 Okay. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to BC 310, our course on church and ministry administration. Thank you for being on the class today. Let's pray together and then we'll get started. Can I request somebody to please lead us in prayer and then we will start. Go ahead, Asha. Dear God, thank you so much for everything that you're doing in our lives, God. Thank you for being the best and everything that you are God. I pray right now, Lord, as we're about to learn about your word, I pray that you fill us with your wisdom and knowledge and help us to understand God. Lord, whatever we learn, Lord, maybe just not just be the person who just hears but the doers of it, God. Thank you so much for what you're about to teach us, Lord. I pray that you help Pastor Asha as he's about to teach Lord that you continually use him, God, that you fill him with more of you to pour out to us, God. Thank you so much, Lord, for everything. I pray today as Louie, Lord, we pray that you bless his life. Lord, thank you so much, Lord, for, yeah, God. Thank you, Lord, for everyone, Lord, in your name we pray. Amen. Amen, amen. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for being on the class. So, Louie, today is your big day. Yes, it is. Good morning. God bless you. I'm sure the Lord's, God, everything will go well. Amen. Amen. So, in this course on church and ministry administration, we've been covering various aspects of managing or administering the local church or a Christian organization. Both are covered here and many of the things we've been talking about are relevant for both kinds of Christian work. Of course, many of us are involved in the local church context. Some of us may, you know, be heading up or be involved in Christian organizations and all of these things that we are learning are relevant in both scenarios. Last week, we talked about volunteer management, which is a very important aspect of local church and also Christian organizations because most of the work will be done by volunteers and volunteers and the people who are willingly giving their time, they refer, they invest their money and they want to serve God while, you know, they may be having other responsibilities, but then they give a certain amount of time and commitment towards the ministry of the local church or the Christian organization. So, taking care of them, managing them, overseeing them, training them, equipping them, and then also learning to balance or learning to manage the relationship between church staff and volunteers. It's so important because church staff are full-time with the church serving and they're paid by the church. Volunteers are willingly giving their time and they may look at things from a very different perspective and so, you know, getting them to work together is very important. And if you're able to achieve that, the church or the organization will do very well. But if there are problems, then, you know, then those problems have to be addressed, resolved, and we need to keep moving forward. And if you don't address it, then it can actually break down a lot of the ministry efforts and, you know, the organizational church won't be able to progress very much. If that relationship between church staff and volunteers is not healthy and it's not strong, right? So we covered that. We're going to go into some new topics today. But before we move into, you know, so we want to talk about communication and then we want to talk about culture. So these are two things we want to cover today. But before we transition into and start those topics, any questions on the previous two topics, which is church staff management and volunteer management. So basically we're talking about taking care of people, whether it's church staff or volunteers. Any questions on that before we kind of move forward into some different topics? Any questions on the previous lessons? Okay. Feel free to ask questions anytime. So today we're going to get into two topics. First we will talk about communications and then we will get into talking about culture. So this lesson on communications is a short lesson. I have shared the PDF. This was volunteer management. I'll close that. He covered it. All right. Communications. So let me talk about communications. We're talking about internal communications that have been within the church staff, the people who are serving. And also communications with the larger group, which would be the congregation. Or if you're a Christian organization, then we're talking about internal communications within the staff. And also communications with the larger group, which would be the donors, the volunteers. Those who are participating in the vision and mission of the Christian organization. So communications is very important. And sometimes, you know, so the goal is to find the right balance. Sometimes we over communicate, which then becomes a communication overload. And the result is people tune off. That means people stop listening. Why? Because you're communicating too much. And they don't know, you know, in all that you're saying, what is important, what is not important. So when you over communicate, the dangerous people tune off and then they don't even pay attention to what is important. If you under communicate or have, you know, a little communication, then people are left in the dark. They don't know what is going on. And they begin and a lot of that gives rise to a lot of unnecessary speculation. And our people just make up things and, you know, or they think the organization or the leadership is very, very secretive. They're not open. They're not telling us what's going on. So that's the danger of too little communication. So the