Bivocational Ministry

Playground politics

2012-01-25T16:05:00.000-05:00

Two posts in one day??? I can't help it. After my last post I read an article about Nancy Pelosi claiming to "know something about Newt Gingrich" that will cause him to be defeated if he is selected as the Republican nominee. I am not a supporter of Gingrich, and I don't care one way or the other if he is selected by the voters to run against President Obama or not, but reading that article really ticked me off.

With the important issues facing this nation here is a former Speaker of the House playing what I call playground politics. It reminded me of hearing a small child on a playground taunting others by saying, "I know something you don't know." (It helps if you repeat that in a whiny, nasal voice.) It's no wonder that the approval rating for Congress is as low as it is with this kind of leadership. When asked, her office tried to claim that she just knew Gingrich would not win election, but she has repeated this twice for the media insinuating she knew things about Gingrich which she would reveal if he is selected as the Republican nominee. In typical Gingrich fashion he has responded if she knows anything she should reveal it now. He also said that he would rather have Pelosi opposing him than supporting him, and on that point at least I can agree with him.

It is just this kind of childish behavior on both sides of the aisle that prevents this Congress from doing anything of substance. Someone once said that a nation gets the leaders it deserves, so I'm not sure what this says about our nation or its future. With continued high unemployment, continuing foreclosures, and a growing deficit is it too much to ask that our elected officials begin to act like grown-ups and work together to improve the situation our nation finds itself in? It's time our elected officials remember they are in office to represent the people they serve, not their own self-interests or the interests of their party. Maybe the voters need to begin saying, "I know something you don't know," and that something is that if they can't represent their constituents we are ready to replace them with people who are.

Enough political talk. The truth is that I've also seen such behavior occur in churches when people are resisting some change. I've seen church members, supposedly mature Christians, withhold their giving to force a pastor to resign. I've seen church leaders force out pastors who they could not control, and I've seen pastors abuse church members who opposed their wishes. I've sat in church business meetings that turned into shouting matches. I've witnessed churches leaving their denominations because of misunderstandings and erroneous information that someone with an agenda presented to the congregation. Unfortunately, I've seen plenty of playground politics in churches, and it's just as sad when it happens there as when it occurs in Congress.

We have important work to do, but we live in a society that is growing more and more disenchanted with the church. They see us as irrelevant and unnecessary. Petty personal preferences and playground politics will do nothing to change that perception. People need to be introduced to the person of Jesus Christ and invited to enter into a relationship with Him, and the church will only be successful in doing that if we are led by spiritually mature individuals willing to set aside their personal preferences in order to touch other's lives in a meaningful way.

Boundaries for former pastors

2012-01-25T14:16:00.000-05:00

I recently received an e-mail from a pastor struggling with how to best minister to a former congregation. His successor passed away a few months ago and now a family with close ties to the congregation died in a accident. The church is still seeking a pastor. The former pastor lives in a nearby community and sees former members occasionally in shopping centers and other places in their small community. The pastor is not only grieving over the loss of this family but also for the pain he knows the congregation is feeling. His question was how, and if, he could minister to those former members.

My response was that I have faced the same situation in my own pastoral experience. I continue to live in a small community in which I pastored a church for 20 years. It is inevitable that I run into former church members and talk about their lives. There have been funerals and weddings I would have liked to have been included in but could not due to boundary issues. What I have tried to do is separate pastoral ministry from normal Christian care and concern. I avoid weddings of former members completely. When a death of a former member occurs I will go to the visitation but not to the funeral service. The vistation allows me an opportunity to express my sorrow and enter into their grief as a fellow believer, but by not attending the funeral it enables me to avoid any appearance of involvement in the service. I believe this is fair to the current pastor, and it allows me to address my own grief at the person's passing as well as an opportunity to express support to the family as a fellow Christian. I encouraged this person to walk with people from his former church in their grief as a fellow believer but to not accept any leadership role in ministering to them. Another area pastor has already been asked to conduct the funeral service so that will make that easier for this former pastor.

I often say that bivocational ministry is very geographic. Many bivocational ministers will serve churches within a few miles of their home. Seldom does a person travel across country to accept the call to a bivocational church. In many cases, the bivocational minister will not move from his or her home when leaving a church. That means the problem of boundaries is one that often confronts the bivocational minister.

Does the way I've handled this situation make sense? What have been your experiences with maintaining proper boundaries with former churches you've served? I think this could be a good forum question that would be helpful to those who regularly read this blog so feel free to jump in with your experiences and thoughts.

New Executive Minister for American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky

2012-01-24T23:29:00.000-05:00

After a year long search our Region has voted to call the Rev. Soozi Whitten Ford to become our new Executive Minister. Soozi brings a lot of pastoral, judicatory, and denominational experience to her new position. As an Executive staff member in our Region I attended the Board meeting when they interviewed Soozi and voted on her call, and I was very impressed with her responses to their questions. This is the first time I've had a new boss in a long time, so I was quite interested in hearing her comments and her responses, and I must say that I was very pleased with what I heard. I am looking forward to working with her in the fulfillment of the vision of our Region. It is expected she will begin her new position in mid-March.

Big-E

2012-01-23T15:54:00.000-05:00

In 1968 I boarded the USS Enterprise off the coast of Vietnam as an Electrician assigned to the Catapault and Elevator Shop. At the time it was the largest warship in the world and had the most modern weapons and technology available. Three years later, after two trips to Vietnam and thousands of miles on the ocean, I left the ship when I was discharged from active duty. This weekend I read it is now the oldest active duty ship in the Navy and will be decommissioned after one final deployment to the Persian Gulf later this year. Talk about something that makes you feel old!

When I told my wife about the 2013 decommissioning of the Enterprise she said she bet I would like to be on that last deployment, especially if it would be with my former shipmates. I certainly would. I can't remember all their names, but I can still see their faces and remember a lot of the times we shared. I can vividly remember the bunk that I slept on for three years, the way our shop looked, especially after we remodeled it in 1970, the main mess deck, and hangar bay and flight deck. I remember going up on the viewing level and watching flight ops, and I can remember the catwalk along the side of the ship where we would sometimes sleep at night to enjoy the warm breezes and hear the sounds of the ship cutting through the water. I remember the fire and explosions that rocked our ship and took the lives of two dozen of our shipmates and the weeks spent in Pearl Harbor repairing the damage so we could return to the Tolken Gulf. So many memories. It would be great to be back on the ship one more time. But, not to do the job I did for three years.

See, everything on that ship has changed. The technology has changed. The elevators I used to work on operated from a complicated series of switches and relays. I'm sure those have been replaced with electronics. The F4 Phantoms that were the pride of our air wing have been replaced with much more sophisticated aircraft. I'm sure many of the rooms I remember have been moved to other locations on the ship. The guages and tools I used have all been replaced with much better equipment. A treat for me when I was on the ship was to receive a reel-to-reel tape from my wife and family that I could play on a small player. Now, crew members can communicate through computers, Skype, etc. I have many wonderful memories of my time on that ship, but none of them reflect the reality of today's Enterprise. For me to be effective on the ship's last deployment I would have to learn a whole new way of doing things.

What has any of this to do with a blog that addresses bivocational ministry and smaller churches? Very often we have people in our churches with memories of wonderful ministries that made a difference in people's lives. They can recall the faces and names of people long since gone and how important they were to the life of the church while they were there. These memories are exciting and meaningful to these folks, but unfortunately they do not reflect the reality of the needs of the church in the 21st century. Everything about our society has changed since the days they remember so well. The needs of both the unchurched and often the churched as well have changed. New ways of doing church have been identified that are more effective in reaching people for Christ. Flannelgraph lessons in Sunday school have been replaced with video projectors and class blogs. Websites, Facebook, and Twitter have replaced Tuesday night visitation as a means of reaching out to unchurched people. Denominational loyalty is much less important today to the average church member than it was even ten years ago which means new ways of funding denominational work and mission work must be found. Many unchurched people have little, if any, biblical frame of reference one can use when trying to explain the Christian faith. We have entered into a pre-Christian, post-modern world where all belief systems are considered equally valid and true, and the only absolute truth that is acceptable is that there is no longer absolute truth.

I could go on and on about the changes that have taken place in the church and society over the past two decades, but the fact is that if we continue to try to do ministry as we did twenty years ago, and maybe even ten years ago, we will have little impact on today's society. It would be the same as me returning to the Enterprise and trying to perform my previous tasks with the same training, tools, and equipment I had when I left there forty years ago. That great ship is still doing the same task it did when I served aboard it: protecting and defending the national interests of the United States, but today it is doing it with new methods, and it will soon be replaced with a new aircraft carrier that will have even more improved technology and greater means by which it can protect and defend our nation. Our task as the church is the same today as it was when the church began in Acts, but it must accomplish that task with new methods and a new understanding of our present culture, or it will never be as successful in changing people's lives as it could be.

Heartland Bivocational Resource Center

2012-01-20T22:32:00.000-05:00

The Heartland Bivocational and Small Church Resource Center is located on the campus of Campbellsville University and led by Rev. David Sandifer. This center has been providing resources for bivocational ministers and the churches they serve since the late 1990s. Watch this video about the ministry of the Center and an interesting interview Sandifer conducts with Rev. John Chowning, a bivocational pastor and Vice President of Church and External Relations at the university. I have been friends with both of these individuals for a number of years and have appreciated their commitment to bivocational ministry. I believe you'll enjoy this video and I encourage you to check out the resources available through the Center and Campbellsville University. For anyone serving in bivocational ministry who may not have formal theological education I especially invite you to look at the certificate program for bivocational ministers available through Campbellsville. I believe you will find it affordable and very beneficial to your ministry.

Let's get serious

2012-01-18T08:58:00.000-05:00

In the US approximately 100 churches close their doors every week. That's about 5,000 churches a year. This is happening at a time when our population continues to grow and the number of unchurched people is also increasing. Many of those churches that close are smaller churches that may have been barely surviving for a numer of years. Some are new church starts that didn't make it, and others are churches that developed problems they could not overcome. Although these churches come from a variety of backgrounds, they share some things in common. They began as the result of someone's vision that a church was needed in that location. They served a number of wonderful people whose lives had been transformed as the result of the ministry that occurred in that church. But, somewhere along the way they lost their sense of purpose and forgot why God had called them into existence in the first place. We're all familiar with the passage, "Where there is no vision the people perish." A church that has lost God's vision for its present and future ministry is a church that is destined to die. It may survive for a season because of the faithfulness of previous generations, but eventually such a church will close. As more and more Americans decide that the church is not relevant to their lives in the 21st century, more of these visionless churches will close in the future. The question for the leaders of these churches are what will you do about this?

For too many decades now the church has complained about the decline many churches are experiencing, but too often they have done little, if anything, to turn that around. It's time for these churches to get serious about this problem. Either stop complaining or do something about it. It's time to realize that what may have enabled your church to thrive and enjoy exciting ministry in the past is not going to work in the present. We no longer live in a church culture in this country. Instead we are living in a rapidly emerging pagan culture, to use the term of one writer, that does not know God and has little use for the organized church. As I told a group of church leaders recently, your church is in just as much of a pagan culture as what our missionaries in Africa or Asia work in. To think the old ways of doing church and denominational work in the 21st century is going to produce the results they did in the mid-twentieth century is just not being realistic. Our culture has changed, and the means by which we impact this culture for the Kingdom of God must also change or we will continue to sink into further decline in both numbers and impact.

For many of us in church leadership that means we need to learn new ministry skills. Most seminaries are still training ministers to do ministry in a modern, churched society, and their graduates may have great understanding of biblical languages, history, and theology, but many of them are ill-equipped to do ministry in the post-Christian culture in which we now live. They may know the "Language of Zion," but they do not know the language of the street. They may understand how to exegete Scripture, but they don't know how to put that into a sermon that speaks to current realities of 21st century life. We need to find new ways to proclaim and model the life-changing truths of Scripture. How can we best do that?

Constantly read good books by trusted authors that challenge your thinking about ministry. Leaders are readers, and if you're not reading at least one book a month you are not leading. (I try to read a book a week.) Do not limit your reading to books about faith and church, but read books occasionally that will help you better understand the culture in which we now live.
Attend continuing education training events to help sharpen the gifts God has given you. It's much easier to saw down a tree if you stop occasionally to sharpen your saw. Take time to sharpen the tools God has given you.
Get a coach to help you through the ruts that occur in ministry. The business world has proven the return on investment for a coach is great, and the same thing is true for ministers. A good coach can help guide you into better decision making and is a wonderful investment you can make in yourself.
Pursue formal education that will prepare you for ministry in the real world. There are very good programs available at any level you need. Campbellsville University has a great on-line certificate program specifically structured for bivocational ministers. They also offer both on-line and on campus Masters of Theology degrees for those ministers who have completed college. If you have not completed college, you may want to consider that, and they offer on-line and residential programs to enable you to do that as well. I have taught one of their on-line classes, and I can tell you they offer classes that are very practical for ministers and church leaders.

If we want to have an impact on the lives of the people around us, we are going to have to get serious about what we do. The day for playing church games is over. A lost and dying world can no longer afford to wait for the church to get serious about its calling. Our chuches can no longer wait for their pastors to take seriously the call to leadership God has placed upon them. Our denominations can no longer continue to play political games to try to placate their churches. It is time for our churches, both bivocational and fully-funded, to rise up and be the church God has called us to be.

Awakening

2012-01-17T22:12:00.000-05:00

Awakening is a new program we are offering to the smaller churches of the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky. Designed for churches with an average attendance of under 110, Awakening will examine seven aspects of church life: Health, Transformation, Vision/Mission, Structure, Discipleship, Worship, and Stewardship. Pastors and three lay leaders will be invited from each of our smaller churches to participate in this 18 month emphasis. Along with the seven sessions we will provide additional resources for Bible study and sermon preparation plus provide a coach for each pastor for the duration of Awakening. This program will demand a lot from the participating churches, but it will also provide a lot. If you are a member of a church that averages 110 or less in the ABC of Indiana and Kentucky I encourage you to participate in Awakening. It will transform your church. The deadline for registering is fast approaching so I urge you to act now by going to http://www.abc-indiana.org/ for registration information.

Job descriptions

2012-01-12T19:12:00.000-05:00

This evening I read that one of the reasons some pastors experience burn-out is because they are locked into job descriptions that are designed to maintain the institution and care for the members instead of being free to serve from their calling and giftedness. As soon as I read that I thought of the many pastor job descriptions I've seen over the years, and most of them do focus on maintenance ministry. Pastors often get the blame for the lack of growth in churches, but in most cases they are doing what the church has told them to do. While this problem is not limited to smaller churches, it does seem to be a common problem in many of them.

Churches have to come to a place of decision. They can either be faithful to the Great Commission and Great Commandment or they can call a chaplain to care for the flock. It's time they quit playing games and saying one thing while expecting another. The fact is, many churches have made the decision; they just haven't had the courage to voice it.

If Jesus operated like many churches today He would have focused all His attention on making sure the 12 disciples were comfortable and had all their needs met. Fortunately, for all of us, He did not do that. His purpose for coming was to reach out to the whole world and offer people a new life that could only be found in a personal relationship with Him. He equipped His disciples to take His message to nearby communities and to continue His work after He was gone. His example should be the model for churches today.

Pastors, does your job description free you to do ministry or does it call you to be a family priest and chaplain to the faithful in your congregation? Are there people you can talk to about this? If you could write your own job description without limitations, what would it be? Who can you talk to about this?

2012-01-10T23:31:00.000-05:00

I just added several new subscribers to my free monthly e-newsletter for bivocational ministers. If you serve in such capacity or work with bivocational ministers you should request this valuable resource. It is also a great resource for lay leaders in such churches. On the first of each month this newsletter goes out to hundreds of people just like you who have found it addresses the unique challenges of bivocational ministry.

Each month you will find articles that speak to some issue that is relevant to bivocational ministers, information about upcoming training events I am leading, and a book review of a recently read book that I believe will be helpful to my readers. There is no cost for the newsletter and I will never sell or give your mailing address to anyone.

For twenty years I served as a bivocational pastor of a small church in southeastern Indiana and for the past 11 years I have worked as a judicatory minister with special responsibililities for the smaller churches in our Region. I have great respect for persons who serve as bivocational ministers and believe their numbers will continue to grow across most denominations in the future. This newsletter is just one of several resources I make available to assist them in their work. Contact me if you are interested in being added to the mailing list and you'll start receiving your newsletters in February.

Coaching bivocational ministers

2012-01-10T07:30:00.000-05:00

This Friday I will be training about a dozen United Methodist pastors in Ohio how to coach the bivocational ministers in their District. This particular District has a large number of smaller churches many of which are led by bivocational ministers. I met one last year who pastored three churches as a bivocational minister (and I used to think pastoring one was a challenge!). District leadership has been looking for ways they can resource these pastors and decided that providing them with a coach would be one possibility. Because of my work with both bivocational ministry and coaching they asked me to train their coaches.

This is something I hope catches on in many judicatories. The numbers of bivocational ministers are increasing in virtually every denomination. Many judicatories are cutting staff and services. Coaching is a great way to stay in contact with a pastor and provide assistance, and because most coaching can be done by telephone the costs and time of travel are eliminated. Because of the schedules many bivocational ministers keep coaching provides the flexibility to fit into any bivocational ministers schedule.

