A farm, a tornado, a girl, her dog, and three friends following a yellow brick road:  Frank Baum builds on common, familiar images to tell his fairy-tale adventure, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Baum’s morality tale about the qualities needed to make it in the world says the trip requires brains, heart and courage.

Baum’s characters—the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion—were fanciful but intentional ways of framing his message. These three characters symbolize the universal human qualities of mind, heart, and courage. Congregations possess these same three qualities:

• Every congregation has a mind.  What do we see inside our congregation and from our doors?

• Every congregation has a heart.  What do we feel about what we see?

• Every congregation has courage.  What will we do with what we see, feel, and imagine?

Using Our Brains

Evaluating a congregation’s strengths should reflect how well it accomplished those universals for which congregations exist.  How is it doing at “being” a congregation?  Strong congregations consistently and effectively achieve the goals for which congregations exist. Are they teaching others—especially the young—about their faith?  Do they provide places where people are emotionally and spiritually nurtured?

Evaluating congregations in this way is similar to evaluating any other type of voluntary organization.  It is a rational, analytical, and organizational approach. Congregations achieving the rigorous criteria of strong organizational life meet the same standard of performance as other voluntary organizations.

Getting to the Heart of It