challenge as a pastor, as a leader of the Christian organization or the church and those in leadership, you know, at various levels is how do we find the right balance in communication? And how do we do it properly so that we act every time we say something, people actually listen and they take it. So how do we find the right balance and how do we communicate in a way that people receive it well, they understand it well? Because if the communication happens well, everything, things will go well with the organization. If there is a breakdown in communication, either we communicate, if you over communicate, communicate too little or we communicate improperly, there's going to be a breakdown. And if there's a breakdown, then people are left to, you know, it's going to be very disastrous for the organization because people will make up stories, all kinds of things will happen. Lots of problems will happen just because of lack of proper communication. So I wanted to just spend some time on that and, you know, this is a very simple chapter, just one page, but I cannot stress enough on how important this is, how important communication is, right? To keep the whole organization going, if you want to imagine it, and this might seem like too much importance to communication, but it's almost like the communication is like the lifeblood of the organization. You know, it's like the blood that's flowing in our bodies that's keeping everything going, every organ connected in, you know, supplying energy to, not energy, but nutrients to every part of the organ, all organs in the body. In some way, the communications that happens is like the lifeblood of the organization, whether it's a church or the Christian ministry, it's very important, right? So to have that good flow of communication, you know, both ways, to and fro, it should be open, it should be both ways. I cannot overemphasize the importance of that. So just because there's a little one-page chapter or lesson, please don't think it's not important, as it is actually very, very important. So what are some of the reasons why good, open communication is important in a church or an organization? Some of the things we can think about is people, they feel informed of what's happening, you know, they feel informed. I mean, people feel informed of what's happening. It really, you know, makes them feel like they are part of everything, which is true because when you are open and telling people, hey, we're doing this, and we are, you know, this is what's happening. Sometimes some people are interested in numbers. They want to know, you know, how much time, how much money, whatever, how many people. Some people are, you know, interested in just knowing where is the, what is the direction, why are we doing it, so on. So different people have different ways of looking at it, but when we share the relevant information, everybody feels, oh, I'm part of what's happening. You know, I'm not kept in the dark. I'm not just asked to come along without asking questions, but I'm part of it. And it therefore they feel connected. So when communication is well articulated, they feel connected to the vision. They feel connected to the organization. So there's enthusiasm. They feel excited about it. They feel connected to what's happening in many ways when they are allowed to say something towards what is happening. Even if it's just a yes or a no, they feel ownership. That means they are involved in the decisions, you know. So they feel ownership. Even if it's a simple saying, yes, let's do it. Or actually maybe you shouldn't do it, whatever. Just a yes or a no. They feel like, hey, what I say matters. And I have an ownership towards this. Or when there's a collective discussion on something, and of course, there'll be all kinds of ideas. It's not that you have to do all the ideas, but just the fact that they have contributed to that. And from there you take a few of the ideas and you work. They feel that, look, I did contribute. I was part of that discussion. I was involved and I heard what everybody said. And eventually the best ideas were taken to be implemented, which is fine. Their own idea may not have been taken, but they were part of that process of making decisions. So they own that. It's like it's our decision. It's not one person's decision. Second, and then also it keeps people aligned. That means people are moving in the same direction towards the goals and objectives. So that's really important to keep everybody on track. If you communicate and say, this is where we're going, we're all together, keeps everybody aligned. Now, when you don't communicate and then people are going off in different directions, then you're wondering why aren't they all staying together? Why aren't they coming? Why are they going off doing something very different? And why are they thinking differently? So I mean, in a different going off in a different direction. Well, because it was not communicated the direction we're all going in. And so they're just doing what they think is right. And it's not that they're bad people. It's just that they were not things were not communicated properly. So this alignment towards the organization's goals and objectives happens when we communicate well. Another thing is when we communicate with the organization, people feel that they cared for. That means they, the organization cares about them and is there for keeping them informed. So it's not like we don't care about you. If you want to come, you come. If you don't want to come, doesn't matter. You know, we are informing you because we care about who you are. We care about what you are contributing to the organization, to the church or the ministry. We