Because coaching operates from the belief that the person being coached already has the answers to most of his or her challenges but just needs someone to help bring those solutions to the surface, coaching is very affirming. As a coach there is nothing more rewarding that when the light bulb suddenly goes off for the person being coached and they have one of those "Aha" moments. As a person who has been coached I remember times when I suddenly realized the solution to my question during a coaching session. It was exciting and affirming. Such times helped me get unstuck in some of my thinking and enabled me to move forward with my life, and it's been exciting to me as a coach to help others do the same thing in their lives and ministries.

If you feel coaching could benefit you, please contact me and let's talk. If you are in judicatory or denominational leadership and believe coaching is something your organization should consider for the bivocational (or fully-funded) pastors in your judicatory, you should also contact me. I would love to discuss the possibilities with you.

Frustration and uncertainty

2012-01-09T16:09:00.000-05:00

For some reason this week I've spoken to a few pastors and lay people who are frustrated with the direction of their churches and don't know what to do about it. In at least one case, it is causing some significant stress in the pastor. He remains committed to the church but is concerned about its future. I'm not sure how helpful I've been to him or to the others with whom I've spoken.

Along with these conversations I did some reading last night that deeply troubled me about the future of the church. I closed the book and began asking myself if we are just riding a dead horse. I began to think of several churches I know that have been declining for so long that the people now assume that's the way church is supposed to be. I thought about denominations that are in the same condition and begun to wonder if we are pouring good resources into something that will never be able to advance the Kingdom of God again. Are the traditional churches and denominations historical relics that have outlived their usefulness? Are those who have been calling for a return to house churches on the right track? Are we focused on maintaining systems and structures that can no longer address the needs of the 21st century? I thought about a lot of things last night and again today and have to admit that I have not come up with real answers to my questions.

I know Jesus said the gates of hell would not prevail against the church, but was He speaking about what we know as the church today? I know that God's Kingdom will advance, but will it do so through the same structures we have today? How can I be the best steward of my life and resources, and how can I best respond to God's call on my life today? These are important questions for which I do not have an answer.

They are also the kinds of questions each of us need to be asking of ourselves and our churches. Those of you who attend my healthy church workshop have heard me ask two important questions: "Who are we here for?" and "Is what we are doing here today worth the life of the Son of God?" Perhaps we need to be adding these additional questions as we think about our future ministry plans.

This is not meant to be a depressing post but one that will make each of us think about what it is God has called us and our churches to be and to do. I think it is good to spend time on a regular basis considering such questions and prayerfully seeking God's answers to them. I may not be certain of a lot of things right now, but I do know this morning I thanked God for giving me the privilege to serve Him in ways I never thought would ever be possible. It is an exciting calling God has given me, and I hope you feel the same way about His call on your life as well.

Discipline isn't fun

2012-01-06T16:50:00.000-05:00

About three years ago I started on Weight Watchers and over the next 18 months lost 50 pounds. I weighed the least I had weighed since Navy boot camp and felt really great. Well...with all the traveling I do it wasn't long before the weight started creeping back. A pound here and a pound there until I had regained much of the weight I lost. I've started back on the program and decided to jump start it by going all this week without meat. Nothing but fruit and vegetables. It hasn't been fun trying to find something to eat that doesn't include meat. That's not how I was raised, and it's not a lifestyle I want to live. But, the discipline has been good, and I do feel that I've lost weight this week. (I force myself to only weigh myself the first thing every Monday.) When this week ends I'll be back to eating meat, but I'll continue to count my points and get this weight back off. I did it once and I'll do it again, but the discipline that is required is not a lot of fun.

But isn't that the whole point of discipline? If discipline was easy everyone could do it, and it wouldn't be discipline any longer. What's true of discipline in weight loss is also true in the life of a Christian. We talk about discipleship much more than we practice it. The church may talk about being a disciple, but few churches define what that means and even fewer provide any real discipleship training. In most churches they substitute Sunday school classes for discipleship believing that discipleship is all about education. Discipleship includes education, but it goes far beyond it. To be a disciple means that there must also be some action.

Jesus told a rich young ruler to sell all he had, give it to the poor, and follow Him. Jesus did not tell him to study a quarterly that taught about the needs of the poor; He told him to actually do something about the poor, and what He asked the man to do was to give away everything he owned so he could follow Jesus. What was the man's response? He went away sorrowful because Jesus had asked him to do something difficult. To be a disciple is hard.

We should not use this story to announce that every Christian is to sell everything he or she has to give to the poor. Jesus asked the rich ruler to do that because his wealth was what was standing between him and Christ. What Jesus asks each of us to do is to remove everything in our lives that prevents us from fully following Christ. It may be money. It may be a relationship. It may be a habit. It may be something that is totally ethical and proper, but it is a problem in your life because it hinders you from following Christ. Whatever it is, it will always hurt when you give it up. Jesus taught that we should count the cost of being His disciple because there will be a cost involved.

Accepting the call to bivocational ministry also requires discipline on the part of the minister. There will be a cost to accepting that call, and sometimes the cost is really deep. It takes discipline to work a second job and serve as a pastor. It takes discipline to prepare a sermon(s) every week. It takes discipline to lead others. It takes discipline to continue to grow as a person and a minister. But, the cost is always worth it when we are in God's will for our lives.

Whatever your goals for the new year, it will require some discipline on your part to achieve them. If it doesn't, your goals weren't much. There will be days when you'll wonder why you ever decided to pursue a particular goal, but when it is finally achieved you'll understand the discipline was worth it.

New year = new opportunities

2012-01-02T08:40:00.000-05:00

The start of a new year always brings with it the hope of new beginnings. One poll I read last week showed that most Americans believe 2012 will be a better year than recent ones. While that can be true, it will not happen by accident, and it probably won't happen because we made some new year's resolutions that sound quite similar to the ones we made last year about this time. If we want things to be better we need to take specific steps to make that happen. The mistakes of 2011 are now behind us, and it is time to look for the new opportunities for personal and ministerial growth that 2012 will offer. Let's look at some of those opportunities.

You have the opportunity to get your finances in order. Debt is destroying our nation and too many of our households. It's time to stop talking about our financial problems and doing something about them. Some of you need to do plastic surgery and cut up your credit cards. It's time to get serious about paying off your debt which may mean a big change in lifestyle for a time. Dave Ramsey says that we need to live like no one else right now so we can live like no one else later. What a great thought! His books and radio program can help you develop a strategy to get out of debt, and his Financial Peace University can be a great ministry your church can offer your congregation and the community.

You have the opportunity to create wonderful memories with your family. I don't want to be morbid, but one day those memories will be all your family will have of you. I, for one, do not want those memories to consist of me always leaving the house to attend another committee meeting or some other function that really doesn't demand my time. I want them to remember the times I sat in the gym for their basketball games or in the stands for a baseball game or track event. I want them to remember a holiday dinner where we all sat around the table laughing at the stories we were telling. I want them to remember the times I held them in my arms when I had no words to offer for their pain or grief. I want them to remember vacations we took where my focus was on them and not on checking e-mails.

You have the opportunity to improve your health, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Frankly, I spent too many years not giving my well-being much thought, and I regret that now. To live life to the fullest it's important that we care for ourselves. As I say in some workshops, self-care is not selfishness; it is stewardship of a resource God has given each of us. Life and ministry is for the long haul, and the better care we take of ourselves the better we will enjoy both life and ministry.

You have the opportunity to make a difference in people's lives. You will encounter many people in 2012 who are seeking a transformed life. They are tired of the life they are living but do not know what to do about it. As a Christian, you have a message of hope and transformation, but that message does no one any good if you never share it. Look for the opportunities God opens up for you to share a word that might change someone's life forever.

If you are ready to take advantage of the opportunities the new year brings you but are not sure how to begin, that may be an indication you are ready for coach to help you. The best investment you will ever make is in yourself. Having a life coach to assist you in your desire to change your life is not an expense; it is an investment in your life and your future. If you think it is time to get a coach to assist you in making the changes you want to make in your life, please feel free to contact me. I can only coach up to five people at a time, but I would be glad to work with you if you are ready to take advantages of the opportunities 2012 is bringing you.

Favorite books of 2011

2011-12-27T08:34:00.000-05:00

As this year winds down I thought I would share my favorite books of 2011. For whatever reason, I felt somewhat frustrated by my reading this year. Several books I read left me rather empty, and as I finished them I wondered why I had even bothered to read them. I usually judge a book by how many nuggets I highlighted, and some, quite frankly, had very few highlights. But, these ten are not in that category. These were books that were enjoyable, informative, and gave me much to think about. That is why I want to share them with you. In true Dave Letterman fashion I'll start with number ten and work my way to the top.

#10 - Muzzled: The Assault on Honest Debate by Juan Williams. Williams was the news analyst who was fired by NPR for comments he made on Bill O'Reilly's program. The outcry after his termination led to the removal of those who made the decision to fire him. Williams is an African-American who, in my opinion, is one of most honest analysts on TV. On some issues he takes a more liberal approach, and on other issues he is more conservative. The thesis of this book is that it is increasingly more difficult today to have a debate on any issue without it leading to a personal attack. Discussions too often turn into shouting matches that seldom lead to any positive outcome. Sound like any church business meetings you've attended? I really enjoyed this book and found Williams' honest comments about this problem refreshing.

#9 - Practicing Greatness: 7 Disciplines of Extraordinary Spiritual Leaders by Reggie McNeal. McNeal acknowledges that we have many good leaders in the church, but he believes one of our greatest needs is for great leaders. He also believes greatness is not accidental but is experienced by those leaders who seek to be great, and this book is to help leaders develop themselves into great leaders. I agree with McNeal and often quote John Maxwell in my workshops: "Everything rises and falls on leadership." If that is true, then our churches will never rise above the level of the persons leading them, and this is why every pastor and lay leader should aspire to become a great leader. This book will help you achieve that.

#8 - Steering Through Chaos by Scott Wilson. Everything today is changing at a rapid rate. Everything that is except many of our churches. We are living in a time of chaos as change is impacting everything we have known for years, and if we are going to lead our churches to have any kind of effective ministry in our communities we will have to embrace change. Wilson gives the reader some tools to help them to do and to lead through the chaos that will result. He admits there will be pain involved in leading churches through times of transition and growth, but the pain will be worth it for the difference you will make in the Kingdom of God.

#7 - Has Christianity Failed You? by Ravi Zacharias. This year I re-read several of Zacharias' books as part of my devotional reading. While I enjoyed all of them I found this one especially helpful. There comes a time in every Christian's life when he or she feels that somehow their faith has not produced the results they were hoping for. Some become bitter and turn away from God; others simply decide that perhaps they can't trust Him as they thought they could or perhaps something is wrong with them and they are being punished for their misdeeds. With great sensitivity Zacharias addresses this issue in this book. This will be a book that will help you during those times of questioning in your life, and it will be a valuable resource when you are ministering to others who are going through dark times in their lives and wondering where God is in the midst of their suffering.

#6 - Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink. What things motivate you? How do you attempt to motivate others? How can we move from extrinsic (external) motivations to intrinsic (internal) motivations, and does it matter? If Pink is right and external motivations can become entitlements in some people's minds, we cannot continue to dangle the carrot out there as our primary means of motivation. I found this book to be a very interesting read about motivation and how a lot of what we thought we knew about motivation simply isn't true. I will caution you that this is not a quick read, but I think you will find it helpful as you lead volunteers in your church.

#5 - Recapture the Wonder by Ravi Zacharias. As many of Zacharias' books as I read this year it is not surprising that two of them made my favorite's list. Let me ask you a personal question...are you as on fire for God as you were when you were first saved? Does your call to ministry continue to burn within you, or are there days you wish you were doing anything but ministry? In time, most believers lose that initial sense of wonder and excitement of being a child of God and serving Him. In this book the author challenges us to recapture that wonder and gives us some means by which we can do that.

#4 - Weird: Because Normal Isn't Working by Craig Groeschel. I've heard from some pastors that this book became the foundation for a sermon series they preached this year, and I can understand why. Most Christians are content to live normal lives that look much like the way everyone else is living, and we wonder why so few people are attracted to the Christian life. Groeschel challenges us to begin to live differently than the world. I know you may be thinking about some really weird people who attend your church, and you might be thinking you don't want to become those people. You're right...no one wants to become those people, but that isn't what Groeschel is talking about. He is challenging us to begin to live our lives according to the the red letters in our Bibles, the words Jesus spoke. If we just starting living like Jesus taught, that would be weird, and it would give us opportunities to share our faith with others. I think you'll like this book.

#3 - On the Verge by Alan Hirsch and Dave Ferguson. The authors challenge us to begin to think of the church as an apostolic movement rather than as an organization. This will require a paradigm shift that will not come easily to many people, but they believe as I do that such a shift is necessary. While many churches still struggle with introducing change into their church, such as music styles, the authors believe that such changes really won't amount to much. They view such changes as cosmetic and insist that only deep changes in the culture of the church will bring about signficant change. One comment I especially enjoyed was "In the church Jesus built, conversion was commission or baptism is ordination, take your pick." In other words, God has called each believer to ministry; there are no spectators. If we could introduce only that shift in our thinking into our churches it would revolutionize many of them.

#2 - Dangerous Church: Risking Everything to Reach Everyone by John Bishop. Why do many church members not invite their friends to attend church with them? This is only one of the questions Bishop asks in this book that is both uncomfortable but necessary. Another one is how much is your church willing to risk to reach the unchurched? In this book the author is calling the church back to becoming the church Christ called it to be, a church that is willing to risk everything to reach the world for Him. This book will help you look at your church through new eyes.

#1 - EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey. Ramsey built a highly successful business from a table in his dining room after going bankrupt. Best known for his books on financial principles, his radio program, and Financial Peace University Ramsey released this book in 2011 to help develop entrepreneurial leaders. Although it is written primarily for business owners and leaders, many of the principles you find in this book are easily transferrable to church leaders. I believe most bivocational ministers are entrepreneurs so I think you'll find this book to be especially helpful to you. This was easily my favorite book of 2011.

There's my top 10. I realized as I was compiling the list that all but two of these books were read on my NOOK. The two Zacharias books have been on my bookshelf for a few years and had been previously read, but the other eight were downloaded and read as e-books. That certainly represents a paradigm shift for me! The Ramsey book came with embedded videos with him briefly commenting on some item he had written which made for an interesting change in reading. I have downloaded several new books on the NOOK and have purchased some "real" books that are sitting on my shelf, so I'm ready to start my reading adventure in 2012. I hope you will find some books in this new year that will inspire you to grow and think.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T12:54:00.000-05:00

Our home is filled with the wonderful smells of recently baked cookes and bread. Presents for the grandchildren are wrapped and ready for delivery. Christmas music has been playing in the house all day. This has been a challenging year in many ways for our family, but this morning during my devotions I couldn't do anything but thank God for the blessings we've enjoyed this year. Regardless of the situations, we have enjoyed a sense of His presence throughout the year. All I could do this morning was to give Him thanks.

I also thank God for all who follow me on this blog, on Twitter, and my Facebook friends as well as the hundreds who now receive my monthly e-newsletter. Each of you are a blessing to me, and I pray that I have been to you as well this year. May you and your families have a very Merry Christmas and a most blessed 2012!

2nd book published in Korean

2011-12-23T16:08:00.000-05:00

I was excited to learn today that my publisher has signed an agreement with a publisher in Korea who wants to publish Intentional Ministry in a Not-So-Mega Church. This will be my second book produced and sold in Korea and my third foreign language book. In addition, I've been asked this year if I would be willing to lead workshops for bivocational ministers in Scotland, India, and Canada. There have been no invitations as yet to do that, but at least there is some interest.

Not only is bivocational ministry growing in the US, but it is very common in many parts of the world. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to develop resources that are not only helpful to bivocational ministers in this country but are seen as important to bivocational ministers around the world.

My next book, The Healthy Community: Moving Your Church Beyond Tunnel Vision, is now available for pre-order on amazon.com with a scheduled release of March 1, 2012. Pastors of all size churches will find this book helpful as they consider what they need to do in the coming years to enable their churches to have more of an impact on their communities.

Light and salt

2011-12-21T07:58:00.000-05:00

We hear much talk today of the need for the church to adapt itself to the world if it is to effectively impact society. In fact, we hear it so much that it has almost become a mantra to many church leaders. In my devotional reading I am reading the classic, The Christiam Mind, by Harry Blamires. Published in 1963 this book still has much to say to Christians and to the church today. Here is an except from the book that speaks to today's post.

There is a limited, specialized sense in which it is true that the Church must adapt itself to the modern world. But over a whole range of controversial issues - and in the deepest and most controversial sense - it is rather true that, far from the Church adapting itself to the modern world, the modern world must adapt itself to the Church...For if the Christian faith is true, and the Christian Church the authoritative vehicle of salvation in time, then it is the most urgent, inescapable need of the modern world to adapt itself to the Church.

As I say in my workshops, one of the primary reasons unchurched people avoid church is that they consider it irrelevant to the time. In some ways, they are correct. We often spend time answering questions that no one is asking, and we do not spend enough time addressing the needs of the day. However, ultimately, the church can never be irrelevant because at its best it is answering the timeless questions that all people ask at some time in their lives. It also cannot be irrelevant because the morals, ethics, and values it teaches are timeless as well. Critics of the church say that the church must adapt to the realities of the age, but I believe that Blamires is correct when he insists that the greatest need is for the world to adapt itself to the Church.

