Bishop Willimon receives positive marks in extensive 2007 evaluation
Bishop Willimon (left) and Dr. Mickey Morgan chat during the 2007 North Alabama Annual Conference.
Evaluation and accountability have been a part of the Methodist movement from the beginning. During the last three years, under the episcopal leadership of Bishop William H. Willimon, these words have become even more a part of the North Alabama Conference conversation and way of life. So much so that even Bishop Willimon undergoes an annual evaluation.
Chair of the North Alabama Conference Committee on Episcopacy Dr. T. Michael Morgan explains that each year throughout Bishop Willimon’s tenure in North Alabama he has asked the Committee on Episcopacy to evaluate his performance. Bishop Willimon also shares his goals for the next year with the committee and those goals become the framework for his next evaluation.
Morgan says, “I have served on the Committee on Episcopacy for three Bishops and
this is the first Bishop willing to be evaluated. So he is not asking the rest of us to do something he hasn’t submitted himself to.” Morgan adds, “He underwent evaluation even before he asked the District Superintendents to evaluate pastors.”
Bishop Willimon notes that this year the District Superintendents are also developing a more formal evaluation process of their work. The Conference Connectional Ministries staff began their new system of evaluation during the second half of 2007.
Bill Hamer, Management Consultant to the Bishop, explains that such a process allows each person to develop a mutually agreed upon job description (between them and others in the organization). It also provides multiple opportunities to evaluate performance such as self evaluation, supervisor evaluation and “customer” evaluation.
Hamer adds, “The evaluation processes being developed provide value added to work. They give the Bishop, District Superintendents and Conference staff the opportunity to continuously improve.”
Over the last three years the Committee on Episcopacy has used a variety of ways to evaluate Bishop Willimon’s performance but the 2007 evaluation was far more extensive.
2007 – A More Extensive Evaluation
Morgan explains that the Southeastern Jurisdiction Episcopal Committee asked that each Annual Conference evaluate their bishop during 2007. So North Alabama’s Committee on Episcopacy’s planned evaluation expanded and included more input from more members of the North Alabama Conference.
“By request of the Southeastern Jurisdiction Episcopal Committee we sent evaluations to 60-70 people throughout the Annual Conference” Morgan says.
These people included the Committee on Episcopacy, United Methodist Center Staff, District Superintendents, District Lay Leaders, clergy serving ATEM appointments and many At-Large evaluators who included a diverse group from young clergy and lay people to retired clergy and lay.
“The sampling included retired people, young people, District Superintendents, staff… People who are a part of the fabric of our Annual Conference are who have done this evaluation,” Morgan notes. “It was a great random sampling.”
The evaluation asked participants to rate Bishop’s Willimon’s performance in the key areas of Leadership, Leadership in the General Church, Presidential work (presiding at meetings), and working with the Ordained and Other Personnel.
On a scale with 6 being best to 0 being lowest, Bishop Willimon received a total evaluation score of 4.78 out of 6. His overall scores in each key area were
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Leadership 5.04
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Leadership in General Church 4.76
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Presidential 4.82
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Working With the Ordained and Other Personnel 4.48
“His numbers, I thought, were good.” Morgan says.
Morgan was also impressed the overall numbers were so high and notes that the scores were notably skewed by a couple of participants giving the Bishop zeros on every question. He notes there were also surveys that were generous with scores of 6, but none gave all sixes to every question.
Participants also were able to provide specific comments on the Bishop’s strengths, areas of needed improvement and other aspects of his performance. Morgan says the comments on the surveys provided some “wonderful honesty.”
“He is perceived to be really effective by lay people and pastors alike,” Morgan concludes.
Morgan also notes that the Southeastern Jurisdiction Episcopal Committee will use this year’s evaluation in their work of assigning Bishops during the 2008 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference.
The evaluation process happened during the summer of 2007 following the Annual Conference session. That fall, after the evaluations were gathered, Morgan met with Bishop Willimon and shared the results in their entirety. Bishop Willimon then met with the Committee on Episcopacy a few days later for discussion and consultation regarding the evaluation and his future plans and goals to address issues that surfaced from the feedback.
He also shared his 2008 goals with the committee. He notes these goals were developed in light of the 2007 evaluation and the Conference priorities.
Bishop Willimon’s 2008 goals include
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Work with the Lay Ministry Team on a Conference-wide study of United Methodist beliefs utilizing his book on United Methodist Beliefs.
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Work with the Cabinet to establish
a. An improved, streamlined appointive process that stresses attentiveness to results and specific measurement of pastoral effectiveness.
b. A system of performance evaluation of District Superintendents
c. A New Church Development Committee to continue to expand and coordinate new church starts. -
Raise $100,000 in New Church Development Funds
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Publish a book on Christian Salvation with Abingdon Press in the summer of 2008
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Preach in 30 congregations in North Alabama
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Have a minimum of three days training, consultation and conversation with each of the eight districts
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Lead and lecture on the Journey’s of Paul in November 2008
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Teach a course at Birmingham-Southern College in the fall of 2008 as part of the Conference priority to recruit young clergy.