care about you being part of this whole thing. So it's an expression of interest or an expression of care for the people. It also informs obviously, you know, to keep people informed and also inspires people. So good communication, you know, doing it the proper way, doing it at the right right amount of communication, not over or not too little, doing it properly, doing it in a way that people understand will help in with all of these aspects. And all of these are important for people to be part of the local church or part of the Christian ministry and going forward. So when you talk about communication, what are some things we need to keep in mind? That wherever possible, instead of making it a monologue, have it as a dialogue, that means let it be a two-way communication. Wherever possible. Now, of course, on a Sunday morning when you're preaching a sermon, yeah, that's a one-way communication. The pastor or the preacher is speaking to the congregation. Usually, you know, and then there's nobody can pause and ask questions and so on. That interaction is not possible because of the nature of the meeting. But in other settings, wherever possible, engage people. That means let people talk, let people share their ideas where, you know, whether it's a staff meeting. Right. Okay, sit down. Let's all talk. Right. Let everybody share their ideas. But there's an internal meeting, internal discussion. Or when you're involving church people, congregation or others, volunteers in smaller settings or, you know, different teams, they can sit and they can talk and they can have discussion. Right. So that's very important. It's involving everybody. Everybody has, everybody can contribute towards the decision. And we can, you know, we can share ideas. Sometimes a great idea is a result of many different ideas being put together, stitched together. You know, so somebody gave a small idea, somebody gave another small idea. And the leaders' response really say, all these three are good ideas. And if I stitch them all together, I'll get a great idea, which will be very useful for everybody. Right. So a lot of good can come out of dialogue. But every, but of course it has to be done properly. It has to be meaningful. It has to be managed and led properly by the team leader or whoever is in charge. Right. So that it's not like you talk down to people, but you say, hey, we need to make a decision about it. This matter, we want to hear your thoughts. Or these are the lessons we can bring to you. Let's discuss it. Let's see if we can improve. Let's see if we need to address other areas. You know, that means you're saying, look, we do have certain information that we want to bring. But we're open to improving. We're open to additional ideas. We're open to constructive feedback and so on and so forth. That means you're letting people participate in what's happening. So doing it as a dialogue, as a two way communication is very important. The problem in many, many Christian churches and Christian organizations ears, that people so respect the leader or the leadership that they feel that if I share an idea that it's different. Oh, that's rebellion. And the day that the problem is that many times the leader or the leadership implies that. If you say something different from what I have said, you are in rebellion. You know, and then of course, you know, so you're in rebellion, rebellion. If you reveal against a leader, you're rebelling against the anointing, rebelling against God. So all those kinds of wrong ideas are communicated. And that happens in many churches, in many Christian organizations, even today. That means we think that people are more educated and people, you know, will be more open. But even today, you see many churches and Christian organizations, the way the pastor carries himself, or the way the leadership carry themselves is like, don't question anything we say, because God is speaking through us all the time. And if you have an idea that's different from ours, you're in rebellion and you're questioning God and things like that. So what happens is in a very subtle way, everybody's made to keep quiet. And the consequences is we are losing so much. We are losing all these things we talked about earlier, you know, we are losing out on all this because people are only made to follow my instructions kind of approach. We're losing out on good ideas, we're losing out on engagement, we're losing out on involvement, ownership and so on. Because communication then becomes a monologue, you know, the leader is speaking on behalf of God. Everybody must listen and do what he says or she says. And nobody questions, nobody should express an idea that's different from what the leader should be saying. And that's a very dictatorial approach to communication. There are times when the leader has to be very strong, you know, when certain things have to be done. But even that strength in communication should come after an open discussion. That means everybody shared their ideas. Okay, now the leader has to make a decision. All right, that's when the leader says, okay, thank you all for sharing your ideas. We appreciate all the ideas and we are going, we are choosing to do A, B, C and D, whatever. So the leader makes a decision. Can we all go with it together? You know, so yeah, the leader has to be strong. The leader has to be decisive. The leader has to know the direction which the organization is going. The leader has to, you know, just pick the right ideas and say, okay, we can only do one, two and three. There may be 10 great ideas, but we can only do these three. And these are the most important. This is the way we should be going. So yes, there is the need for