How much more evidence do we need that the values, morals, and ethical systems of the world do not work? Read the headlines and listen to the news. As a society we are morally bankrupt, and that bankruptcy is having a much more devastating effect on society than the financial bankruptcies that are so common today. In fact, the financial meltdown of today can largely be traced back to the moral and ethical failures of those who led the various financial institutions. Millions of Americans and people around the world have been financially destroyed because of the greed and utter lack of moral consciousness of many of the leaders of financial institutions, corporations, and our government. Even worse are the stories of child abuse that are currently in the headlines. How many more children will come forward to tell of abuse at the hands of adults in whom they trusted? Even more haunting, how many will remain silent while their untold stories continue to eat away at their insides?

There is no such thing as a values-free society. The question is whose values will prevail? On the one side we have the values that have been taught by the church and on the other side are those taught by a society that opposes the church's teachings. Which values bring decency and order to society? An even greater question is which ones come from the highest authority? The values taught by the church come from God while those promoted by society come from fallen individuals. I know that those who deny God exists will reject my last statement, but that rejection is immaterial to me. It is not my job to appease non-believers; it is my job to shine light into the darkness in which they live and speak truth to them. It is my job to be salt, to live my life in such a way that people become thirsty for God in their own lives. This is the task of all of us who call ourselves Christians, and we cannot succeed at this task if we merely adapt ourselves to the world.

In 2012 how will your church be light and salt to your community? I believe that if we are going to be successful at this we will have to speak truth to our communities. We must boldly proclaim that God's Word is true and that what He has taught us about morals and values must be followed if we are to live in a society that will protect its weakest citizens and enjoy the blessings of God. It is time that the church stop worrying about what society might think or what the media might say and determine to once again become the light and salt God called us to be. Jesus said if the salt loses its savor it is useless and fit only to be cast aside. This should serve as a warning to every church that refuses to be salt and light to its community. We have spent too much time in recent years trying to adapt ourselves to the world in an attempt to be more acceptable to them. It is time that we tell the world that it needs to adapt itself to the church if it has any hope of surviving.

The power of coaching

2011-12-13T06:16:00.000-05:00

Next month I am scheduled to train some UM pastors who will be coaching bivocational ministers in their district. I'm really excited about this for a couple of reasons. One, it's exciting to see judicatory leaders looking for new ways to resource their bivocational ministers. Two, I know how helpful it can be to a bivocational minister to have a coach. This will be a win for both the pastors and the district plus those who are serving as coaches are going to be blessed in ways they do not yet understand.

Over the past 3-4 years I have become convinced that there are few things more powerful in a leader's life than having a coach. I benefitted from a coach who helped me through some decisions I had to make about my life and ministry, and I've been privileged to coach a number of other ministers. We all get stuck sometimes in our lives. We all have those times when we just aren't sure of the best direction to take. Every minister has those seasons in his or her life when there is more doubt and frustration than faith. Often, in our most challenging moments, we aren't sure who to turn to or talk to about the issues facing us. In those times, having a coach come alongside to walk with you can be quite powerful.

Coaches don't give advice; they ask questions. They challenge the person being coached (PBC) to think deeply about the issues facing them and to consider possible solutions. Coaches encourage and at the same time hold the PBC accountable. They speak directly to the PBC, sometimes saying things the PBC would prefer not to hear, but it is always with the desire to help the PBC move forward in his or her life. Coaches don't dwell on the past; they help the PBC move forward in life. The best coaches want the PBC to experience everything God has planned for his or her life and is committed to helping them achieve that.

As you think about 2012, are there goals you would like to accomplish but are uncertain how to best do that? Do you see some decisions that you will have to make next year that have you really concerned? Are you fearful that 2012 will be a repeat of 2011, 2010, 2009, etc, and the thought of that bothers you more than you would like to admit? Does your life and ministry feel like a wheel in a hamster's cage, and despite all your activity you feel like you're going nowhere? If you answered yes to any of these questions you might be ready for a coach to help you move forward.

With my other responsibilities, I can only coach up to five people at a time, and I currently have openings. Virtually all my coaching is done over the telephone so it doesn't matter where you live. I've coached people from several states and Canada. Most of the people I've coached have been bivocational ministers, but I've also coached fully-funded pastors, and I am open to coaching persons who are not in the ministry but want help with some aspect of their lives. I am a charter member of the International Christian Coaching Association.

If you want to move forward in your life and ministry in 2012 I encourage you to consider having a coach assist you in that process. If you feel that I may be able to assist I would be honored to discuss that with you.

Growth in the small church

2011-12-12T09:05:00.000-05:00

In my files I have a cartoon of a church business meeting. There are three people at the meeting. Behind the pastor/moderator is an attendance board that shows attendance for this Sunday at 2, attendance the previous Sunday was 2, and attendance a year ago was 2. The moderator is addressing one of the attendees and saying, "So you believe we should become a mega-church. Would you like to elaborate on that?"

I think of this cartoon every time I hear of a small church pastor who tries to copy a model that they learn from one of the mega-churches. Let me say upfront that I have absolutely nothing against mega-churches, and I believe that smaller churches can learn from the larger churches. I used to attend a quarterly prayer meeting in a nearby mega-church, and I always made sure that I took a member of our church with me. I wanted to expose them to the excellence in everything this church did. But, I never once wanted to pattern our church after this mega-church.

Some members of a small, rural church recently told me that all their new pastor did was talk about what the mega-churches do. He took several church leaders to meet with the pastor and other leaders of a mega-church in their state. This mega-church church averages between 1/3 and 1/2 of the total population of the entire county where the smaller church is located, and yet this pastor has a vision of duplicating their growth and numbers. While trying to become a mega-church pastor he is driving away several of the long-term members of the church who have become totally frustrated with this pastor's unrealistic obsession.

One of the qualities of a good goal is that while it should be challenging it must also be realistic. I applaud this pastor's desire to have a growing church. He has a passion for unchurched people and a deep desire to see people commit their lives to Christ. I have no doubt that any church he leads will grow, but it is foolish to believe that the church he now serves will become the next mega-church. His goals needs to be smaller, and as those goals are met he can begin to expand them. Unfortunately, instead of doing that he is alienating the people who have been in that church for years and rapidly losing their support. The minor growth their church has experienced is in danger of being lost.

If you are the pastor or a lay leader of a smaller church I encourage you to set some challenging goals for 2012. Those goals should include reaching new people with the gospel. However, at the same time it is important to remember those who are already part of your church family. To ignore these people or to insinuate their needs are not important is poor pastoral ministry.

Worship in a small church

2011-12-11T23:10:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday I visited a small, rural church pastored by a bivocational minister. I always enjoy the opportunities I have to visit this church because I am blessed every time I'm there. So much is written today about everything a church needs to do to attract people that it is easy for one to assume if a church isn't doing these things it can't grow. That simply isn't the case. Yes, in some churches there is a need for innovative worship, but there is also a need for those churches who continue to worship as they have for years. And...these churches can grow. The church I visited has more than doubled in size since this pastor began there about 4 years ago.

The pastor isn't seminary trained. The church has no choir or video equipment. Congregational singing is led by the pianist. There are no worship bulletins. During the pastoral prayer people shared various prayer needs they knew about and mentioned those who were doing better since the previous Sunday. After the congregational singing ended the pianist asked if anyone had special music they wanted to do. When no one volunteered, the pastor picked up his guitar and sang a beautiful song. The message was simple but challenging. No bells, no whistles, no frills.

Some may wonder why the church has grown. I believe there are several reasons for such growth. One, the pastor is a humble man who has told me several times how surprised he is that God had called him to pastor a church. He loves the people, and they know it. Two, the people there love God and one another. One can feel the warmth as soon as you walk in the building, and at the end of the service no one is in a hurry to leave. Three, the people who attend there are willing to work hard to serve others. Several from that church recently joined other churches in their association to provide a Christmas party to a group of patients at a hospital. Because of work their pastor couldn't be there this year, but that didn't stop them. They spent an afternoon with some people who probably won't have much of a Christmas except for what these churches brought them.

There is a need for those churches who are able to offer a more modern worship experience, but there is also a need for those churches who continue to offer a more traditional experience. The most important thing about the worship in your church is not that it is modeled after the latest book but that it allows the people who attend your church to experience God in a meaningful way. I believe such services honor God, and the service I attended this week did that.

Truth

2011-12-08T08:49:00.000-05:00

My current devotional reading is the 1963 classic The Christian Mind by Harry Blamires. It's not an easy read because Blamires is British and writes in a manner not typically found in much of today's literature. The good news is this forces me to slow down my reading and really concentrate on what is being said, and that forced concentration has revealed some wonderful nuggets of understanding.

In today's reading he writes, "The marks of truth as christianly conceived, then, are: that it is supernaturally grounded, not developed within nature; that it is objective and not subjective; that it is a revelation and not a construction; that it is discovered by inquiry and not elected by a majority vote; that it is authoritative and not a matter of personal choice." He goes on to write, "The sense of an objective truth existing within the sphere of religion has been lost. Religious conviction is, for the secular mind, a matter of individual preference related, not to objective truth, but to personal need and predilection."

Remember, he wrote this in 1963. How much more true is this today than then? Since he wrote these words two generations have grown up being taught that there is no such thing as objective truth, that truth is subjective and determined by how one feels or believes about a particular thing. Even in the church the idea of an objective truth has largely been ignored which is one reason we have such difficulties in many of our churches today. Entire denominations struggle to speak with a clear voice on many issues because the idea of a supernatural truth established by God has to be approved by a majority vote. And even if the majority does vote to agree with God, the minority has to be given its politically correct option to loudly disagree and continue to push its agenda. If the church struggles with this how much more will the unchurched population struggle to accept supernatural truth?

This is why one student in a school whose parents do not believe in Christ can cause the entire school to abandon its Christmas program in favor of a holiday program. This is why it is not politically correct to speak of Christ in the public arena. Talk about God all you want, but expect trouble if you bring Jesus Christ into the conversation. This is why it is nearly impossible to bring any kind of moral teaching into any discussion of the major issues facing our nation and the world today. Let's work to eradicate AIDS, but we musn't talk about the moral issues that have brought about this horrible disease. Let's pour money into assisting children who live in poverty, but we must not mention why so many are living in such conditions: the rising number of children born to unwed mothers, the absence of fathers in the home, no-fault divorce, the rising epidemic of drug addiction, the failure of our educational system to properly educate young people so they will have the skills to provide for themselves and their families, etc. We can measure the rising crime rates, but we must be careful to not offer any biblical insights into why people commit crime or we might offend someone. We can continue to pour money into supporting those without jobs until we bankrupt the nation, but we must not point out the immorality of the greed of those who send jobs overseas or the immorality of laws that make such action profitable for those companies who do send those jobs overseas.

A few years ago a movie was made about Al Gore's efforts to promote the concept of global warming. The film was called An Inconvenient Truth. Truth as found in Scripture is an inconvenient truth for most of our population today. Until we in the church recognize that the teaching of Scripture are true and begin to structure our lives accordingly we will never be able to have the impact on society that we should have. Until we are willing to proclaim that truth regardless of the outcry that will be heard against it, we will continue to live on the periphery of society. Until we are willing to confront people with the truth about who Jesus Christ is and why He came to earth we will not see their lives changed through a personal encounter with the living Savior. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father except through Me." That may be an inconvenient truth to many in today's society, but it is the only truth that will change lives, and it is the truth the church must proclaim this Christmas season and throughout the coming year.

Why no vision?

2011-12-06T08:02:00.000-05:00

Last week I met with a small church that is ready to seek to new pastor. One of the questions I always ask the committees charged with this task is to tell me the vision of the church. As usual, no one could answer. They all looked at one another, looked down to the table, and admitted the church really didn't have a vision for its future. I then rephrased it a little and asked, "Tell me where you see the church five years from now." Still no answer. I then asked, "How do you know what gifts you need in your next pastor if you don't know where God is wanting to take your church?" Unfortunately, this is a conversation I have with almost every church I assist in their search for a pastor and most churches I consult with.

Like the old western song, most churches are drifting along like a tumbling tumbleweed. They have no sense of purpose and no direction because they have no sense of a God-given vision. They have given little thought, if any, of where they want to be five years from now. Many of them are just hoping to have enough income this year to pay their bills and hoping that in their drifting along that something good might happen in the life of their congregation. Well...hope is not a strategy. Hope is a wonderful thing but it cannot take the place of a God-given vision, and it will not take you to the place where God wants you to be.

Discerning God's vision is not always an easy thing to do. In fact, it can be quite messy at times. I wish I could give you a three step process that would give you God's vision for your church at the conclusion of the process, but I don't know of such a process. There are things that a congregation can do to assist the process, and I've worked with a number of churches to help them with their seeking a fresh vision from God for their church. Unfortunately, not all of those churches had a better sense of a vision than before we started.

I've thought about why it is so hard for churches to identify God's vision for their church. I always begin with the assumption that God still has a vision for each church, so why is it so difficult for some churches to discern what that vision might be? One of the conclusions I've made is that although some churches seem to be seeking that vision, they really don't want it.

Most of the time, a fresh vision from God will require that something has to change for that vision to be fulfilled, and the churches are unwilling to change. Such a vision might require specific demands upon the church's resources, and the congregation is unwilling to make those resources available. It might require different leadership, and persons currently in leadership are unwilling to step aside. Because God knows that heart of each person, He knows whether or not a church is serious about wanting to know His vision for its ministry, and if a congregation is not willing to move forward with that vision He doesn't provide it.

Where will your church be at the end of 2012? What impact will it have made in the lives of the congregation and those who live in your community? Is there a single vision your church is seeking to fulfill in the next year? If your church closes its doors in 2012 will anyone from the community even know, or as we approach this time next year will your community rejoice for the impact your church made it people's lives?

Growth can lead to problems

2011-12-02T14:14:00.000-05:00

This week I met with a pastor and had a conversation with a church leader from another church. Both conversations centered around pastor problems. The pastor I met with had recently been confronted by a member who was very unhappy with something the pastor had recently done. The lay leader asked if I could meet with a contingent from their church who were also upset with their pastor. An interesting fact about each church is that each pastor has been there for four years or less, and each church has grown by at least double since the pastor arrived. My hunch is that in each case the problems are due to changes the pastor has made that led to the growth but upset the long-time members. I'll know if my guess is right in the next week or so. But, history has taught me that just because small churches say they want to grow that doesn't mean they will be happy about the changes such growth will require.

Virtually every small church I work with tells me they want to grow and reach new people. Few of them are happy when I tell them that if what they have been doing would grow their church, the church would already be growing. If they are serious about wanting to reach new people they will have to be willing to do some new things that might reach those people. Even fewer are happy when I tell them that such change might mean that some of the long-time members might leave, and the church might actually get smaller before it begins to grow. A woman in one church told me that there wasn't anyone in their church she was willing to lose as that church decided to not implement the recommendations I might make even before hearing them.

Of course, we can't always blame church members who simply don't want any change in their churches. Sometimes the way a pastor presents possible changes almost assures their rejection. There is an art to recommending changes in a small church that every small church pastor needs to learn and follow. The worst thing such pastors can do is to try to force change on a small church or rush it. It's also a mistake to propose signficant changes without first running them past the lay leadership for their input. BTW - each church member will decide which changes are significant and which are not so it helps to have been around for a while to know what's important to each member before trying too many new things.

There is another aspect to such problems. As I mentioned to the pastor, his church is growing so he should expect that Satan will try to find a way to stop their growth. Because much of their growth is from new believers, Satan is even more committed to stopping this church from reaching into his territory and helping people find freedom in Christ. I find the only churches the devil doesn't bother are those that are not doing anything. They are not a threat to him so why should he waste his time on them. But in the case of a church that is reaching new people, it seems he can always find some button to push to try to disrupt everything. If your church is growing, and you are starting to sense resistance, just know you are involved in spiritual warfare, and the only effective weapons will not be flesh and blood but spiritual.

At this time, I don't know if the pastor will remain at his church or not. I'm scheduled to meet with the other congregation next week so I'll know more about their situation then. What I do know is that two churches that have enjoyed some exciting growth in the past couple of years have been slowed down in their efforts because of problems. I would call upon each of you to continually be in prayer for all churches as they seek to represent Christ to the world and reach people for the Kingdom of God.

Social media

2011-12-01T08:15:00.000-05:00

I will soon qualify for my personal pocket protector. It seems I become more of a geek every day. A few months ago I joined Facebook, and this past week I got on Twitter. I'm now a Twit that Tweets or is that a Tweet that Twits? Anyway, I'm now posting and reading messages on both. Besides that, I finally convinced my wife to get her a cell phone which she had resisted doing. She wanted a less expensive phone, but after sending 2-3 text messages to grandkids she asked if she could get an upgrade. I THINK she was joking.

The day after Thanksgiving I noticed that while I was checking e-mails on my I-Phone, our son who was in for the holiday was responding to an e-mail on his I-Pad and my wife was sending a text to our daughter who had returned home earlier that day. Everyone was communicating, but none of us were talking to one another. That bothered me.

