  Match members with gifts, ministries urge Written by Tammi Reed Ledbetter | News Editor Posted Monday, February 25, 2008 HOUSTON—Athletes and churches have at times followed a similar course for short-term results with little regard for long-term consequences. Making a comparison to the steroid scandal among athletes, Jay McSwain told a Texas gathering that both groups have replaced hard work with shortcuts to improve immediate performance. A variety of Southern Baptists of Texas Convention churches were represented at a recent PLACE Ministries workshop held in Houston to hear McSwain describe a process for doing the hard work of assimilating members into a local church. Some can be described as megachurches—such as Houston’s First Baptist or Champion Forest Baptist. Smaller churches like First Baptist of Rosharon where pastor Al Perry is preparing for anticipated growth in his community were also represented. All of the participants have turned to PLACE for an effective strategy to assimilate members into their congregations. While PLACE materials are utilized by a variety of denominations, McSwain’s Southern Baptist convictions are clear as he tells workshop participants how his belief in an inerrant Bible undergirds the principles found in PLACE resources and his teaching. “A lot of personality books take a New Age approach,” he warned. “PLACE Ministries is based on Scripture.” McSwain received his M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary before serving as a staff member and lay volunteer in churches ranging in membership from 10 to more than 9,000 members. Currently a member of First Redeemer Baptist Church in Cumming, Ga., he is the founder of MDC Today Foundation which launched PLACE. His family’s business, McCar Homes, provided substantial support for the Foundation to provide research, development, and resources at reasonable prices to churches and individuals. Executive Director Kraig Kelsey describes PLACE as a Bible-based, self-discovery process that helps members find out what their personality is, and what are their spiritual gifts, abilities, passions, and life experiences. Then, by discovering their unique design, they discover where to serve within ministry. PLACE was introduced in 1999 at Council Road Baptist Church in Oklahoma City where McSwain was serving as associate pastor of ministry development. PLACE is designed as a means of involving “pew warmers,” new and potential church members, new Christians, senior adults, members with non-standard work hours, as well as those leading very busy lives, McSwain explained. Resources available to individuals and to churches range from an assessment tool to comprehensive kits for implementation of the process within a local church, as well as an online database to profile and track member involvement. While most of the tools are offered in an audio CD or DVD format, McSwain has kept in mind the need for print versions for folks who never go near a computer. PLACE offers leadership training workshops like the one recently held in Houston with the first day devoted to the five-session assessment process and a second day to see how consultant volunteers meet with individuals to review their assessment and determine where they might serve in a local church. Practical steps and suggestions for successful implementation of PLACE are offered in the closing afternoon of the workshop. McSwain also offers customized on-site training for a local church’s staff and leadership. After almost a decade of fine-tuning the process, McSwain has learned how to guide churches to take individuals from the point of discovering what makes them unique to engaging them in suitable ministries where they grow in their walk with Christ. Some churches use a new member’s class to teach their doctrinal beliefs and priorities followed by five sessions utilizing the PLACE material. “You can adapt this to the culture of your church,” McSwain said of the curriculum, allowing flexibility for a weekend workshop or multiple weekly sessions. He values the principles taught by men like Bruce Bugbee of the Willow Creek Network and Rick Warren’s approach in S.H.A.P.E. While the assessment of personality and spiritual gifts found in Warren’s tool are similar, PLACE takes a different approach to discovering an individual’s abilities and examines how people might be disconnected from their passions. Both tools recognize the impact of personal experiences on an individual’s path of service. Praising Warren’s teaching ministry and Bugbee’s recognition of a return to the assignment given ministers in Ephesians 4:12, McSwain credits both for raising awareness of the need to equip new Christians for service. “One of the most obvious differences between PLACE and Network is the listing of spiritual gifts,” McSwain noted. “Even while many Christians who serve on the same church staff will not agree regarding spiritual gifts, we have tried to stay away from some of the more controversial gifts that have caused much division within the body of Christ. We believe and teach in our workshops that each local church should teach to their members their own theology on spiritual gifts,” he added. For some people, the gift listing in PLACE materials will automatically disqualify McSwain’s curriculum from being used because of the conservative stance. However, the SBTC’s missions department is incorporating the assessment tool in its church planter training. “The majority of time spent taking individuals through a PLACE assessment workshop is devoted to helping them discover their unique God-given design and purpose,” McSwain said. Beyond self-discovery, the training also involves application as individuals pursue a ministry opportunity within that church. “By the end of the workshop or consultation, the participant will be able to connect the dots of the various elements of their PLACE profile. It is at this point that many, for the first time, will see how the dots have been orchestrated by God to guide them to a ministry where they are both competent and fulfilled in serving,” McSwain shared. In addition to contemporary illustrations, PLACE points to individuals from the Bible who typify the personality, ability or experience described. “We take participants directly to individuals in the Bible and explain how God used their unique design to accomplish his purposes for his people.” Beyond the biblically-based assessment tool, McSwain said PLACE Ministries spends approximately 75 percent of their time helping churches with the process after the self-discovery, providing continued support through personal interaction to help churches connect believers to ministry. “We’re trying to develop resources that are sustainable and measurable.” McSwain guides staff members to learn to give away the tasks that members often are eager to do. “They’re not giving away ministry, but the tasks.” Surprisingly, as individual members give more of their time to those tasks that accomplish ministry, they tend to give more of their money as well, he said. Citing research by George Barna, McSwain said, “People will give their time before they give their money and once they give their time, studies have shown they’ll give 50 percent more of their money.” The PLACE process also helps the church balance its ministry beyond what McSwain has found to be the predominant conversation in most church staff meetings—figuring out how to “fill up the big room.” While the PLACE tool focuses on the ministry purpose of a local church, it provides a means of equipping members for involvement in the other priorities of worship, evangelism, fellowship and discipleship. “I do not believe that ministry is any more important than the worship component,” McSwain said, “but just putting people in seats in a room is not meeting these five objectives.” He pointed to a trend tha ISSUE: CONTENTS
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