CRM - Empowering Leaders

Can I just purchase your materials? [return to top]

The congregational use materials are available for purchase from ChurchSmart, but the network materials are only available for those who participate in a network led by a CRM trained facilitator. The power of the Network is in the dynamic interaction of the learning community not in the materials. The materials serve as a guide for that learning community.

Are your training and materials available in Spanish? [return to top]

Some of the earlier version of the materials are available in Spanish by contacting refocusing@crmleaders.org. We are working to get the newly revised materials into Spanish in the near future.

Who is eligible to facilitate a network? [return to top]

Anyone who has successfully completed our network facilitator training and is willing to be coached as they lead their first network.

The ideal network facilitator is a leader who desires to have an influence in the lives of other leaders and who desires to learn from them in the process. Thereare no positional or gender requirements for network facilitators.

Which churches are the best reFocusing candidates? [return to top]

Because reFocusing is a leadership empowerment process, it can be a beneficial process for a majority of churches.

It can be especially helpful for those churches that have begun to plateau: where attendance has stayed relatively flat for a while; where there are leaders in the congregation, but those leaders are not all on the same page; from one year to the next the pendulum of attention seems to swing significantly from one emphasis to another; or maybe past accomplishments are beginning to shine more brightly than current and future vision.

If the church seems to have lots of "good folks" but there a shortage of leaders, it would be a good candidate.

When NCD scores average between 35-65.

When the majority of the leaders and prominent members of the church don't know or own the church's answer to the eight reFocusing questions, this process is for you.

Which churches are not good candidates for the reFocusing process? [return to top]

Those churches that are exceptionally healthy and growing may or may not need the corporate reFocusing process. However, the Focusing Leaders network for the pastor and staff and Focused Living components for the congregational leaders have proven to be excellent tools.

Those churches that are mired in conflict or are struggling to stay open are generally poor candidates for reFocusing. They typically need a skilled interventionist to help them assess and address the core issues at work. (See CRM's reTURN process.) The reFocusing process can be helpful after they have dealt with the difficult issues and are ready to chart a new course with new leaders for the future.

Can I just use the materials with my congregation or do I have to be in a network? [return to top]

We encourage the use of the Focused Living materials with congregational leaders. It has proven to be a powerful way to mobilize and empower leaders to discover and pursue their calling.

The reFocusing Network materials are only available to those who participate in a network. The materials are designed to work hand in hand with the dynamics of the learning community rather than on their own. (However, network participants are encouraged to adapt components of the materials for use in the ongoing development of their church leaders.

I see the network takes 18 months, is there any way to speed it up? [return to top]

Phase One of the network has six major meetings and phase two has eight. Add a little summer or holiday break in there and it is hard to complete the journey in under 18 months.

It is possible to meet for more concentrated periods of time and do the work of 2 or three network meetings at a time and granted, sometimes that approach is needed because of distance between participants. But the question is, "WHY speed it up?"

The risk of moving from monthly to period "retreats" is that both momentum and relationships are put at risk.

The better question is, why not go slower! Change happens best in the context of relationships OVER TIME. Discoveries that don't have time to incubate rarely anchor deeply in our lives and behavior.

In CRM's experiences since 1993, there have constantly been people who want to speed up the process, who want to believe that the issues needing change in the church can be adequately addressed in a single retreat. Our experience is the opposite. The dilemmas facing a church didn't develop overnight and revitalizing things won't happen overnight either.

Insights and breakthrough discoveries may happen in a moment, but implementation of change takes time.

Are your staff available to consult with or do training for a local church? [return to top]

When needed, yes. One advantage of an experienced staff spread across the country is the ability of that staff to serve local churches.

At the same time, our preference is to equip and coach both network facilitators and the leaders of a local church to lead the journey themselves.

There are times when an outsider is very helpful. When the church is over 750 or so in attendance, when the church is in the midst of pastoral transition, when there has been unresolved difficulty in the past, etc.

Contact the team if you would like help thinking this through in greater detail. refocusing@crmleaders.org

Are there any networks in my area? [return to top]

Networks typically launch either early fall or just after the first of the year. And because they each seek to create a safe-place learning community among participants, it is usually impossible to add participants once the network is launched.

Two options: Why not come to our training and then launch a network yourself? If God has prompted you to consider it, there are probably dozens of other leaders like you who would benefit from taking this journey together.

We would be happy to help you think this through. Contact the team at refocusing@crmleaders.org

Where and when are your training events? [return to top]

We try to move our training around to different locations in the country. There are usually 2-3 training events in the fall and 3-4 training events in winter-spring. The best way to track them is to check under the Events section on this website.

Are CRM and ChurchSmart part of the same organization? [return to top]

ChurchSmart is a privately owned company committed to producing leadership materials for the church. Dave Wetzler, who owns ChurchSmart, is a good friend and ministry partner of CRM and publishes the bulk of our materials for us.

CRM is an independent international mission agency with over 300 staff in over 20 countries around the world.

Are there age limits for the Focused Living Retreat? [return to top]

CRM staff have led or heard about Focused Living Retreats being used with every age from high school up. Younger people need to focus more on general direction when it comes to vision, but they still benefit by gaining a lifelong developmental perspective.

Those at retirement age have sometimes found fresh perspective on the very significant chapter of life that lies ahead.

What if your pastor or board are not in favor of using the reFocusing process with the congregation? [return to top]

CRM cannot recommend the reFocusing process if senior church leadership is not in favor of it.

The reFocusing journey is designed to help a congregation discover God's agenda for the next chapter. Alignment with that agenda will require some level of change. So, if your leaders are not on board they will find a way to derail implementation of the process causing greater disillusionment among your people.

And since the revitalization of the congregation, begins with its leaders, unless leaders desire to go on this journey, how can you begin?

Are reFocusing and NCD compatible? [return to top]

NCD is a perfect companion to the reFocusing process. It can serve the reFocusing journey in a number of ways:

It can help church leaders create a sense of urgency in the congregation at the outset of the reFocusing journey.

A wise church that begins working on its minimum factor will experience some early victories even as it is participating in the broader reFocusing discoveries.

The NCD survey will point out critical health factors which need to be addressed during the congregational summits and ministry plans of phase two.

The NCD creates a simple way to monitor health issues, even to spot systemic or recurring issues, when the church retakes the survey every year or so.

How much does it cost to participate in a network? [return to top]

Basic costs for each phase of network participation as far as CRM is concerned will include network materials and a share of network fees.

The large variable will be determined by how the facilitators expenses are covered, where retreats are held, any special events that get planned by the network, and how reFocusing Team training will be conducted.

With all these local variables, CRM doesn't set a firm network cost, believing that the network participants should share the load together. However, it seems that typically these costs average about $300 per participant for each phase of the network.