Social media, cell phones, and computers are all great tools to increase personal productivity, and I believe they can be very helpful to promote church activity, but the danger is that they can take the place of human touch. Smaller churches, in particular, are all about relationships, and while electronic tools can help communicate they cannot develop the kind of relationships that are most needed in the small church. That still requires the human touch, the sound of a human voice, and the assurance that you are loved by someone who walks with you in both good times and bad. If we lose the human touch we will have lost something very important to the community of faith, so I urge you to not let that happen.

In the meantime, feel free to follow me on Facebook and Twitter. At Twitter you'll find me at DennisBickers. If you are not receiving the free monthly e-newsletter that goes out to bivocational and small church leaders, send me an e-mail letting me know you want to start receiving that. I just sent out December's newsletter to over 600 people, and I would love to add you to the mailing list.

Working together to advance the common good

2011-11-22T13:22:00.000-05:00

I guess we should not be surprised that the congressional panel set up to cut spending failed to reach an agreement. Washington has been broken for years and incapable of providing any real leadership that would actually benefit the country. Former Speaker of the House, Tip O'Neil, was famous for his line that all politics is local. What he meant by that was that as long as a politician in Washington made sure he kept the streets paved back home, got a few jobs for some of the locals, and earmarked a few million dollars for his district he was certain to get re-elected no matter what he did on the national scene. Unfortunately, his words are still true today. People complain about the professional politicians in Washington and how all the incumbents should be voted out, but of course they are not including their own representatives in that mix. As long as their representative keeps the gravy flowing into his or her local district they will continue to be re-elected. Somehow that seems like that should almost be considered buying votes, but of course we'll never see that passed into law. In the meantime, our nation continues to slide further and further into a debt hole that we may never escape. The people who supposedly represent the people should be proud that the nation continues to grow weaker on their watch. They should also be reminded of that at the next election and voted out of office and forced to return to the real world where people are out of work, losing their homes, and struggling to put food on their tables. Personally, I am in favor of voting out every incumbent that runs for office in the next election. Enough of the political rant. Unfortunately, some of what I've written also applies to the church.

How many churches are stuck because their leaders cannot agree on the best way to move forward? I recently attended a meeting where the pastor and church leaders were at a stalemate. What each of them were proposing was not acceptable to the other party. It looked for a time like the pastor's time at that church was about to end when one of the lay leaders suggested a possible compromise. Almost immediately both sides recognized that they could live with the compromise. The remainder of the meeting was spent discussing how to move forward with the new plan. I was excited for the pastor and the church because I saw real leadership being displayed, and with that kind of leadership good things can happen.

I also know that such compromise would not have occurred in all churches. I've seen too many instances where two sides dug in and refused to give even an inch, and in every one of those cases the church suffered. At the root of such situations I believe there is a lack of vision that unifies the leadership. In my workshops I often define conflict as two or more visions competing for the same space. In the church above the leadership did share a common vision which allowed for a compromise to be reached that would allow them to continue to pursue that vision. In the churches where compromise is not possible, each party comes to the table with their own vision and goals and the belief that only they know what is best.

This is what happened with the congressional committee. The Democrats had their agenda, and the Republicans had theirs. Unfortunately, neither of those agendas included finding out what would be best for America and working together to make that happen. They failed in their leadership and do not deserve to represent the American people again. When leaders in the church put their own best interests above what is best for the church and the Kingdom of God, they have also failed in their leadership. We must learn to work together to advance the common good for both our nation, our churches, and for the Kingdom of God.

Computers...ugh!

2011-11-16T16:16:00.000-05:00

Monday morning my mouse and keyboard both quit working on my HP computer. The computer is only about 3 years old, but it's been a problem almost since day one. I've never liked it as well as my previous computers (mostly Dell and some that a computer guru made for me). I still had my old Dell keyboard and mouse, but of course the connections are different. The Dell uses USB ports, and all but one of my USB ports on the HP quit working when I installed Windows 7 less than a year after buying the computer. I got a jack to plug into the one working port that would give me several ports so I can plug in my mouse and keyboard. When all my ports quit working I contacted HP and Microsoft tech people asking how to fix the problem, and neither of them responded. I asked the repair people at Staples, and they claim they had never heard of the problem. I suggested they google Windows 7 USB port problems and they could read about a bazillion complaints. The guru who usually does my repairs also didn't know how to solve this problem. Now with the mouse and keyboard issue it's time to get a new computer.

I've looked at some Dell units (HP is out of the question...this was my first and last HP computer), but I'm also considering a Mac. The problem is I have used PCs ever since we had DOS systems, and I'm quite comfortable doing the things I do on the PC. I'm not sure how well I would shift to a Mac and how long it would take to make the adjustment. I do a LOT of work on Microsoft Office, and I wonder how that system works on a Mac. With the huge difference in price I'm leery to make the jump, but I'm not real pleased with Microsoft either. Their XP system is the last one that I liked. Vista was a joke, and I can't say I'm much happier with 7. I hear they are coming out with the latest and greatest, but they won't have the bugs out of it before they develop its replacement. I'm pretty convinced that Microsoft is more interested in developing new systems quickly than they are in getting them right before making them available. I also wonder about how effective it would be to have a Mac desktop unit and the PC laptop I use while traveling. I do share files between computers.

So, I'm at a crossroads. Do I make the shift to Mac or stay with the PCs that I know? Are the new PCs on the market today better than the latest piece of junk I bought about three years ago? Instead of offering suggestions or advice today I'm asking questions and hoping some of you have some good answers.

Training events for bivocational ministers

2011-11-09T06:42:00.000-05:00

In recent weeks I've had the opportunity to talk to judicatory leaders from three different denominations who just had or were planning to have in 2012 a training event for bivocational ministers. All three said that it was the first event they had offered specifically for bivocational ministers. This is a great statement of how they view the importance of the bivocational ministers in their churches. They recognize that we face different challenges and need training to meet those challenges, and it was the goal of each of these judicatory leaders to come alongside their bivocational ministers and provide the assistance they need to accomplish the task God has for them and their churches. A fourth judicatory is going beyond offering an event but is currently planning an 18 month emphasis that will offer seven different workshops for the pastors and lay leaders of their churches averaging 120 or less on Sunday morning. Many of these pastors will be bivocational as well. What a great statement this judicatory is making about the value they place on their bivocational ministers!

One of the fears associated with these events is that bivocational ministers often do not attend these types of training opportunities. Each of these judicatories is spending a lot of time and money to offer them, and if no one attends they may be reluctant to do anything specifically for bivocational ministers in the future. I want to strongly urge you to make time in your schedule to attend these types of events when they are offered. All of the ones I referred to above will be held on Saturdays. I know Saturday is often a very busy time for bivocational ministers because we are trying to make up for the things we couldn't do during the week, but it is important that you invest this one Saturday a year in your own personal development, and it is important that you support your denomination's desire to invest in you.

I know some training events are better than others. I have attended some where I couldn't write fast enough to keep up with the presentation. The material was so good that I left there inspired and full of new ideas to take back to my church. I've sat through others wondering if there would ever be anything presented that mattered, but even in those I always found a nugget of information that was helpful. (I happen to be in one this week that falls in the latter category, but I will leave here with enough new information to make these three days worthwhile.)

It is exciting to see denominations and judicatories now offering training opportunities specifically designed for their bivocational ministers. When I pastored that never happened, but it is now happening with much more frequency. Please take advantage of these opportunities to grow and learn new things that will benefit your ministry and that of your church.

Giving

2011-11-07T17:41:00.000-05:00

Today and the next couple of days I'm attending a conference on fund raising. The presenter shared some very interesting statistics today. In 1970 72% of all charitable giving went to religious organizations, including churches. In 1990 that number dropped to 49%, and by 2010 it had furthered dropped to 35%. Many churches have seen their financial support decrease in recent years. Part of that may be due to a decline in church attendance, and some of it can be contributed to the current economic situation we've been in for the past few years. However, another reason is that the number of 501 (c) (3) organizations have increased from around 800,000 in 2001 to about 1.2 million in 2010. This means there is more competition for charitable gifts. Your church is competing with many organizations for the financial gifts of persons who want to support ministries and other charitable organizations.

The Builder generation (pre WW-II) continues to support organizations such as churches and denominations. Later generations, including those of us who are Baby Boomers, are less likely to contribute to organizations out of loyality to the organization. These generations give to organizations and causes that we believe in. These organizations often do a great job of presenting their work in a positive light, and they are not afraid to invite people to support them. For many of us in pastoral ministry, we are fearful of saying too much about finances out of fear of offending people. We pass the collection plate and invite people to give without really explaining why they should.

I'm not going to try to go through the entire workshop I sat through today, but I do want to share one piece that I think might prove helpful to you and your church. People today are much less interested in giving their money to maintain an organization unless they can see examples of what that organization is doing with that money. They are not going to give just to keep the utilities turned on. They are going to support organizations that are making a difference in people's lives. It is very important today that you tell the stories of what your church is doing ministry-wise that is having an impact on people. These stories provide you with a compelling reason why people should support the ministry of your church instead of giving their money to some other organization. A question that you must answer is why should people give to your church rather than giving their money to another ministry, and if you can't answer that question you can expect to see a decline in your financial support.

One thing you don't want to do is to fall into the trap of thinking there is a scarcity of money available to churches and other ministries. Our God still owns the cattle on a thousand hills. We need to maintain an abundance mentality. There continues to be an abundance of resources available to every ministry, but only those who can offer a compelling reason why people should support them will see much of that abundance. I challenge you to sit down with your leadership and begin to formulate the story of how your church is impacting the people in your community and around the world. With such stories your church should see an increased level of support that will make even more ministry possible in the future.

Doors

2011-10-31T22:29:00.000-04:00

Can anyone explain to me why churches may have two, three, four, or more doors in the front of their buildings and yet only one is unlocked on Sunday morning? I can't tell you the number of times I have visited a church and tried several doors before finding the one that was unlocked. As frustrating as it to me when that happens it must be even more upsetting to an unchurched person who may have decided to visit a church one morning. I think the message is very clear...we don't want you in here. Unless you are a regular member who knows the secret to which door we will open you are not invited. Locked doors are a major barrier that many churches, both bivocational and fully-funded, have erected to make it difficult for new people to feel welcomed. At the very least put a large sign on the unlocked door making it obvious that this is the entrance to the church facility. Better yet, unlock all the front doors if you want to send a message that people are welcomed to your church.

Bivocational minister pipeline

2011-10-30T06:29:00.000-04:00

While many of my readers are bivocational ministers, some are lay people who are interested in learning more about bivocational ministry. For those readers I have a serious question to ask: Have you felt God's call on your life to be a minister, and if so, what are you doing about it? Recently, an individual called me asking how one prepares educationally for the ministry. In our conversation he admitted he had felt called of God 25 years ago and had been running from it ever since. He was tired of living in disobedience to God's call on his life and had surrendered to that call. While I believe he has a very good future in ministry I can't help but wonder what his ministry might have been if he had obeyed God's call on his life 25 years ago.

Just recently I was talking to a judicatory leader from another denomination who admitted to having the same problem the denomination I serve has. The number of churches needing bivocational ministers is growing faster than we can identify people who can serve them. Because we cannot suggest quality people to serve as their pastors some of these churches go out and bring in the first person they can find who claims to be called to the ministry and isn't afraid to get up and preach a sermon. Sometimes it works out well for the church; sometimes it's a real train wreck when the church realizes they have asked someone to serve as their pastor who has serious issues in his or her own life. The judicatory leader and I agreed that we need people in a leadership pipeline so we will have them available when our churches ask for our assistance in finding a bivocational minister. Perhaps we need to be talking to you.

If you have felt called to bivocational ministry but haven't done anything about it I would encourage you to contact a leader within your denomination to discuss your situation. It isn't required by most denominations that you go to seminary before entering the ministry. Many denominations do have training opportunities available that would give you some practical and theological training that would be helpful as you serve a church, and I would certainly encourage you to take advantage of such training. I only know of one denomination that requires their ministers to complete such training before they will assist them in finding a church. We need bivocational ministers now, and we will need even more in the future, so it is important that we have people in the process of being trained so when one of our churches calls asking for the names of potential bivocational pastors we will have quality people we can recommend.

For those readers who might be part of a denomination, there are still people you can talk to about your sense of call. You may want to call a denominational leader in your state. If you live in Indiana and sense a call to bivocational minister you can always contact me. I'll be glad to talk with you about your sense of call or if you live too far away for us to meet I have other people in Indiana I can have contact you. If God has called you to bivocational ministry we don't want to miss you, but we will not know of that call on your life unless you let us know. We have churches who need your ministry, and even more importantly, the Kingdom of God needs your ministry. Why not contact someone today to talk about your sense of calling?

Calling: The church's perspective

2011-10-29T06:43:00.000-04:00

What is a church doing when they seek a new minister. Are they hiring a pastor? I hear that term used sometimes by churches and it always makes me cringe a little. You hire someone to cut your grass or to fix your roof. Is that the kind of relationship a church wants with their pastor? I don't think so. For me, the much better term is that the church calls a pastor to come alongside and lead them in ministry. That idea of calling seems much better than the thought of hiring.

When a church hires a minister there is the sense that the minister is now an employee of the church. In some ways, at least in some denominations, the pastor may be an employee of the church. The IRS treats the pastor in that way and so do many churches. In a church of 50 people such a pastor now has 50 employers all of whom expect the pastor to meet their own individual expectations of what a pastor should be. If the pastor violates those expectations he or she could find themselves terminated, and thousands of pastors are terminated each year. In some circumstances, such terminations are valid and needed because of serious misconduct on the part of the pastor. But, too often these terminations occur because the pastor upset one of his or her many bosses. There are some churches in which pastor after pastor has been fired, and it is highly unlikely that each of those pastors were guilty of misconduct. More likely, the church had the view that the pastor was an employee of the church and expected to jump every time someone yelled "Jump." (A word to judicatory leaders reading this - It's time we stopped helping these churches find new pastors. We have sacrificed too many good pastors on the altar of dysfunctional churches. If such churches are not prepared to address their unhealthy behavior we need to have the courage to tell them to not expect any more assistance from their judicatory.)

What happens when a church recognizes they are not hiring a pastor but calling one? One thing that will happen is that the congregation can understand they haven't hired someone to come in and do ministry for them. They have called a person to come and lead them in ministry. He or she is to equip the saints to do the work of ministry (Eph. 4). Pastor and congregation are to work alongside each other to impact their community for the Kingdom of God.

When a church calls a pastor they should be willing to follow that person. I do not mean by this that they give him or her ultimate authority and bow down to every wish. I have met pastors who demand that kind of power, and these individuals have a warped concept of pastoral authority. One the other hand, I have seen many churches who claimed they wanted a pastor who could help the church grow, and then they rejected every effort he or she made that might lead to growth. If a church has called a person to lead them then they should allow that person to lead. You cannot hold someone accountable for something for which you've not given them authority to do.

Think of it this way...you have called a new pastor who both you and the pastor believes is part of God's calling for each of you. To refuse to allow this person to lead is to deny God's calling. Again, I'm not talking about a pastor who acts like a dictator and demands absolute obedience. These people need to be weeded out of the ministry. I am talking about trusting the pastor who is seeking God's will for the church and is attempting to the best of his or her ability to lead that congregation in the fulfillment of that will. When a pastor and congregation can work together in this manner many good things can happen.

As your church considers calling a pastor the next time I hope you will give some thought to the concepts discussed here. To call a pastor rather than hiring one will lead to much better results.

Calling: A pastor's perspective

2011-10-28T19:56:00.000-04:00

Ministers and churches alike talk a lot about being called to ministry. A person senses that God is calling him or her to ministry. He or she often finds it hard to explain to someone who hasn't felt that call on his or her life. After all, how do you explain something that you just know you feel deep within yourself? It really can't be explained, but those of us who have been called to the ministry know what that feeling is like. Perhaps the best explaination I've ever heard was that a person who has been called by God to the ministry just can't refuse. It is a burning that will not be quenched until the person accepts that call.

Of course, people do run from a call of God on their lives all the time. Such persons are often no more successful than Jonah. Seldom are such people swallowed by a great fish, but the ones I've talked to report a lot of miserable times as they try to refuse God's call on their lives. Just last week an individual called me saying that he had run from that call for 25 years, and he couldn't run any longer. He is hopeful that he will enjoy a good ministry throughout the remainder of his life. I think he will.

Once we accept the call to ministry we then must find where we are called to serve. That can become more difficult. In our tribe churches looking for a new minister will often receive numerous resumes from potential pastors. They have to sort through them and begin the process of interviewing the ones that look most promising. Somewhere in that process it can be easy to lose the sense of a call. One must assume that every person who applied felt that God was calling them to that position, If a church receives twenty resumes to consider then it must mean that at least 19 of those persons were mistaken. God had not called them to that position. I've known churches that went through nearly 100 resumes before selecting a new pastor. How could 99 people, supposedly mature Christian ministers, have missed God call on their lives so badly? By the way, I've noticed that the larger the church the more pastors seem to have missed God's leading!

A few years ago a bivocational pastor sent his resume to a small church seeking a pastor. The search committee told him that he would not be a candidate. He called me a couple of times and asked to meet with me once to talk about this. He was absolutely certain that God had called him to pastor that church, and he couldn't understand how that committee could have missed God so badly!

