Basic Equipping for Simplified Accountable Structure
Downloads:
Slides Handout for August 12 Event
Rules of the Road handout
Structure and Nominations for Simplified Accountable Structure - "HOW TO" CONVERSATION
A Simplified Accountable Structure (SAS) is utilized as an alternative model for local church governance and is sometimes referred to as the "one board" model. A single Leadership Board serves in the capacity of multiple Disciplinary administrative committees. As we begin our Charge Conference nominations work we invite you to join Dr. Blake Bradford, Northwest District Superintendent, as he walks you through SAS nominations process in this webinar.
DOWNLOADS:
Slides from workshop presentation
Simplified Structure FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions (appendix R-2) This short list of FAQs answers common questions that United Methodist leaders have about the simplified or “single board” administrative structure.
Sample Resolution for Transition (PDF) - This template resolution to change the congregational organizational plan to simplified accountable governance structure is designed for the Nominations Committee to bring to the Charge Conference or Church Conference. Include in your initial charge conference documentation
Blake’s Simplified Structure Webpage - download more resources, view more videos and links for more resources and books are included
Link to two SAS training videos produced by Discipleship Ministries featuring Blake Bradford and Kay Kotan
How to complete Charge Conference Forms 2022
ARKANSAS CONFERENCE CHARGE CONFERENCE AND COMPENSATION FORM "HOW TO" CONVERSATION
"How To" webinar about the 2022 Charge Conference Forms led by Rev. Blake Bradford, and Becky Neighbors, District Administrator. Including:
Membership Report
Trustees, Finance, Safe Gatherings
Culture of Call and 200K More Reasons
There will be a special emphasis on the CLERGY COMPENSATION FORMS to include the following:
Conference Compensation Date
Minimum Compensation Requirements
Housing Allowance
Accountable Reimbursements
LINKS:
https://arumc.org/our-resources/forms-and-documents/
Charge Conference Forms
Individual Forms
District Officers: Training for District Leadership Boards and DBCLB
District Officers: Training for District Leadership Boards and DBCLB
As Dean of the Appointive Cabinet in the Arkansas Conference, I created quick 30-minute training videos for the simplified structure District Leadership Board and the District Board of Church Location and Building. In addition to each video, I have a PDF of the slides I used and some helpful resources.
District Leadership Board
District Board of Church Location and Building (DBCLB)
Alexandria and Arlington Districts, Virginia UMC Clergy Meeting
I led a session on equipping laity for the clergy of the Alexandria and Arlington Districts
Here is the PowerPoint:
2022 "My Job" District Workshops: Finance and Trustees
Blake presented a District Superintendent Q&A session as part of a 2022 training series for local church leaders
PowerPoint Slide Links:
Trustees Job Description (PDF)
Link to Blake’s Recorded Zoom:
Recording of Blake’s Zoom Workshop for Trustees and Finance
Links to recorded 2019 Cabinet & Conference Staff Interviews:
Finance Committee and Treasurer Orientation: https://youtu.be/AWnKlQf1Cwg
Trustees Orientation: https://youtu.be/PFRj7FykYGE
2022 "My Job" District Workshops: Church Council/Nominations and the SPRC
Blake presented a District Superintendent Q&A session as part of a 2022 training series for local church leaders, linking the Q&A sessions to pre-recorded interviews with other DSs and Conference Staff.
Links to 2019 Recorded Interviews with Conference Staff and Cabinet:
Pastor/Staff Parish Relations Committee Orientation: https://youtu.be/yB26FUtBTrY
Church Council Orientation: https://youtu.be/f1GNsFyCCFA
Church Council/Nominations My Job Workshop and Q&A
¶ 252.1. Purpose - The church council shall provide for planning and implementing a program of nurture, outreach, witness, and resources in the local church. It shall also provide for the administration of its organization and temporal life. It shall envision, plan, implement, and annually evaluate the mission and ministry of the church. The church council shall be amenable to and function as the administrative agency of the charge conference (¶ 244).
SPRC My Job Workshop and Q&A
¶ 258.2. There shall be elected annually by the charge conference in each local church a committee on pastor-parish relations or staff-parish relations who are professing members of the local church or charge or associate members (¶ 227), except in cases where central conference legislation or local law provides otherwise. People serving on this committee must be engaged in and attentive to their Christian spiritual development so as to give proper leadership in the responsibilities with which the committee is entrusted.
In conducting its work, the committee shall identify and clarify its values for ministry. It shall engage in biblical and theological reflections on the mission of the church, the primary task, and ministries of the local church.
The committee shall reflect biblically and theologically on the role and work of the pastor(s) and staff as they carry out their leadership responsibilities. The committee shall assist the pastor(s) and staff in assessing their gifts, maintaining health holistically and work-life balance, and setting priorities for leadership and service. It is the responsibility of the committee to communicate with the committee on nominations and leadership development and/or the church council when there is a need for other leaders or for employed staff to perform in areas where utilization of the gifts of the pastor(s) and staff proves an inappropriate stewardship of time.
LEADING THE SMALL CHURCH FROM THE PORCH SWING
Leading from the porch swing, not the board room!
The smaller the church, the more the pastor’s leadership exists outside the committee meeting room or even behind the pulpit. Instead the leader rests on the metaphorical porch swing. In my home state, Arkansas, especially in the evening, we enjoy banter from the front porch swing. You sit side-by-side on a porch swing. You can’t sit in the adversarial position across from someone, hoping to win them over or tire them out. Side-by-side it is, looking in the same direction, leaning over and talking with each other, loving each other as fellow servants of God.
Read the full article on “Ministry Matters”:
https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/11074/leading-the-small-church-from-the-porch-swing
2021 Webinar: Blake Bradford & Kay Kotan: Understanding the Simplified, Accountable Structure
We’ve all heard about SAS, the Simplified, Accountable Structure. But what is it? During this session, SAS experts Kay Kotan and Blake Bradford will discuss:
Understanding What SAS Is
The Three Phases
Important Shifts in the Model to Know
Most Common Mistakes in its Practice to Avoid
During this one-hour session, Kay and Blake will focus on ministry while making meetings fewer in number but larger in meaning. In this session, aimed at clergy and congregational leaders, particularly United Methodists, the authors provide practical, tested steps to simplify your church structure and unleash more people into ministry.
Too often churches try to simplify their structures by just having fewer people at the meeting table. But real simplification and accountable leadership means that meetings – and leaders – are transformed. Kay and Blake walk you through both the technical and adaptive changes to simplify your structure for missional effectiveness.
ClergyEducation.com is a resource for clergy and church leaders, offering CEUs accepted by most United Methodist annual conferences. ClergyEducation.com is a division of Market Square Publishing LLC.
Small Church, Big Impact
Tuesday, October 5
2:00 – 3:00 PM Eastern
Most congregations in the nation have a membership under 100, but most books and workshops are created by mega-churches. In this webinar, Dr. Blake Bradford shares how smaller congregations can use their unique giftedness to fulfill God’s mission. He says smaller churches can enhance their vitality by clarifying their purpose, engaging their local community, leveraging small church relational intimacy to reach people and nurture disciples, rightsizing their leadership and governance structures to empower laity, and strategically utilizing pastoral leadership.
Download a PDF of the Workshop Slides
Practical Resources for Churches (PRC) is an ecumenical resource center ~ https://www.prcli.org/