Gilbert Rendle, Behavioral Covenants in Congregations: A Handbook for Honoring Differences. Alban Institute, 1999.
Referenced in: Church Conflict – Communication, Healthy Behavior, Forgiveness
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
This is an excellent volume that I recommend to every church that wants to keep destructive conflict from re-occurring or to prevent it from ever happening. Rendle argues that we live in a time of widespread incivility, and organizations such as churches need help through carefully derived agreements regarding appropriate behavior, or “Holy Manners.” He gives step-by-step procedures on how to craft behavioral covenants and helpful suggestions on how to use them so they actually become part of a new corporate culture. Few authors are as insightful regarding congregational life as Gil Rendle, and this is one of his best volumes.
From the Publisher
This down-to-earth workbook gets to the heart of modern congregational life: how to live creatively together despite differences of age, race, culture, opinion, gender, theological or political position. Alban Senior Consultant Gil Rendle explains how to grow by valuing our differences rather than trying to ignore or blend them. He describes a method of establishing behavioral covenants that includes leadership instruction, training tools, resources (visual models, examples of specific covenants), small-group exercises, plans for meetings and retreats.
“Behavioral Covenants in Congregations is a gem of a book for any pastor or church leader who has noticed how inappropriately people often behave in their church relationships.” — Rev. Samuel E. Robinson, Ph.D.
“Have you ever wondered about the seeming ‘disconnect’ between the behavior of faith communities and the Word proclaimed in their midst? Cultural values and norms can’t be checked at the door of the community, but are integrally woven into the fabric of congregational life—sometimes much to our dismay! Rather than accepting this as an embarrassing or awkward ‘given’ about which we can do nothing, Gil Rendle’s book invites us to claim a deeper truth of the covenant community discovered again in contemporary spiritual discipline, enabling us to bridge congregation and culture.” — Rev. Michelle Wright Bartlow, Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, UMC
About the Author
Gil Rendle is a senior consultant with the Alban Institute. An ordained Methodist clergyperson with 15 years in parish ministry, he has extensive experience as a congregational and judicatory consultant, focusing on organizational development and systems theory.
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