strong decisive leadership. But that should come in a participatory way through consensus. And then the leader makes, he says, this is the way we're going. But without that participation discussion, if it's purely dictatorial, it is very, it is unhealthy. It is unhealthy for the church. And it is not biblical also, right? The Bible tells us, you know, for Spirit chapter five, Peter writes, it says, don't be like lords over God's heritage. You know, these people belong to God. So don't be like a boss. Don't be like a lord that you just take things to the people, right? So don't do that. So in other words, we are going to serve them and lead them in a very servant like manner. Okay. So this, so what I'm emphasizing is as far as possible, do it as a dialogue rather than a monologue. Do it in a very participatory way and, and, and go forward with that. Okay. So let me pause here. Everybody is together so far. Any questions? Any questions so far? All good. Is the communication clear? All right. All right. So let's move forward. Thank you. I see your responses in the chat. All right, let's continue with this. All right. Now. A very important part of communication and some of the things I'm going to say here may seem very, very basic, very simple. But, you know, I feel that we need to say sometimes we even need to state the obvious. So to remind ourselves that, you know, this is how we're supposed to be communicating with our congregation or with, you know, people who are part of the ministry. Okay. So open, honest, direct. These are three keywords in communication. Open. That means be transparent. Share whatever information is required and what is relevant. Now open doesn't mean you shared everything. You don't need to. Because if you shared too much, people will be very confused. They won't know what they should pay attention to. And if you just give them all the information, they won't understand. They won't know what to do with it. So you have to be open to the extent that you are sharing what is required and what's relevant. Right. There's no point in sharing irrelevant information. It's not of any use and or what is not required. You keep that internal for the organization, for the people who need to know it. But otherwise, you need to be open. See, you know, so how can you be open? Think about put yourself in the other person's shoes, so to speak. That means if you're a congregation member or you're part of the congregation, what is the information they need to know? So for example, right now in Bangalore, we are in the process of buying land. So, you know, we started this process in 20 looking for land. At that time, we got a group of people together about five of us, five people. And I told them, look, you know, we need to find land for our Bible college. And we need to build that nice training facility. And so, you know, we did the team did initial work and they said, okay, we narrowed it down finally to we need to buy around four acres of land. Within this budget, that's 15 crores of rupees. So that's like 150 million Indian rupees. So within that budget, that's kind of our ballpark. So that's what we're looking at. So then we engage real estate agents and all those things went on. Of course, during pandemic was stopped. And then we looked at more than 100 sites or plots of land and, you know, all that stuff. And so now we are in the place where we found a good piece of land, four point, almost 4.7 acres, totaling to less than 10 crores, which is 100 million, sorry, 100 million rupees. In that range. And then, so then we went to the legal verification, which is, you know, the lawyers, they have to look through all the documents to say that, yeah, it's safe to buy it and all those things went through that. And then we reached this point where, you know, basically we've been given the green signal to go ahead and buy it. But now, you know, so what we can do basically as a leadership is saying we can make the decision, okay, guys, we're going to buy it. We found the land, we're going to buy it. But what we're doing is we're saying our final decision is going to come based on the congregations giving us an okay. So we said, let us inform the congregation because obviously they're all, it's the congregation that's paying for all. Everybody's donating, everybody's contributing. The money came in a long time ago. It's been sitting there because we couldn't do anything during the pandemic two and a half years. It's just been there. But now that we found the land, we can proceed. And so what did we do? We informed the congregation and this happened last week. Yeah. And we said, okay, this is the location of the land. Here's a Google map. We want to invite everybody to come visit the land, which is we're going to do it on Saturday, the day after tomorrow. And in the communication, it's okay. What would the congregation want to know? I mean, there's a lot of legal details we went through. In fact, last week I spent quite a good lot of time with the lawyer going through all the details. They don't need to know all the details. They need to know how big is the land? How much does it cost? Where is it located? What are the advantages in purchasing the land in this place or in this area? So that's basically what they need to know. They don't need to know. So we looked at the history of the land back to 1968. So we have all those details. They don't need to know all those details. So open communication means you put yourself in the shoes of the congregation. That would be the questions that are in their mind, in a decision like this. Simple questions. How big is the land? What is the total cost? Why is this location suitable for us? Have you thoroughly