Then there is the situation where a church calls a new pastor who is excited about this call of God on his life. Both the pastor and church are certain that God has brought them together. Three years later the pastor is just as certain that God is calling him to a new place of service. The people are stubborn, they won't listen to anything he tries to tell them, the church leaders are spiritually immature, and the list of complaints goes on and on. Did God not know these things when He called this person to this church? Could God really be so confused that He changes His mind where these people are to serve every 2-3 years? The longer I'm in ministry the more I wonder about such things.

I am not trying to be overly critical, but I do want to call attention to the fact that sometimes we get our sense of God's call on our lives and our own wishes confused. It's easy to do. Like my pastor friend above, there was a time when I felt certain God was calling me to a particular ministry position, and it didn't happen. I also wondered at the time which of us, the search committee or me, got it wrong, I finally had to accept the fact that perhaps I should trust the wisdom of the larger group than my own sense of call.

Have you been called to the place where you now serve? Then serve there. Yes, most places we serve will be challenging at one time or another, but if we have truly been called by God to serve that place then He must have believed we could handle those difficult times. In fact, it might be that the reason some places are so challenging is that no one has remained there long enough to help them address some of their problems. We must always prayerfully seek the place of service where God has called us and once there give it the best that we have. If there is a time when God does call you to another place of ministry, you'll know that as well. Like your first call, you might not be able to explain it, but you'll know.

Followers

2011-10-25T23:11:00.000-04:00

If you often read this blog I encourage you to sign up as a follower. It's always interesting to see who is following this blog, and it's quite enjoyable when one of the followers responds to a post. One of the stated purposes for this blog is to have a place where a community of bivocational ministers can dialogue about the issues that are important to us. So...feel free to dialogue.

There are currently 49 followers for this blog. I would love to reach 100 followers by the end of this year, but only you can make that happen. If you enjoy reading this blog please consider signing up as a follower. Thank you.

Coaching new pastors

2011-10-25T23:07:00.000-04:00

This afternoon I had lunch with a new pastor of one of the churches in my Area. He is a very impressive young man with an obvious love for Christ, for ministry, and for the Word. He is already involved in a challening situation in his church, but he is approaching it with grace and with Scripture. I believe he will be a good pastor for this church.

Our Region recently decided to offer to provide six months of coaching for our new pastors, so our meeting today was not only a get-acquainted session but also to get started on our coaching relationship. Our plan is to have a coaching conversation every three weeks for six months, and we will extend that time if he feels it would be helpful. Our Region staff felt this would help us give our new pastors a boost as they begin their ministries. I know I would have loved to have had someone to coach me when I began my pastoral ministry. The pastor today said it was very helpful for him to have someone with whom he could discuss this early challenge he's encountered. He doesn't feel he's all alone in his new place of service, and that was our goal.

You may or may not be starting a new pastorate but you might feel that you could benefit from having a coach to work with as you are facing new challenges or seeking new direction. Coaching is especially helpful when one is considering something new in their lives or ministries or when one is feeling like he or she is caught in a rut. During such times it can be very helpful to have someone to talk to and having a coach can be especially helpful. A coach can help a person begin to move forward with his or her life.

It's been my privilege to coach a number of bivocational and fully-funded pastors. Most began their coaching sessions with me seeking direction for some area of their lives or they were facing challenges in their ministerial or personal lives. In virtually every case, they were able to move forward with a sense of purpose at the end of our coaching relationship.

If you believe a coach could benefit you, I would be glad to talk to you. I do limit the number of people that I coach at any one time, but I currently could accept 2-3 persons who would like to have a coach to help them address some issue in their lives. If you are one of those people, feel free to contact me so we can discuss it.

Revival

2011-10-24T23:25:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I was privileged to lead a revival in a church of about 200 people. Although it is an aging congregation the music and worship was awesome. The pastor is a man with a great vision for the church. Like most churches, he sometimes runs into some challenges when he begins to move the church towards the fulfillment of that vision, but it was obvious from talking to many in the congregation that there are a number of people ready to move forward. The messages were well received and a number of people came forward for prayer and to talk to the pastor at the close of the message. I left there feeling good about the future of the church and its impact on its community.

Did revival happen during those three days? I doubt it, but I do believe there were some seeds planted in the hearts of men and women that may lead to revival in the future. Several people told me throughout the three days of something I said during one of the messages that spoke to them in powerful ways. It was obvious that they had not just heard my words but had heard the Spirit of God speaking to them, and he was continuing to speak to them after the services closed. These people are now praying about the best way to respond to the messages they heard.

As I explained at the start of the services, revival seldom breaks out on an entire congregation at once. It normally begins as one person responds in some meaningful way to the leading of God in their lives. It can then begin to spread from that person to another and then to another until eventually it has spread throughout the congregation, and from there it can go into the community. But it begins with that one person who decides to simply be obedient to something God is calling him or her to do with their lives.

The same things can happen in your church, and you don't have to invite a special speaker to come in for that to occur. Just continue to preach the Word with boldness and confidence, and challenge the people to respond to that Word in tangible ways. Invite people to open themselves up to God in new ways and not to try to limit what God might be wanting to do in and through their lives. Begin to personally challenge those you sense might have a special call of God on their lives, and if they are willing, invest yourself in their lives. Let them catch your vision for mission and help them develop a passion to see that mission occur. As they become more focused on what God is doing in and through their lives they will begin to experience a personal revival that could infect the whole congregation.

Legacy

2011-10-13T23:03:00.000-04:00

This evening I attended a prayer meeting for a bivocational pastor friend of mine who suffered a major stroke earlier in the week. The doctors said there is nothing they can do for him, and he is being moved to a nursing home. I received an e-mail this afternoon informing me of the prayer meeting that was being held in the church he was pastoring. That small church was about half full of people who attended that church, other churches in the association, and a handful of pastors who knew him and was notified about the meeting. Several people stood up and told how this simple pastor had ministered to them or to members of their family. One young man who was recently ordained as a bivocational pastor spoke about how this man had mentored him over the years. Many shared their stories with tears running down their faces. I doubt this pastor knew of the impact his life had on so many people.

Some in the church world believe that you have to pastor a large church to make a difference, but that's just not true. This man never pastored a church with an average attendance of more than 25-30, and yet his ministry touched lives. His faithfulness, his sincerity, his servant spirit allowed him to minister to some people who never had an interest in talking to a pastor until he showed up in their hospital room or at some other event. I doubt that a building will ever be named after him. People won't study his six step method for growing a megachurch and buy his books and tapes, but he left a legacy that any minister should be glad to leave. He served his churches with a true servant mentality. People were able to see the compassion of Jesus Christ through his life and ministry

When people finished sharing their stories of how this pastor's life impacted their lives, we began to pray for him and his family. Many of us thanked God for allowing our lives and my friend's to intersect. We prayed for his family, and we prayed that God would bring healing into our friend's life. Each of us recognized that his healing may be the ultimate healing that will allow him to enter into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, but we also know that God might choose to bring physical healing to our friend. It was a very simple, yet meaningful service, one that was quite appropriate to the person it was for.

Events such as this remind me that I am leaving a legacy for others to study. Whether I am aware of it or not, people are watching, and they are forming an opinion about me, my ministry, and more importantly, my God. They are watching you as well. The challenge for each of us is to leave a legacy such as the one my friend has.

Please keep this pastor, his family, and the church he has been serving in your prayers.

Author's proofs

2011-10-12T08:22:00.000-04:00

I received the author's proofs for my next book yesterday. There are a few areas I need to address but not as many as in some earlier books. It's funny how when you are writing you think you have clearly stated your thoughts until someone challenges you and asks you to explain what you meant by that. My first reaction is always, "Well, anybody knows what that means," and then I read it again and see how the statement could have been misunderstood in two, three, or even more ways! Believe me, my editors make me look much better than I really am!

The same thing can happen in our preaching. How many times have we said something from the pulpit and then later heard that someone completely misunderstood what we said? It's happened to me more than once. When I was a pastor a couple started coming to the church. They would attend two or three Sundays in a row, and then we might see them for a month before they returned. Suddenly, they stopped coming completely. I visited them a couple of times, but they would never give me a reason for why they stopped attending church. Finally, the husband admitted that the last Sunday they were there I said that if a person didn't come to church every Sunday they wouldn't go to heaven. I remembered the sermon,, and I knew I never said that. I explained what I did say, but it didn't matter. They heard what they wanted to hear and used that as an excuse to not return.

However, just because they misunderstood me, that does not take responsibility away from me. Years ago I adopted the philosophy, "The message received is the message sent." In other words, if I say brown dog, and you repeat back to me that I said black dog, I said black dog. I take 100% responsibility for what my listeners hear. As the communicator it is my responsibility to be clear in my message. The Bible teaches that those of us who teach have the greater responsibility, and I believe part of that responsibility is to be clear in our message.

As you critique your sermons and lessons, are you clear with your message? Believe me, if something we say can be misunderstood by someone it will be! To stand before a congregation week after week to deliver a message requires a lot of commitment to study and to clarity. It is hard work to properly prepare so that our messages are not only biblical but clear, but it is work we must be willing to do if we are called to this ministry.

Now, excuse me...I have some corrections to make for my publisher so they can get this book ready for the printer.

Leadership development

2011-10-11T08:15:00.000-04:00

Who are the future leaders in your church? As I attend various associational and denominational events I notice that it is often the same people at these events year after year. Many of those attending are older individuals who have provided leadership in their churches for decades. I have attended denominational events for two different denominations in the past three years that amazed me at how young many of their attendees were, but for the most part the leadership I meet look a lot like me, gray. At some point the ones who have provided leadership in our churches for decades are not going to be able to continue. What will our churches do then if they have not been preparing people to step into those leadership positions?

Smaller churches now face a number of challenges, and one of them is the challenge of developing leaders. What we don't want to do is to find we have an open position and ask someone to fill it without having prepared them for the task. We've done that too often in the past, and that is one reason we have some of the problems we have. We need persons in the pipeline who are being prepared to provide leadership in our churches. If John Maxwell is right, and I believe he is, our churches will never rise above the lid of their leadership. If we want to see our churches become more effective in their ministries we must be intentional in identifying potential leaders and providing them the resources that will enable them to provide solid leadership.

As a bivocational minister you may wonder how you can add this task to your list of duties. First, you have to understand that leadership development must be a priority for you. Other people can fill the communion cups and visit Sister Bertha when her cat stubs its toe; you have been assigned the task of equipping the saints to do ministry (Eph. 4). Developing leaders will do more to ensure the future success of your church's ministry than any else you do, so it must be a priority.

Second, realize that not everyone wants to be equipped to be a leader nor should they be. I believe leadership is a spiritual gift that God gives certain people, and they are usually easily identified. They will be the ones who will want more than what is offered in Sunday school. They want to go deeper in their relationship with God. They ask good questions about faith and ministry. They are often dissatified with the status quo and may have some ideas about how to move the church forward, but because they are not in a leadership position they may be reluctant to share those ideas. You want to identify these people and begin to invest more of your ministry into their lives. Isn't that what Jesus did with the twelve? I believe His example is a good one for each of us to follow.

Third, don't fall into the trap of thinking you have to develop leaders by yourself. Your denomination or judicatory may have a leadership development resource you can use. Our region offers the Church Leadership Institute to train lay leaders and bivocational ministers, and we've had over 100 people take classes through this program. Some who have graduated felt called to bivocational ministry and are now pastoring some of our churches. Many others are providing leadership to the churches as lay leaders. If you have something similar available, challenge your potential (and current) leaders to consider enrolling. I would also encourage you to challenge the church to invest in this training by paying at least half of the fees. They should see this as an investment in the future of the church and in the future of the Kingdom of God.

Leadership development is one of the most important things a church does. Many of our churches are in a downward spiral, and they will never get out of that spiral without excellent leadership. Even more churches are caught in ruts that in some cases have lasted for decades. It will require great leadership to bust out of those ruts and once again become the church God had in mind. As you begin to think of 2012 I urge you to put leadership development at the top of your list.

What do you want people to understand about bivocational ministry?

2011-10-08T23:48:00.000-04:00

I apologize for not writing more lately. We have some family issues that are requiring a lot of my time right now, and I just haven't been able to post anything on the blog. I wondered if any of my regular readers were still with me, but I see that they are. I appreciate that very much and will certainly appreciate your prayers as well.

My next book is scheduled for release next spring, and I'm in the process of writing another one. The final chapter of this book is primarily addressed to denominational and judicatory leaders. In that chapter I want to tell them what bivocational ministers wish they understood about what we do, the way we feel about our ministries, some of the challenges we face, and how they can help us. I could use your help. What do you wish your denominational and judicatory leaders understood about bivocational ministry? If you are not part of a denomination, pretend for a few minutes that you are and think about what you might want them to know about your ministry and life.

While I believe that bivocational ministers will find this new book helpful, I really want it to provide some tools denominational leaders can use to better support the bivocational ministers who serve in their districts. Your input to the questions in the previous paragraph can help make this book better. I look forward to hearing from you.

Lifelong unlearning

2011-09-22T22:45:00.000-04:00

I have posted several times about the value of being a lifelong learner, but in a book I'm currently reading the author mentioned that "lifelong learning actually means lifelong unlearning." He's right! Quite often, in order to learn something one must first unlearn something. I remember reading several years ago a quote by a Fortune 500 CEO who said that he had learned much in his 30 years of managerial experience, most of which was no longer true. He had been successful because of his willingness to set aside old truths as they were replaced with new ones. We in the ministry must be willing to do likewise.

Earlier this week a pastor friend and I were talking about a particular issue and found that each of us had changed our beliefs about this issue. At one time we each believed one way, and as we continued to study the issue and discovered new information we found out we had been wrong. As we talked we further discovered that the change was not easy for either of us, but facts and truth are stubborn things, and once new facts and truths are discovered one must either accept them or deny them. I understand the Flat Earth Society had approximately 3,000 members in the 1990s so I guess it is possible to deny facts, but why would anyone want to?

Many church leaders continue to operate in the church as if it was still 1950 believing if they remain faithful and work hard that things will turn around and they will once again become the robust church they were back then. That is Flat Earth Society thinking. We are in the 21st century. Our world is much different that 1950. People's needs are different; their way of thinking about religion and faith are different, the family structure is different; people are facing new challenges. The Good News of the gospel has not changed, but the way it is presented to people must change or the church of today will not impact this generation God has given us.

I hear a lot of small church pastors and lay leaders complain that nobody comes to the revivals any more. Maybe it's because the day of revival meetings have passed. Maybe it's because families have so many different directions to go each evening that trying to attend a revival service just isn't very high on their list of priorities. Am I saying that's a good thing? No, but it's the reality. Maybe, instead of complaining that no one comes to the revival meetings, we should not schedule one and do something different. I hear the same complaints about the lack of people attending Sunday school, and yet those who complain typically are doing the same thing today they did in Sunday school they did 30 years ago. Maybe we need to restructure our Sunday school or offer something entirely different to promote biblical understanding and discipleship. A common complaint today is that people don't attend association meetings like they used to (in 1950?). Maybe that's a sign that it's time to stop having those meetings. Maybe people are trying to say that those meetings don't have the importance they once had.

As I work with pastor search committees I often hear them say they would like a younger pastor with some new ideas. Two things I want to say about that. One, most of the committees that say that don't mean it because if the pastor came with a new idea they would reject it. Two, it's not always the young pastors who have the new ideas about doing church. I've seen a lot of 30 and 40 year old pastors who have some really old ideas of how a church should minister. I've also seen some older pastors who have a much better understanding of ministry in the 21st century than their younger counterparts. I'm now 63 years old, and I can tell you if I returned to pastoral ministry I would not function as I did for the 20 years I pastored. In the past 11 years as a judicatory minister I've learned some things about ministry I didn't know back then. To learn those things I've had to unlearn a lot of things I had been taught and some things I just assumed about ministry.

Unlearning isn't easy, but it's necessary if you want to remain useful to the Kingdom of God. It's hard to give up some cherished truths you've clung to for years (decades). It helps to remember those truths were once new truths that replaced some cherished truths our ancestors believed about ministry years earlier, and one day, as new discoveries are made and things continue to change in our world, these new truths will also be replaced. That is why each of us must be committed to a lifetime of unlearning and learning.

Pastor

2011-09-20T21:49:00.000-04:00

The past couple of weeks have been extremely busy as we have dealt with the passing of my step-mother and some other family challenges. I just have not had time to blog. However, I did find an article today of an interview with Eugene Peterson that I thought was really good that I wanted to share with my readers. Everything he says about pastoring in this interview really fits in well with what most bivocational ministers do in their ministries. I thought you would find this interview encouraging and helpful. You can read it at http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2011/summer/presenttense.html.

Don't be the church

2011-09-08T09:23:00.000-04:00

I had a call yesterday from a bivocational pastor who seems near burnout. He wanted a coach but wasn't ready to commit to a coaching relationship yet. The church is struggling a little financially due to the current economic situation, and he expects a salary cut by the end of the year. He only works part time. His family is already struggling financially, and a salary cut at the church will only make things worse. When I asked how many people normally attended services he responded about 50 people attend on Sunday morning. I then asked why he could not work a full-time job with a church that size. He felt that he would not be able to be able to respond as pastor quickly enough in times of emergencies if he had a full-time job. It was then I told him it sounded like he had become the church.

