Larry's passion and calling but it is not just about him. Our vision statement says, "our calling is to transform our city and region." This change is a resounding affirmation from our church leadership that we are dead serious and willing to do something out of the norm to accomplish it.  It also empowers Andrew to build community in the Body through empowering people to serve and connecting them with one another; and enables Andrew to facilitate creation of an atmosphere when we gather that is warm, inviting and accepting. In other words, he is a great fit to insure that the flock is "shepherded."

Secondly, it is a move to maximize the giftings of the staff and leaders. Instead of setting one man to be the leader of our church (Larry Lane), we’ve put in place a staff leadership team. This new team includes Larry but adds Andrew Burchett, Tom Mount, Zack Curry and Amy Wadlow. Together they will cast vision, shepherd the body and provide direction for Neighborhood Church. This new structure also provides an environment where those who are leading ministries are involved in making decisions and casting vision with us at a monthly meeting.

People will inevitably ask, "Who then is the senior pastor?"  It is a question that does not fit this new paradigm of leadership.  We are moving away from a hierarchical structure, to a team-based leadership style.  In this kind of structure, two things are true:  1) the one with the primary responsibility for an area will have the most authority, and 2) everyone on the team gets to participate in decisions. We love David Gergen's statement for this:  "If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together."  We’ve decided that we want to go far!

You may be asking how this change affects you. In truth, if you come on Sundays to the service and have yet to plug in to participating or serving in a ministry, you’re not likely to see much of a change. Andrew will continue to facilitate the services and Larry, Andrew and Tom will continue to share the preaching load. If you are serving in a ministry, you’ll be happy to know that these changes will provide a place for the leadership team of these ministries to partner more in the direction and vision of the church.

We recognize that this is a completely new paradigm and is likely to raise specific questions. Please feel free to email, set up an appointment, or give us a call. Most of all, please continue to pray for us as a church body.  There is a great sense of anticipation of what God is going to do here and in the community as we continue to seek God and his purposes together.

Love,
Larry, Andrew, Tom, Zack, and Amy