Gil Rendle
Senior Consultant, Trainer, Facilitator, Speaker, Author
Background
Before joining the staff of the Alban Institute, Gil Rendle served as senior pastor of two urban congregations in Pennsylvania for sixteen years and as a denominational consultant for the United Methodist Church for nine years. Gil has an extensive background in organizational development, group and systems theory, and leadership development. He has worked with congregations, national and regional denominational bodies, schools, and nonprofits. He has authored fours books, contributed to two others books, and published numerous articles.
Consultant’s Philosophy of Practice
I truly believe that congregations change both people and communities. While an individual can have faith, it is in community where our faith flourishes. Healthy congregations are amazingly powerful forces of good in people’s lives. Congregations have everything they need to live out their missions. They are not resource poor. Yet congregations are also among the most challenging of organizations, since they are essentially volunteer associations where people leave as they come and where authority to lead is given by consensus. I look at each congregation as a unique system formed of many interdependent parts in a web of relationships. My role is to help you understand how your congregation works and how to adapt to change.
Areas of Focus
Middle Judicatories
I work extensively with national denominations and their middle judicatories (i.e., synods, sessions, presbyteries, diocese, districts) around the country on issues of change and leadership. Denominations are reinventing themselves as the old model of top-down bureaucracy fades, congregations assert their independence, and denominational resources dwindle. These developments are now past the tipping point—particularly among smaller denominations—and there is no going back. I help denominational leaders understand the cultural and demographic shifts behind these changes.
In my personal coaching, public speaking, and three- to four-day training events, I focus on the opportunity for middle judicatories to act as leverage points for guiding change. The mission and role of a denominational leader is not the same as that of a congregation. I encourage these vital “connectors” to clearly define and communicate their unique roles.
Large Congregations
Large congregations have a distinctive set of issues that relate to their size. These issues include planning, staffing, leadership development, and clergy transitions. Because large congregations are complex systems, they usually need to start thinking about issues well in advance. Boards of larger congregations find that a discernment model of decision making often works better than democracy. Larger congregations find it easier to be more independent from denominations, yet they risk not being held accountable to a tradition and theology that flows from being in covenant.
Leading Change
What I wrote about ten years ago in my book Leading Change in the Congregation is still relevant. I help congregational leaders understand how changes in the wider culture have affected change within congregations. For instance, many years ago we lived in a group value system. Personal identity was often tied to groups, and building consensus was highly valued. Today, the value system has shifted away from the group to the individual and away from consensus to finding common values. Leadership skills and a new set of tools are crucial for dealing with resistence to change, influencing the system, and building on your congregation’s strengths.
Board development
Strong boards approach their work in terms of the congregation’s vision and mission. They follow a discernement model rather than make every decision by democracy. Congregations may invite me in for one reason and find that the way forward calls for shared leadership and effective governance.
Education
- B.A., Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
- Th.M., Boston University School of Theology, Massachusetts
- Ph.D., Psychoeducational Processes (Organizational Development and Small Group Development) Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Publications