I was in his shoes about my fifth year in my pastorate. I was physically and mentally exhausted and about ready to give up. At a judictory meeting I spoke with one of our leaders about my situation. He explained that my problem was that I had become the church. I was the person doing everything that was getting done in the church. He told me that not only was I damaging myself in the process I was preventing the congregation from learning how to be the church. Everything he said was right on target, and the longer I remain in ministry the more bivocational ministers I see making the same mistake that I and yesterday's caller has made.

According to Ephesians 4 our role as ministers is to equip the saints to do the work of ministry; it is not to do all the work of ministry. Yes, there are tasks that are primarily the responsibility of the pastor, but there are many other things that many of us do that rightly should be done by others. By the way, this is not only a problem for bivocational ministers. I recently had lunch with a fully-funded pastor who is also trying to do much more than he should, and he has nearly burned himself out in the process.

We need to be training the people sitting in the pews how to identify and use the gifts God has given them. If we do not we are cheating them out of the opportunity to be used in signficant ministries that God has called them to do, and we are shortchanging the church by not making those ministries available to others. People need to understand that discipleship is more than attending a Sunday school class and memorizing some Bible stories and principles. Discipleship is about putting into practice those things we have learned.

If you are scurrying around like a rat in a maze, exhausted, frustrated, unable to spend quality time with your family and your own self-care, you are probably doing way more than God ever called you to do. You need to slow down, begin to train your lay people to do ministry, and take a healthier approach to the calling God has placed on your life. Don't be the church. The Kingdom needs all your people to be the church.

Renewing our minds

2011-09-05T07:54:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I had the privilege of visiting a small town congregation for worship. The pastor was preaching on the need to renew our minds. Although I had heard numerous sermons on that topic I left there thinking this one was probably the best I've ever heard on the subject. We spent much of our time in Philippians 4:8 for the message as he reminded the congregation of the types of things we should focus our thinking on if we want to renew our minds. He also reminded us that it isn't easy because we are constantly bombarded with the other kinds of things that do not lead to renewed minds.

How many of the television programs you watch are uplifting and positive? What about the movies you see? The music you listen to? Do you find that most news programs encourage you and focus on things that are lovely and of good report? Do you find images on the Internet that burn themselves into your mind? Did those images appear while you were looking for something else, or did you go looking for them? What about your friends and people with whom you spend much of your time? Are they encouragers, positive people with positive attitudes that uplift you just by being around them, or are they mostly negative people who spend much of their time complaining about all the negative things in life?

We cannot ignore that there are negative things in this world in which we live. We shouldn't stick a finger in our ears and sing "La, la, la, la, la, la" real loud so we don't have to hear about the negatives and don't have to do anything about them. We are called to minister in this world in which we live with all the negative and bad things that exist. The challenge is to not allow these things to control what we dwell on. Our focus is to be on the person of Jesus Christ and His call on our lives and on our churches. We have to choose every day whether we will focus on the negatives that exist all around us or upon Christ and the good things He is doing through us to make a difference in this messed up world in which we live. That choice will impact our attitudes and how we go about our days.

One other thing...we also can't focus on the negative things that goes on within our churches. Virtually every week church leaders are confronted by the complainers, the controllers, the perpetual victims, the whiners, and the spiritually immature who have been languishing around the church for decades. These people are real joy suckers. Don't let them. Minister to them the best you can but maintain your focus on Christ and His call on your life. I've read where the typical pastor will leave a church because of seven people. That's what happens when we focus too much of our attention on the joy suckers and fail to remember the many others whose lives have been impacted by our ministry.

Why not make Philippians 4:8 your verse for this week? Write it down on a card and carry it in your pocket. Every time you find yourself focusing on the negative things that are going on around you, pull out that card and read it. Intentionally force yourself to begin to dwell on the positive and allow those thoughts to help renew your mind as you go about the day. It might make a big difference.

Happy Birthday

2011-08-30T23:32:00.000-04:00

Today I turned 63 years old. We didn't do much to celebrate. A good number of my Facebook friends sent me greetings, and my wife took me to one of my favorite restaurants, P F Chang's, for dinner. Over the past few days I've spent some time reflecting on my journey through life. It has been an amazing adventure that has provided me with opportunities I could never have imagined. Not every opportunity turned out the way I would have preferred (!), but it is obvious that God has been with me through each of them. It is for this reason that my life verse for many years has been His promise to never leave me nor forsake me. Looking backwards is easy enough; looking forward is more challenging. I think there is a reason that God only allows us to see so far into the future and no further. It is enough for me that He continues to hold my hand as He leads me down the paths He has prepared for my life. I can only pray that I have the wisdom to follow.

Although I do not know the future there are some things that I believe about my future. One is that retirement isn't anything that appeals to me, at least not for the foreseeable future. If my health remains good I intend to work for many more years. I enjoy the ministry I do as well as the writing and speaking engagements I receive to even consider retiring. I plan to write more books that will benefit the church and especially the smaller, bivocational churches and their leaders. I have a new book scheduled for release next spring and I'm working on another one now. I would like to do more teaching. I taught an online course last year and enjoyed it as much as anything I've ever done. There is a tremendous blessing in knowing you are involved in preparing the leaders of the future. I hope to lead more conferences and seminars. For many of the bivocational ministers who attend, these are the first conferences and seminars they have attended that were created specifically for them. I plan to spend the remainder of my ministry encouraging these wonderful leaders and providing them with resources they can use in their churches.

Before he died Jerry Falwell used to say that if you heard that he had died that he would be the most surprised of all. Even in his later life he believed God had a 20 year plan for his life and wanted to fulfill that plan. Of course, he did die. None of us knows the time when God will call us home nor can we know of events that might dramatically change our plans. But, I appreciate the mindset Falwell modeled. As long as we remain healthy there is Kingdom work we can do. Today, on my birthday, it is my prayer that God will continue to use me for many more years to make a difference for His Kingdom.

Looking for help

2011-08-23T08:26:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I received an e-mail from Terry Dorsett asking for assistance in making his book available to bivocational ministers. Ray Gilder, a friend to anyone involved in bivocational ministry, has requested copies of Terry's book to distribute to bivocational ministers, and Terry wants to help him. If you would like to help Terry help Ray, please read Terry's e-mail below and see if you feel led to become involved in this project. Thank you. (Incidentally, if you don't have Terry's book I encourage you to purchase a copy for yourself. It's an excellent resource.)

On Friday I received a very nice letter from Ray Gilder, national coordinator for the Bivocational Small Church Leadership Network. Ray ministers to pastors in small churches across the nation to help them be healthier and more productive in their ministries. He is well respected by all who know him.

His letter asked that I donate four cases of my book, Developing Leadership Teams in the Bivocational Church, to his organization for them to distribute to pastors. Because of Ray’s connection to so many pastors who need leadership resources, I very much would like to grant his request. However, four cases would be 108 books. As a NAMB missionary with two kids in college, I am just not in a position to donate that many books. I normally sell them for $15 a book, and I can drop that price down to $12, which eats into my profits quite a bit, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make to help pastors. But I can't go lower than that. I am trying to find churches or individuals willing to sponsor a case or two for Ray's organization. To ship one case to Ray would cost $336, which includes the shipping costs. To ship all four cases to Ray would cost $1344. Is anyone willing to sponsor a case or two? I’m happy to forward Ray’s letter to anyone who may need it to present to a mission committee or other decision making gropu.

If you are interested, send a check to Next Generation Evangelistic Network, 30 Jones Brothers Way, Barre, VT 05641, and write "Ray Gilder's Project" on the memo line. If you want to do this, it would be helpful if you sent me an email so I would know you are going to help. God bless you.

Terry Dorsett

Dr. Terry Dorsett serves as the Director of the Green Mountain Baptist Association and is the bivocational pastor of Faith Community Church in Barre, VT. He is the author of Developing Leadership Teams in the Bivocational Church, and Bible Brain Teasers: Fun Adventures Through the Bible, as well as numerous church growth articles, and is a frequent contributor to Baptist Press. His blog, Next Generation Evangelistic Network, is read by over 1500 people a month.

Coaching for new ministers

2011-08-18T08:35:00.000-04:00

I just had a brief but interesting conversation with a FB friend about the value of coaching ministers as they begin a new ministry. He mentioned he is involved in a two year coaching relationship with a new pastor and shared some comments from the pastor about the difference this has made in his life and ministry. Although I've coached a number of pastors, I've never intentionally developed a coaching relationship with a pastor at the start of his or her ministry. That seems like it could be a great way to assist a new pastor or even an experienced pastor who is beginning to serve in a new place. What are your thoughts?

Books on NOOK

2011-08-10T09:22:00.000-04:00

My wife and I received NOOKs as Christmas gifts last year. I wasn't sure I would enjoy mine as I thought I would prefer to read traditional books, but I've found that I do enjoy reading books on the NOOK.

Yesterday while browsing the available books for the NOOK I decided to search my name. I found out that two of my books, The Healthy Pastor and The Work of Bivocational Ministry are available on the NOOK at a substantial savings. I don't believe any of my books are available on Kindle, so this was a delightful surprise.

A few days ago we were in a Barnes & Noble store looking at books. I saw a couple I was interested in reading but decided to wait until I returned home to compare prices. In the store one book was $21.95; on the NOOK it was $12.95. That is a pretty substantial savings, and when you read over 50 books a year like I do that adds up real quick! I can highlight important thoughts just as in a regular book, but then I can simply click on "content" and find all the highlighted statements on one page. I've downloaded a Bible on the device so I always have a Bible with me without having to carry another book. It has really proven to be convenient.

Of course, these devices are changing how we read. Bookstores are closing, especially those that did not offer electronic formats, and publishing companies are being forced to change how they conduct business. But, what isn't changing these days.

One of these electronic readers can save you some significant money over the course of a year. That is always a good thing for a bivocational minister. Plus, you get convenience and the ability to carry a large bookshelf full of books on one small device about the size of one book. It's something to think about.

Church hospitality

2011-08-07T07:39:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a half-day workshop on "Opening the Front Door and Closing the Back Door" led by New Church Specialties. It was a good workshop that focused on attracting new guests to the church and assimilating them into the life of the church. The workshop had decent attendance with many of the participants from churches of 50 or less. One man said his church averaged under 20 people each week.

Much of what was shared would fall under the category of church hospitality. It dealt with removing the barriers that make people uncomfortable and would keep them from returning. The presenter referred to Nelson Searcy's book Fusion, and it was obvious that much of the workshop comes out of that book. I had previously read that book and consider it the best book available today on the subject of church hospitality. It should be on every pastor's "Must Read Now" list and used to train congregations on how to make guests feel welcomed on their first visit and the steps that will encourage those guests to return.

What most excited me about this workshop is that similar ones are being conducted by various groups. When I returned home and checked my mail I found a newsletter from a church. In the newsletter the pastor mentioned he had taken a similar workshop online, and explained that some of the changes they church was experiencing came from ideas he learned in that workshop. People are starting to realize that how we plan for guests, how we treat them when they do come to our churches, and how we connect with them after they are there are all key as to whether or not they return. This is important because it is when they return on a regular basis that they will have the opportunity to hear the gospel in a way that can transform their lives. This isn't just a church growth principle; it is a Kingdom growth principle, and that is much more important than how many warm bodies we get into our church buildings.

As a judicatory minister I am in different churches nearly every week. Believe me, some of them have major hospitality issues. My wife was recently asked to change seats because she was sitting in someone's pew! I would have probably left but had been invited there to preach that morning. I've been in too many churches that completely ignored us even though it was obvious we had not been there before. I went into one church with "greeters" who asked me to try to find the "Visitor's Book" that was located somewhere in the foyer (she wasn't sure where) to sign in. She later became visibly angry when I refused to fill out a name badge for visitors and walked away. The list goes on and on and on....

Buy Searcy's book. Attend a workshop on church hospitality. Learn the best principles for attracting people to your church and keeping them when they do come and teach them to your congregation. Help your first time guests feel comfortable attending your church, make the appropriate follow-up contact when they do attend, and you'll begin to find more and more of them returning.

Ongoing training is essential to successful ministry

2011-08-04T22:52:00.000-04:00

This evening I ran across a figure that I've seen reported in several places: the most successful CEOs report that they read an average of 60 books a year and attend more than 6 conferences a year. The average American reads an average of less than one book a year. The numbers may vary a little depending on the study that is being quoted, but the differences remain roughly the same. There is a definite correlation between ongoing training and success.

I normally read 50-55 books a year. One of two of them may be fiction; the rest are non-fiction. As you might imagine, most of the books I read are related to ministry and leadership, but I will also read a few books on political issues or people, self improvement, history (especially the Civil War) and theology. In addition, I read a daily local newspaper, a few magazines, and several newsletters from churches and religious organizations. I have a rather large stack of books I plan to read as well as a few unread books on my Nook, and I'm often guilty of adding to the stack faster than I get them read.

When I address this issue in workshops bivocational ministers often tell me they don't have time to read.  Even when I was a bivocational pastor I still read around 25-35 books a year. I didn't know any other way of staying current on the changes taking place in society and in the church. As important as it is to properly exegete Scripture I believe it is just as important to be able to exegete the culture in order to preach a message that is going to be relevant to your listeners. Reading helps me do that.

You'll notice that the successful CEOs also attend several conferences a year. In 2004 I conducted a survey of American Baptist bivocational ministers which revealed that the vast majority had not attended a single continuing education event in the previous three years that was related to their ministry. Again, a lack of time was given as the reason.  Another reason that was frequently mentioned was that they had attended events in the past that they didn't find very helpful. My response is that bivocational ministers need to take time to attend at least one event each year, and that even the worst events will still provide something worthwhile to take back home. I've attended a few that were not very good, but even the worst ones still gave me at least one good idea that I could use.

A third tool I use is audio material I can listen to in my car.   Zig Ziglar used to call this Automobile University. I download several podcasts from various ministries and other organizations that I listen to while driving. It beats listening to most radio stations and gives me a lot of good ideas I can use in my personal life and ministry.

Part of the call to bivocational ministry includes the need to stay sharp in your thinking, and this requires ongoing training of some type. There are any number of good resources at your disposal, but if you never use them they are of no value to you or your ministry. If you are not a regular reader I encourage you to commit to reading one good book a month. If you haven't attended a continuing education event recently I challenge you to commit to attending one before the year ends. If you are not using your drive time to listen to material that will help you develop your personal life and ministry I encourage you to begin doing so. You willl probably find that any of these will make such a difference in your life that you will begin to increase your reading, your listening, and the number of training events you attend.

A broad view of ministry

2011-08-03T08:35:00.000-04:00

In my devotional reading this morning there was a story of an associate pastor who expressed her thanks that the senior pastor understood the importance of a broader view of ministry. She related how when her child was sick she was allowed to work from home some days and never had a problem leaving to take the child to the doctor. Her pastor understood that ministry occurs in many places and in different ways. Contrast that story with a pastor friend of mine who drove a church family to another state to visit their son who was in prison there. The parents had no way to visit their son until the pastor offered to drive them. When they returned three days later the deacons insisted he take those three days as vacation because he wasn't "at the church."

We need to come to the realization that ministry doesn't just happen within the four walls of a building we call the church. Ministry happens whenever we are among people, or at least it should be happening. Jesus taught that even giving a cup of cold water in His name was ministry and He would be present in even that simple act.

A woman was attending an auction with her husband when he had to leave for work. They have a number of booths in various antique malls so she bought a number of items. When the auction was over an individual saw that she had a lot of merchandise that needed loaded so he offered to help. She did not know this individual but had seen him and her husband talking and felt safe allowing him to assist. Besides, there were still a number of other people loading their vehicles. She doubted that everything would fit in her car, but they managed to load everything but three items. The individual offered to take them to one of the malls where they had a booth. It wasn't until she went to the mall to stock her shelves that she learned his name and the fact that he was a minister. This simple act of kindness was ministry, and despite what some deacons in a particular church might think, this type of ministry has the potential to impact people's lives.

Encourage your people to view everything they do as ministry. The person teaching an ESL class is doing ministry. Individuals working on a Habitat for Humanity house are doing ministry. A family accepting a foster child is doing ministry. Volunteers helping clean up a city park after an event are doing ministry. Virtually anything a person does to assist another individual in Jesus' name is ministry. How many people attend your church on Sunday morning? That's how many ministers you should release at the end of your services to go out into their communities to impact others for Christ. If we can learn to take this broader view of ministry it will change the way we approach all we do in life.

Stresses of life

2011-07-29T07:25:00.000-04:00

In my devotional reading this morning the author reminded his readers that "When the stresses of life become too great, pastors typically focus on the negative aspects of ministry." What a great reminder that we cannot put our lives in tidy little boxes. The stresses we feel in our family relationships, our ministries, our other jobs, and from the additional responsibilities we all have will impact how we view our ministries. Conversely, the reverse is also true. The frustrations we feel in ministry will carry over into other areas of our lives as well. This makes it imperative that we find healthy ways of dealing with the various stressors that will impact our lives.