checked all the details of the land? So those are the kinds of questions they want to be clear about before they can say yes to it. So we sent a simple email, a simple WhatsApp message, inviting everybody with these details, inviting everybody to come. And then on Saturday, I don't know how many will come because some may be working, some may be traveling, et cetera. But it's just an opportunity for people to come. Of course, they can go and visit the land anytime. They come. Then we share with them these details. Have a time for question and answers. So we've done our homework. We did everything. We're open to question and answers. They'll be also given an email ID if anybody can. They can send us their feedback. So what are we doing? We are engaging the congregation in this whole process. And letting them know that, you know, we care about you. This is something we are doing together. Yes, the last so many years, it was a smaller team that was doing all the work. But now that we've come to this place, congregation, we honor you. You know, you have contributed towards all the money that's there for to buy this land, et cetera. And at the same time, our position is if there is a consensus, we will go ahead with it. If there's a lot of knows, you know, if the majority of the congregations say no, then obviously we cannot go ahead with it. Because it is the congregations participation that's going to enable us to not only, of course, we have all the money to buy the land, but the next phase is to build that facility that can have, you know, big auditorium to seat several thousand people for the church, the full Bible college facility, hospitals, accommodation. And then we could do a lot more things. We could, you know, build a lot of ideas we have like a Christian school, a home for the elderly. A lot of things that we can do step by step and it can be a great place for the church community. And of course, our desire is for students to come from all over the world, stay here and study with us and so on. So, but all that's going to happen as a congregation, we're going to do it. So being open, telling them what they need to know. Then being honest, right? And in honesty, I want to emphasize this that if we make a mistake, we need to tell people, look, I made a mistake and apologize. So that part takes a lot of strength and a lot of humility. So honesty, you can give the facts, you know, yeah, this is what it is and this is what it is. And of course, that basic telling the truth of telling the facts is important. But it is equally important that then the leadership make a mistake, especially when it's affecting, you know, the organization, the staff or the congregation or the volunteers, etc. Whatever the situation is, whomever has, you know, whoever has been hurt or violated or offended, that we say, hey, I made a mistake, I'm sorry. I realize my mistake. And I take ownership. I take responsibility for my mistake. I apologize and, you know, whatever I can write, I will correct myself. So that honest, that level of honesty must be there. Right. So there's open openness. There has to be honesty in our communication. You know, talk about your successes and your failures. I mean, if you made a mistake, say it, you know, and so as a pastor or as a leader, you have to be willing to apologize either to an individual. Or to a group or to the congregation, you know, depending on where, who was affected by your decision. You tell them, hey, I'm sorry. I realize my mistake. So that honesty is important, you know, whether it's with your staff or with the congregation and then be direct. That means don't camouflage your communication. You know, say it simply, say it clearly, say it, say what you mean or say what has to be said. If, you know, if you kind of put things in an indirect way in some way that they actually don't understand, then that communication is of no use because the likelihood of them misunderstanding is high. So say it clearly. So for example, if, if you want somebody to do a certain thing you stated, you should, you know, we request you to do this and this stated clearly, don't beat around the bush. Don't, you know, say it in some indirect way where they don't understand what you're saying. And then you, you know, you will say, well, I said this, but that's not what they heard. They heard something else. Or, you know, they didn't understand it the way you wanted them to understand it. So it has to be very clear, concise and direct. Right. So three simple things be open, be honest, be direct in your communication. A couple other thoughts that we just try to finish this soon and then we'll have time for questions. When you're communicating with congregation donors, like I said earlier in the beginning, it should be regular, but don't overdo it. If it's too much, if there's an overload, then they will tune off. So, you know, we have some internal guidelines like we tell people, you know, not more than two emails a week. A third email is an exception. It has to be a very good reason why we send three emails to our congregation. Same thing with WhatsApp messages, not more than two WhatsApp messages in a week. I mean, like I'm talking about broadcast messages. You know, usually it's like zero. That means you don't send a WhatsApp message, but maximum, you know, keep it at two if you have to do a third one. There has to be a really good reason why you should send three. So it's a general internal guideline that you follow because you don't want to keep posting. I mean, giving out so much information directly like that that people don't, then the people just tune off. They don't bother to check and respond. And you can use good tools, you know, use