Critical Decision Making for Congregations

A Decision Making Process for Congregations

1. Ask the Right Questions

• What is the scope of our inquiry?
• Who are the strategic people?
• How can we accumulate relevant information?
• What questions do we need to answer before we proceed?
  • Can we do research? (before/ during / after?)

2. Document, Document, Document

• Get/ use appropriate technology to reflect current realities.

3. Appropriately slow down the process.

• Make sure we have time to make important decisions
  • Include information gathering
  • Resist deadlines – especially artificial ones
  • Don’t allow deadlines to manipulate.

• Review the decision and the decision making process.
  • More questions
    • Were you heard?
    • Are you comfortable?
  • Make the process consistent.

4. Make my voice appropriately heard.

• Advocate my own position
• Function as facilitator
• Bring together process with questions.