For some people exercise is a great way to deal with stress. Running, walking, working out in a gym can all help alleviate stress. Reading is one of the ways I've found most helpful. Sometimes I'll take a break from what I'm doing and pick up a book to get my mind off some issue that is bothering me. If I take a concern to bed with me, and who in ministry hasn't done that, I may get up in the middle of the night to sit and read for a half-hour or so until I'm able to refocus my thinking. Other people will call a friend or coach to talk through an issue and try to get closure on it.

One important way to reduce the stress you feel is to get control of your schedule. This will require you to prioritize the various demands on your life and schedule time for the most important. I know ministry has a funny way of interrupting your best plans, but at least you've set priorities for your life and ministry to which you can return when the interruption has been resolved. You won't be able to do this, however, until you learn to say no to some good opportunities people bring you. No minister, and certainly no bivocational minister, can do everything he or she is asked to do. Once you've determined the most important things on which to focus your attention you are in a better position to say no to other requests.

One final thing to mention is maintaining good health. This includes getting sufficient sleep, eating healthy foods, exercising, practicing a Sabbath, and maintaining a balanced life. Busy pastors can soon discover that grabbing a sandwich from a drive-through may get you to the next appointment quicker, but it's not the best thing you can do for your overall health and well-being. There are too many stresses involved when we are not healthy to neglect this important aspect of our lives.

We'll never avoid all the stressors that present themselves to us, but we can deal with them in healthy ways so they have limited impact on our ministries, our relationships, and our own personal well-being. Find the tools that work for you in reducing the stress in your life and put them to work.

A little cooperation would be nice

2011-07-28T23:38:00.000-04:00

For the past few weeks the nation has watched the two political parties spin their versions of the discussions around how to best handle the debt crisis our nation is in. We are told that the nation faces severe economic challenges if the debt ceiling isn't raised. We are futher told that both parties have their own version of a bill that would alleviate the problem but neither party is willing to accept the other's solution. The stalemate continues while the nation marches towards default. Naturally, both parties blame the other when the truth is both parties are responsible. Washington DC has become a national Day Care Center at a time when we need adults who are more interested in finding solutions that benefit the nation than they are in promoting their own selfish interests.

Since this blog is about bivocational ministry and not politics I'll end my thoughts about this mess here, but can you see how what we are seeing happening in Washington right now is so similar to what happens in many of our churches? Take a look at many of our churches today. Many of them have been in decline for years (decades in some cases). Not only are the numbers declining but those who do attend are getting older. Many smaller churches struggle to attract new people. I am finding a number of churches that are struggling financially. One pastor of a mid-size church told me their church has only made budget five Sundays this year. I know of others who are dipping into their savings to pay monthly bills. Several churches have been involved in pastoral searches this year. Although they have been served for years by fully-funded pastors, they are now looking for bivocational leadership primarily due to their financial situation. Our churches are becoming more inward-focused and less interested in the world that lies outside their doorsteps. Simply put, many of our churches are in real trouble.

But, how many of these churches are willing to do something different to get themselves out of the ruts they've created for themselves? Common sense should tell one that if what you're doing isn't working you need to do something else, but common sense doesn't seem to be in great supply in Washington DC or in many of our churches. If some change is proposed the common reaction is to oppose it especially if it seems to threaten our own personal well-being. Congress no longer seems to be about the business of the people; it is about the well-being of those who have been elected to office, and some of our churches no longer seem to be about the business of advancing the Kingdom of God; they are about advancing the status of the patriarchs or matriarchs in the church.

Cooperation is not a dirty word. It is past time when our political leaders need to learn to work together to solve the problems this nation faces or leave office, and if they won't leave they need to be voted out in their next election. I don't care what political party they belong to or how many city streets they got paved since the last election. This nation's problems are much larger than a few miles of asphalt, and we need leaders who recognize that fact and are willing to work together to find real solutions. It is also past time when our church leaders need to learn how to work together to promote a healthier church that is able to impact the communities in which God has placed us. If they can't, they need to be removed from whatever positions of influence they hold and Godly men and women who have a genuine vision from God of what the church should be should replace them. Yes, change can be difficult, but without change many of our churches face irrelevance and even death in the next few years. Let's not allow that to happen. Let's find ways to work together so hurting people can have their lives changed through an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ

2012 workshops

2011-07-26T06:51:00.000-04:00

Although this year is only a little more than half over, I already have three workshops scheduled for 2012. So far I am scheduled to be with American Baptists, United Methodists, and the Church of the Nazarene to talk with their small church leaders about small church health and transformation. These are just the confirmed workshops; I've had other contacts about possible dates for other events but nothing has been confirmed. I would like to invite you to consider hosting one of my small church/bivocational workshops in your judicatory or at your denominational event in 2012.

The most popular workshop I lead has been "The Healthy Small Church." This workshop has been presented in various states and in Canada for a number of different denominations. At every event participants tell me during the breaks that I have been describing their churches and given them tools they can take back to their churches to help them regain their health and begin to more effectively minister to their communities. I've been getting more requests lately for the "Transforming the Small Church from Maintainance-Minded to Missional" workshop. Small church leaders want to know how to help their churches escape the ruts they've been stuck in for years and become more focused on ministry. This workshop helps them do that.

I anticipate my workshop on "The Healthy Pastor" will soon become the most requested workshop I lead. Too many ministers are leaving the ministry because of burn-out, frustration, or personal and/or family concerns. Some denominations are beginning to recognize that if they want healthy churches they must encourage their ministers to practice good self-care. A church is unlikely to be healthier than its pastoral leadership, so it is a good investment to provide ministers the tools to ease the various pressures of ministry. This workshop does just that. More than one pastor has left this workshop telling me he or she wished they had learned the material I present earlier in their ministry.

Each of these workshops can be presented in a day-long or half-day event. I prefer the day long because it allows for more material to be covered. They can also be presented in a 60-90 minute format as an optional workshop offered during a major training event.

I personally know of very few persons who focus primarily on small church and bivocational leaders and present the kind of material I offer. As a bivocational pastor for 20 years I developed a passion for this ministry and a deep appreciation for those whom God has called to this ministry. I am committed to developing and presenting material that will be a help to these individuals.

If you are a denominational or judicatory leader who would like to offer some of this material to the pastors and lay leaders you serve, please contact me as soon as possible to begin discussing how I might be of assistance to you. If you are a pastor who would like this kind of training, please pass this post on to your denominational leader and ask him or her to consider inviting me in for one of these workshops. Thank you.

Addicted to technology

2011-07-25T08:43:00.000-04:00

During the past few weeks I've spent some time with our seven grandchildren. Only the two youngest ones do not have cell phones, and I've noticed that those who do cannot keep their hands off of them. I might add that the oldest is almost 14. For editorial honesty I must admit that I have the I-Phone 4 which I use to make calls, send texts, check e-mail, and search the Internet for information I need before I can get to my computer. But, the amount of time I spend on my phone during the day can be measured in minutes, not hours like the younger people spend. Some of my grandchildren will send more texts in a day than I do in a month. This post is not a rant against technology, but I do want to offer a couple of suggestions to church leaders.

Churches need to look at how they are making use of the various technologies available to them today. Does your church have a blog that people can check out? Are you on Facebook and Twitter? Your youth ministry especially should be sending out tweets on a regular basis to stay connected to your young people. I still know too many smaller churches that don't even have voice mail to receive calls into their church office and to give out valuable information such as worship times. Not using the technology that is available today really says that a church is not interested in growth or reaching new people because they are failing to use the most cost effective tools for outreach there are today.

Church leaders also need to talk about how technology can take over a person's life if they allow it to. Sitting in a restaurant the other evening I noticed a family of four all on their cell phones while eating dinner. What kind of family meal is that? I seriously doubt that any of them were dealing with a life-and-death issue on their phone. People can become, and have, just as addicted to techology as they are to drugs, alcohol, or any of the other addictions we commonly talk about in our sermons. It seems to me that it would be very suitable to warn in a sermon about becoming a slave to technology.

Of course, we can only preach on such topics if we are modeling it ourselves. Ministers can become just as addicted to their "time-saving" devices as anyone else. If you're struggling with quality family time, turn off your phones, both home and cell, during meal times. Let your voice mail pick up calls after a certain hour each evening. You can check the message and respond if it's a true emergency; otherwise you can let it go until the next day. Despite what some seminary professor may have told you, you do not have to be available to every person in the world 24/7/365. Jesus modeled that for us when we read there were times He went off by Himself. He purposely separated Himself from others even at times when they felt they "really" needed Him. I think this is an important reminder especially for those of us who are bivocational. Use technology wisely to make life and ministry easier, but refuse to become a slave to it.

Who ministers to you?

2011-07-20T08:14:00.000-04:00

As ministers we are used to serving others during times of both joy and sorrow. People call us as they go through the various valleys of life seeking a word from God and the comfort of the church. Most of us are glad to be able to walk with them during those times of pain and confusion. But, do you have someone to walk with you during similar times in your own life? Who are the people in your life with whom you can share your own pain and questions? Are there people with whom you can process your own grief?

Several years ago my father-in-law passed away, and the family asked me to have his funeral. It was a very emotional service, and I nearly broke down a couple of times myself. But, as the minister I felt I had to be the professional. I needed to be the strong one others could lean on so I forced myself to appear strong. About three months later I was driving past the farm my father-in-law owned. For a number of years I had farmed that land and felt a strong attraction to it. Knowing it was for sale and this might be the last time I could be on it, I stopped. I walked down to the corn crib that I filled each year with corn and to the barn where I kept some tools, housed the tobacco crop we raised, and where he kept chickens. I sat down in the floor of that dusty barn looking around when all the grief I had stored for three months began to pour out. I cried until there were no more tears left as I grieved the loss of my father-in-law. How much better for me would it have been if I would have had someone with whom I could have processed that grief sooner?

In my experience with bivocational ministers I have found that few of us have those people in our lives. For some of us, the only people we have to talk to are our spouses, and that isn't fair to them. They should not be the only support system we have. If you do not have a support system I would encourage you to begin looking for such people now. They might be other bivocational ministers who understand the special challenges you face. It might be a denominational or judicatory person, a retired pastor, or a fully-funded pastor you know. Your support system could include a life or ministry coach if that would work better for you. Whoever you choose should be someone you trust and who appreciates you and your ministry.

Some reading this post will immediately think they don't have time for such relationships, but after 30 years of doing bivocational ministry I will tell you that you don't have the time to not have those relationships. If you are in the ministry for the long haul you must have people in your life who can come alongside to encourage you, minister to you, and help you process some of the challenges you will experience in ministry. I encourage you to begin seeking such individuals and invite them into your life.

Staying true to our call

2011-07-19T06:42:00.000-04:00

For the minister there are many calls in one's life. There is the call to faith as the Holy Spirit invites us to enter into a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. There is the call to ministry as one somehow knows that God has called him or her to a place of service within the Christian community. There is also the call to a specific place where we will serve God for a period of time. Often, this will be in a church setting, on the mission field, or in some other place where we minister to people. It is this second call, the call to ministry, that I want to address in this post.

After over three decades in ministry I still find it remarkable that God called me to become a minister, first as a pastor and then as a judicatory leader. I know myself too well, and I realize God knows me even better than I know myself. Still, for some reason, He chose to call me to serve Him in a ministry position. Since that time I am sure I have disappointed Him many times. I've disappointed myself at times and questioned again why He would have called me. But He did and continues to use me in ministry. This is one more example of the grace of our Lord.

Staying true to our call means that we honor that call God has placed on our lives. If God has called us to pastor a church, we pastor that church. We pour ourselves out into the lives of those people. It's not a job to which we are hired; it is a place of service to which God has called us. We serve there with integrity and attempt to honor God through our lives and service. When we fall short, and we will at times, we confess our failures to God and move on. Remember, throughout Scripture God never called a perfect person to any place of ministry. Many had some major failures that were recorded for all of history, and yet God still used them to accomplish His purposes. If God did not call perfect people in the Bible we should not expect that we are the first ones who are expected to be perfect. Knowing this does not give us a license to be imperfect, but it does mean we should not beat ourselves up when we come up short. We confess our failure to God and ask for His help as we move forward.

Many who read this are serving in a bivocational setting. Stay true to your call in that setting. Part of what that means is that we shouldn't be envious of those who are serving in larger places. We should not resent having to work a job to provide for our families while we serve in this place where God has called us. We are not to decide that this small church we serve doesn't deserve our best ministry efforts or that this place will never enjoy anything different than what they already know. You are the pastor of men, women, and young people for whom Christ gave His life, and they deserve your best ministry. That is why God has called you to that place.

In one of his books, H. B. London, Jr. wrote that if you are in a place enjoying a healthy ministry it is because someone made it such a place, and if you are in a place that isn't as healthy perhaps God has called you to be the person who will stay and make it a better place for ministry. As usual, he's right. Stay true to your call by being that person who will bloom wherever you are planted and see what kind of harvest God will bring.

Taking it to the people

2011-07-18T17:58:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I visited a church with two worship services. Their first service runs about 250 people and packs out their sanctuary. The second service had 8 people attending. After the second service the pastor explained their people really enjoy being together even if it means the sanctuary is crowded. The second service is primarily for a family with a member battling cancer. She is unable to be around large crowds due to extremely low resistance to illness as a result of the treatments she receives. The church has voted to build a new sanctuary that will double their seating, but they plan to continue to offer the second service for this family and any one else who might want to attend. They are going the extra mile to ensure this family can attend church and participate in the life of the church.

During my devotions this morning I read about a pastor who was surprised when a faithful member who was responsible for bringing many people to their church and to faith in Jesus Christ told him that a group she was working with would not attend church services. She explained that she was working with a support group for women with eating disorders, and none of them felt comfortable being in larger crowds. She was asking the pastor how they could take the church to these women.

We make a big deal of inviting people to "church," but is that really what the Great Commission calls us to do? Yes, I think we should be inviting people to worship services, and I remain convinced that there is value in regular times of worship with fellow believers, but what do we do with the many people who, for one reason or another, will not or cannot attend those services?

A number of years ago I had been working with a single mother who wanted to make changes in her life. She had continually resisted coming to church despite my regular invitations. She finally reminded me that she worked in a local restaurant and her regular shift was Sunday morning. Ouch! How many people can't come to our churches because they have to be ready to feed us when the service is over??? In this person's case, I started a Sunday evening Sunday school class for her age group, enlisted a couple of our regular female members to attend the class, and she became a regular member of the class. A few months later she gave her life to Christ and was baptized.

In addition to those who work on Sundays, there are people who physically or emotionally are unable to come to regular worship services. How can your church take the church to them? How can your church be the church to them? To be faithful to the Great Commission we have to be a going agency, not just one that invites people to come to us. As you think about your fall ministry programs, is there a people group in your community that you need to take the church to?

The pastor's honeymoon

2011-07-15T21:32:00.000-04:00

Most pastors enjoy a honeymoon period when they begin serving a new church. Occasionally, due to some unexpected event, this period may be rather short-lived, but usually the honeymoon time will last for a few months. This is a great time to get acquainted with the congregation, especially the leadership, and the community. It is a time to learn "how things work" in a new church. This is a good time to learn the history of the church and any possible "land mines" that might exist. At my very first business meeting as a new pastor I made a proposal that resulted in major pushback from those attending. I learned later that night that I had inadvertantly stepped on a land mine by reminding the church of an unfortunate and painful event in their history.

Some people recommend that pastors not try to introduce any changes during the honeymoon period, but I don't necessarily agree. While you want to avoid major changes until you know the church better, it is OK to make smaller changes, especially if they present themselves to you. Small, incremental changes that have the congregation's approval can earn you trust in the eyes of the congregation and give it a sense that things are moving forward in a positive way. This can actually enhance the honeymoon period. I would suggest treading lightly in any change you might want to make, and be willing to back off if you encounter much resistance.

Use this time to build relationships. Remember, as a bivocational minister you are probably the only person in the congregation who does not have a long-term relationship with everyone else in the congregation. They are family, and you have to earn the right to be adopted into that family. Being called as the pastor does not automatically mean that you are now part of the family.

Teaching a class

2011-07-14T07:24:00.000-04:00

This Saturday I'll begin teaching a four week class on "Personal and Family Care." This is one of the courses we require in the Church Leadership Institute and is the only one I teach. Classes are held all day on four Saturdays on the campus of Franklin College. I always look forward to teaching this class because I think it is important that we encourage our church leaders (both clergy and lay) to develop healthy habits for themselves, their ministries, and their families.

In the course we'll look at several issues such as some of the stressors that exist in ministry, time management, the needs of families, and the importance of developing priorities and setting goals. In my opinion, this is a course that should be taught in seminaries and Bible colleges, but to my knowledge is not offered in any of them. Too many ministers and their families suffer due to the fact that they do not know how to balance the various demands on their lives.

We are losing too many good ministers to burnout, fatigue, and family issues. The causes of these are many, but a few would include: insufficient finances, unreasonable expectations from the congregation, poor time management, refusing to delegate, a lack of priorities to govern one's life, the wrong priorities, and a Superman complex. Add to these the challenges of ministering to a 21st century audience, and you have the perfect recipe for a disasterous life and ministry. In this class we'll try to help the students recognize the problems and find ways to address them. If you are interested, we will use three textbooks in the class: Pastors at Greater Risk by H. B. London, Jr, and The Bivocational Pastor and The Work of the Bivocational Minister, both written by me.