your website, use a portal, whatever tools you have, emails, WhatsApp, so on and so forth. We covered the tools part in media and technology next semester. But, you know, watch over this communication, watch over what is happening, right? Some other quick points here is make conscious decisions like we said earlier. What to communicate to home and be very clear about, you know, why you're doing it. Use good protocols, you know, be concise. People don't like to read long and lengthy emails or messages. Keep it short, simple. Use good English. Keep it polite. You know, those are basic courtesies when you're doing digital communication. Wherever possible, try to do it in person. Wherever possible. And then other other basic things, you know, use technology. These days we can do video conferencing, so on, wherever it's required. It's a practical thing. What I have found, at least in our experience, what we have found is some of the areas where we really need to train our people is in using good English and being polite. You know, we shouldn't assume that people will do that. You know, and sometimes because people are not polite, like they don't say, please, thank you, sorry. These are three golden words, you know, you need to say, please, thank you, sorry. And when people don't communicate politely, it hurts others, you know, because people come from different backgrounds. And when our communication is not polite, you know, it can actually hurt somebody. So just teaching our own staff, teaching our own volunteers that, hey, when you're communicating with people, do it with good English. Because if you say, I mean, if your English is not clear, people tend to misunderstand what you've said. You know, you may mean, you may want to say something, but they hear, they read something different or they hear something different because it's just a problem with English or whatever language you're using for communication. Secondly, be polite, you know, because you may mean well, but if it is not presented with a please and a thank you, it can hurt somebody. So they think like this person is ordering me around and so on. So then unnecessarily it creates conflict. So teaching other people to be polite in their communication is very important. Another third thing, and just just looking back over, you know, these years of pastoring and leading the third year, I would say very important years, helping people understand that certain things must only be communicated in person. You know, especially difficult things, things that have to do with correction or difficult decisions. Don't do that as far as possible. Am I doing that in an email or a WhatsApp message or something like that instead trying to do it in person? Say, can we please meet? Can we sit down together? Can we be face to face so that you know my heart rather than just reading text, you know? And so difficult things have to be done as far as possible in person. Now there may be situations, you know, people in a different city or some other place in person may not be possible. So then you use a video call or something, but as far as possible, you know, do it in person. If you have to make a tough decision, meet in person and then tell the person, you know, then communicate it, have a conversation about it. Why? You know, explain yourself before you pass your, you know, your judgment or your decision. Explain these are reasons that have led to me making this decision about this matter. So that's another area I feel we need to train ourselves and we need to train our staff when we communicate. Always do it in person. Right. So Ephesians chapter four, the Bible says, you know, let your speech be seasoned with, you know, be seasoned with salt. In other words, the season with grace. That means you are, you know, you are communicating, but you're seasoning your, you're preparing your communication with grace, you know, so that when you communicate, it is palatable. It's received by the person who is listening. So we need to season our communication with grace so that the other person can receive that. So these are three simple things I would think about, you know, good English, be polite, be courteous, use proper ticket and then difficult things. Always do it in person, face to face. Otherwise, the chances of misunderstanding is quite high. All right. Any questions? I'm not, I don't know if you expected to learn these kinds of things in Bible college, but this is a very important part of Christian ministry. Organizing people, leading, cannot overemphasize communication. Any questions, please? If there are no more questions, I'll just mention our next topic and then we go for a break and come back. Our next topic we're going to get into is culture. And I feel like almost every topic is so important. Culture in an organization, creating that culture is so important. And culture doesn't happen by accident. You intentionally create the culture you want in your church, in your organization or in your church. So within the organization, the organization has a culture. The church congregation or church community has a culture. And these are created intentionally. They don't, you know, you don't, don't let it happen by accident. So you need to be very clear. What kind of a culture do I want to have, do I want to have in the organization, Christian organization, church? What kind of a culture do I want the congregation, the community to have? And then what can I do to intentionally create that culture? Okay, very important. And how do we go about it? So that's, we will get into that in our next lecture. Okay, we go for a break. We'll be back in 10 minutes or so and we'll get into that lesson. Okay, thank you everyone.