Our Church Leadership Institute (CLI) is designed to train both lay leaders and clergy, especially bivocational ministers. A number of our graduates are now serving churches in our Region and doing a very good job. A larger number of our graduates are serving as lay leaders in their churches, and they are providing a much higher quality of leadership as a result of going through our program. Although we created the Church Leadership Institute for members of our American Baptist Churches in Indiana, we would certainly consider applications from persons outside our denomination. If you think you would be interested in learning more about CLI please feel free to contact me.

2011-07-13T21:56:00.000-04:00

For the past several years I have published a monthly e-newsletter on bivocational and small church ministry. It usually goes out on the first of each month. Currently, between 500-600 people receive the newsletter directly, and some forward it to others. I also know of two judicatories that publishes the newsletter on their web site. If you would like to be added to the mailing list all you need to do is contact me and request it. Please know that I will never sell my mailing list to anyone.

Two kinds of power

2011-07-12T08:12:00.000-04:00

In my devotional reading this morning the author discussed two kinds of power: relational and coercive. Coercive power is used by leaders who refuse to listen to others or change the direction or focus of their ministry. Such leaders often feel they are being led by God and anyone who challenges or questions them is being used by the enemy to keep their vision from being fulfilled. I've known many pastors who feel that their position gives them the authority to force the congregation to think as they do or leave. From such people you'll hear complaints like, "They don't seem to realize that I'm the pastor and they are to follow my leadership." These pastors leave a trail of destruction as they move from one ministry to another.

Relational power recognizes that all of God's people have been called and gifted for ministry. There is a genuine respect between the leader and those he or she serves. Pastors who lead with relational power are true servant leaders who requests and respects input from others. Such mutual respect takes time to develop as people learn to trust one another, but the results that come from such relationships are often long-lasting.

I have always believed that one of the strengths of bivocational ministry is the opportunity to develop such relationships with members of the congregation. Those who pastor large churches often do not even know the names of those who attend. In medium size churches the pastor may know the names but may know very little else about the members of the congregation. In bivocational churches we often know too much about one another! But, this is also a strength as we can know the gifts and passions of those we serve, and we can challenge them to serve in those areas. The greatest accomplishments we enjoyed during my pastorate were the ones that flowed out of the relationships we had with one another.

It might be possible to get things done quicker using coercion, but that does nothing to develop people. It also fails to get other's perspectives which may mean that you accomplished much less than you could have with more input. There is a greater chance of upsetting people making later changes more difficult. Leaders who use such tactics are usually short-sighted, insecure people who simply do not understand the importance of servant leadership. Don't be that person. Develop relationships with those within your congregation. Trust their wisdom and judgment. Doing these simple things will allow you to move forward together.

The pastor's personal spiritual life

2011-07-11T12:58:00.000-04:00

This week you will spend a certain number of hours preparing a message that is intended to help the spiritual development of your congregation. How many hours will you spend in your own spiritual development? My experience is that most pastors (both bivocational and fully-funded) spend much more time trying to help others to grow spiritually than they do in their own spiritual growth. Eventually, such pastors learn that they have nothing left to give. This may explain why many pastors seldom stay at one place for more than 4-5 years. They move on so they can repeat what they did in their previous pastorate.

Unfortunately, most pastors are graded by what they do. As a judicatory minister I've had several churches complain that their pastors are poor at one or more aspects of ministry. I've never received a complaint from a church member that their pastor was neglecting his or her personal spiritual development. Pastors are unlikely to hear such complaints either. They know what their congregation is judging them on is their ministry activity, so that is what they provide.

Perhaps even more unfortunate, most pastors with a little experience and training can provide adequate ministry activity with little or no spiritual development in their lives. Sermons can be prepared quite nicely with the proper commentaries and sermon helps, and this is even more true now that many of these helps are available on-line. We can make hospital visits and offer comforting words and even say a little prayer without having spent much time studying Scripture or enjoying times of personal prayer. We can organize and plan ministry activities using the same techniques business leaders use, and nobody will bat an eye. We can grow our churches while our own souls are slowly spiritually starving.

I have to confess that I've found myself guilty of all of these at more times in my ministry than I care to admit. As a type A personality I enjoy staying busy. I like doing things. It is easy to convince myself that I have too much to do today for God to spend much time (if any) in prayer or Bible study. Besides, I tell myself, I can pray later in the car while driving to the next activity. No one has done more to help me address this tendency in my life than Eugene Peterson. His books always remind me that I am responsible for my own spiritual growth, and it is out of such growth that true success in ministry will come.

How are you doing? Many bivocational ministers struggle to find time for their own spiritual development. Has this been a problem for you? If so, how are you addressing it?

Small churches and opposition to growth

2011-07-10T22:48:00.000-04:00

Last week I spoke with a bivocational pastor who has enjoyed a successful ministry in his church. Fifteen months ago he began as a pastor with about 18 people attending church on an average Sunday. Today the church consistently sees over 70 people each week attend their morning service. I asked how the older members of the church felt about that growth. He responded that while most are pleased there are some who are starting to resist further changes that might lead to additional growth. Some of those are the same ones who insisted what they wanted in a new pastor was someone who could grow their church and someone who could attract youth to the church. Now that this pastor is doing that they are becoming uncomfortable. While they are unlikely to admit it, in my opinion much of their discomfort is due to feeling threatened by the new people. They may sense they are losing the authority they once held in their church and believe if they do not do something soon to reestablish that authority it will be lost forever.

This is a scenario I've seen played over and over again. Smaller churches seeking a new pastor insist they want to see their church grow but then fight any change that might lead to such growth. It's almost like they want growth, but they want it to occur as it did in 1950. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way any more. 21st century techniques are needed to reach 21st century people. This makes many patriarchs and matriarchs who are stuck in the 20th century uncomfortable and is likely to cause them to react. This pastor was starting to run into that discomfort and wanted to know how to address it.

We discussed several things to remember when trying to introduce change into a smaller church. One is that he cannot assume he is the leader of that church yet even though he's been there over a year. It is likely that most of the church leadership is still with the older members, and they are likely to trust one another (whom they've known for years) more than their young pastor. If he wants to lead the church he must work through the leaders. This means he must try to get their buy-in for any new ideas before he presents them to the larger church body. If he can convince them he is unlikely to get opposition from anyone else.

A second thing he needs to do is to create a sense of urgency for the change. He must not only present the what of the change he wants to make; he must provide a compelling reason why the change needs to occur and why it needs to occur now and not later. The third thing we discussed is the speed of change. He shouldn't try to change everything at once. That frightens people, and frightened people will do everything possible to maintain calm. He also has to understand that significant change may take five years from introduction to becoming part of the DNA of the church, and during that five years there are likely to be numerous attempts to return to what the system knew before the change was introduced.

This young bivocational minister seemed to understand these concepts. Although this is his first pastorate, he seems to have a wisdom beyond his years, and I anticipate he'll enjoy a very successful ministry in that church. As we ended our conversation he told me he is beginning a coaching relationship with a well known ministry coach that should be a big help to him. This will help keep him on track and avoid some mistakes often made by younger pastors.

If the church you serve has grown under your ministry, did some of your established leaders resist that growth? How was your church impacted by the new people who came into your congregation? Were there specific battles you had to fight?

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T10:20:00.000-04:00

I was privileged to preach in a church yesterday whose pastor was away on vacation. I used that opportunity to remind the congregation of the Christian foundation on which this country was created. So many of today's history books have been written by historical revisionists that I find that many people do not not realize the impact their Christian beliefs had on our founding fathers and how those beliefs influenced the writing of our earliest documents and our earliest laws. Our founding fathers are often referred to as deists in much of today's writings, but even a brief look at their own words demonstrate that isn't the case at all. The majority of these individuals were Christians who took seriously the teachings with which they had been taught.

There were a large number of young people and teenagers in the congregation yesterday, and I couldn't help but notice how many of them were listening intently to the message. I would imagine that may have been the first time some of them had heard much of what I said yesterday. I'm certain they would not have received that message in their American history classes. Unfortunately, I fear it isn't a message many will hear in their churches either. It seems that many pastors are reluctant to talk about the Christian foundations that led to the early greatness of this nation. Perhaps they are afraid some will consider such messages as too political or not politically correct. But, if our young people do not hear this message from the pulpit, where will they hear it? They won't, and the historical revivisionists will have won. Even worse, the Christian foundations of our nation will continue to erode until one day there is nothing left to define right and wrong.

After the service a few older members came to me with tears in their eyes and thanked me for bringing such a message. They fear for their children and grandchildren, as I do, if we as a nation do not rediscover that we are truly one nation under God.

Whatever your plans are for the remainder of this holiday weekend, please take a few moments to thank God for this nation in which we live. Thank Him for the foundations on which this country was founded and ask Him to once again pour out His Spirit upon us. Also, if you are not aware of the role Christianity had on the beginnings of our nation, take some time this month to read one or both of the books I've referenced in this posting. I believe you'll have a new appreciation for our founding fathers and for the values they brought to the birth of our wonderful nation. May God bless America!

Stirring the pot

2011-06-23T23:32:00.000-04:00

Most churches and pastors try to avoid conflict. There's no question that a lot of conflict does nothing but create problems within churches and other organizations, but it's also true that organizations seldom change or move forward without some level of conflict. One of the reasons many change efforts fail is because those in leadership did not create a sense of urgency within the organization that would drive the change. I do not see how one can create a sense of urgency without challenging the status quo, and that is almost guaranteed to create conflict. It is almost a certainity that someone within the organization likes the status quo, often for personal reasons, and will oppose any challenge to it. As much as we in leadership may not like the idea, one of our responsibilities is to stir the pot. One writer suggests we need to create a holy dissatisfaction within our churches in order to move from where we are to where God wants us to be.

I can hear some of you now. You have enough conflict and problems in your churches without intentionally starting new problems. I understand that, but I also know that without intentional effort on the part of church leaders that our churches will never change. Those that are stuck in a maintenance mindset will remain there until someone comes along to challenge them to get out of their ruts and capture a fresh vision from God. Max DePree tells us the first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. What is the reality of your church? Is your church doing everything it can for the Kingdom of God? Is your church actively and intentionally reaching out to the unchurched in your community? What percentage of those who attend your services are growing as disciples of Jesus Christ? I'm not asking how many attend services or Sunday school classes; how many actually demonstrate through their lives that they are developing the fruits of the spirit in their lives?

Many churches would probably not like the answers to these questions, but those answers are the reality that needs to be presented to the congregation along with some possible ways to address any shortcomings contained in those answers. Yes, some people will get upset when first hearing the realities that exist in their churches. Unfortunately, too many people enjoy living in denial. But, this stirring the pot might create the urgency that would allow significant change to occur in your congregation.

As I work with churches from various denominations I see a growing unrest with the status quo. Both congregations and church leaders are frustrated with the poor results they see from all the things their church is doing. They know there has to be a better way of impacting people's lives in the 21st century. While a number of congregations would oppose any proposed change to the way they function, there are some who are just waiting for their leaders to lead.

Let me suggest that it is time to stop the smoke and mirrors we often use to feel better about what is happening in our churches. Take a hard, honest look at the ministry your church is doing, and ask yourself this question: Did the Son of God give His life for this? If you then feel that God is leading you to raise the level of ministry your church offers, then begin to stir the pot. Demonstrate to your congregation your current level of ministry and the level you believe God wants from you, and then ask the people to become creative and discuss how you can go from where you are to where God wants you to be. It won't be an easy journey, but it will be well worth it.

Telling your story

2011-06-20T23:14:00.000-04:00

Last night I read an interesting perspective on change. The author was discussing how when most leaders begin to change their organization they begin with structure or systems. For churches that often equates into wanting to change the worship format. We want to move from traditional worship to contemporary or we want to install a projector or we want to replace the organ with a praise band. Other churches want to change their constitution or their board structure. All of these things may need to be changed, but the problem is that after those changes are made we often find that nothing except the structure of the church has changed. The church itself remains unaffected. To compound the problem, the organization constantly tries to revert back to its old familiar structure so the leadership must continually fight the battle to maintain the surface changes that have taken place.

The author of the book I was reading insisted that the only way to truly introduce change into a church is to begin telling a new story. Individuals, families, and organizations, including churches, are greatly impacted by the stories we tell. Smaller churches often struggle with a poor image of themselves because they have over the years believed certain things about themselves. Do any of these sound familiar to you? "We are too small to accomplish much for the Kingdom of God." "We can't keep a pastor here for more than two or three years because pastors want to move on to a larger church for more salary than we can afford. I guess God has called this church to be a training place for student ministers." "We don't dare dip into our savings. That's our rainy day account, and we never know when we might have an emergency and need that money." "The problem with this church is that the young people have no commitment." "The denomination doesn't care anything about us. They're just interested in the big churches." I could go on and list dozens of more stories smaller churches have told themselves for years.

It matters little what kind of surface changes we make in our churches; if we continue to tell ourselves these same stories our churches will remain stuck by the limitations we have imposed on ourselves. To experience real change in our churches it's necessary to catch a fresh vision from God for our churches and begin to tell stories around that vision. Furthermore, it's important that we not stray from that story or allow others to sidetrack us from our story. When others come along with stories that contradict the story behind our vision we have to stop them and repeat over and over again the new story. Until that story becomes ingrained in people's minds and hearts and it becomes their story, nothing of any real substance will change in our churches.

What story defines your church? Is it a story that lifts your church up or is it one that is holding your church back? Who created your story? Was it someone who wanted the best for your church or someone who had other motives? Finally, if you need to do so, how can you develop a new story for your church, and what would that story look like?

Milestone

2011-06-20T22:47:00.000-04:00

I didn't realize it at the time, but my last post was my 400th post on this blog. Although I'm sure many bloggers do far more than that, 400 seems like an incredible number to me. Let me thank each of you who read this blog regularly and especially those of you who respond and provide feedback. I only have 48 regular followers, but I know many more than that read most of the postings I write. Some of you have written telling me how helpful some of the articles have been, and I appreciate that very much.

In recent months my writings have been a little sporadic. That is largely due to some personal issues we have been addressing the past few months. We've been facing some challenges that we never expected to face, and they have required a lot of time and energy. I hope to become more regular with my postings in the future.

Again, thank all of you for helping me reach this milestone. As always, if there are specific issues you would like addressed please feel free to contact me at dbickers@roadrunner.com.

Book title

2011-06-15T10:35:00.000-04:00

My publisher has sent me the title they selected for my next book, The Healthy Community: Moving Your Church Beyond Tunnel Vision. This is a change from the title I wanted, but publishers have the right to select the title, and I have found that authors typically have little say in the matter.

Regardless, I am excited about this project and believe that the book will challenge leaders of all size churches. I believe that it is time for the church to decide to get serious about its purpose in this world and become the church God intended for it to be. One of the things that must happen is that churches must address the issues that are keeping that from happening. This book addresses some of those issues and offers some ways to correct them.

The book is scheduled for a spring 2012 release.

Church closings

2011-06-13T13:51:00.000-04:00

I recently read a note from a 2004 publication that said that of the approximately 400,000 churches in America it is estimated that around 60,000 will close within the next 10-15 years. In 10 years that would be 115 churches closing each week. Although the note I read doesn't say, I would guess that most of those churches will be smaller congregations that finally lost their struggle to survive. Could your church be included in these numbers?

Like most tragic events, we always think they only happen to the "other guy." We won't be the one diagnosed with a fatal disease; we won't be the one in a tragic accident; it won't be one of our family members who struggles with addiction. As ministers and church leaders we don't want to think that it will be our church that will close its doors, but if this article is right 115 churches each week for the next 10 years will be locking its doors for the last time. If our church has been struggling for some time to stay open there is no reason to believe that it won't be our church included in these numbers.

It is time we have some honest dialogue with our churches. Unless some of our churches are willing to make significant changes quickly they are going to close their doors. And, frankly, they probably should. There has been no real ministry existing in some of these churches for decades. The most these churches offer is an opportunity for the handful who remain to get together once a week. This could be done just as well in someone's home which would probably make for a better experience for everyone anyway.

If a church sees that its days are numbered why not go out in style? I see some churches who are able to stay open because faithful Christians from the past contributed sufficient funds for the church to have a fairly large savings or endowment. Until that money is gone the church will remain open. Is that really good stewardship? Would it not be better for such a church to decide to close and give its assets to another ministry, its denominational body, or a missionary organization? At least the money could be used for ministry purposes and not just keeping the lights turned on.

I should hasten to mention that some struggling churches still have time to turn it around if they are willing to ask themselves some hard questions and make some significant changes. It will mean that the church will have to decide they exist not for themselves but for those who have not yet encountered the living Saviour. Ministry will have to become more important than history. It may require the congregation to be willing to say good-by to those who do not want to make the necessary changes in order to reach future generations. It will likely require much pain as the church transitions from its current situation to one that is healthier, but this pain is the price the church must pay if it wishes to continue to have a ministry in the future.

As I say in my workshops, your church is today what it decided 5 years ago, 10 years ago, and even 20 years ago what it was going to be. Your church will be 5 years from now, 10 years from now, and 20 years from now what you decide today it will be. Every church leader should know...you will make that decision. Deciding not to decide is making the decision, and your church will one day reflect that decision.

Manuscript mailed

2011-05-26T14:43:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted much lately. Even though my next book isn't due to be released until the spring of 2012 the publisher asked for the manuscript by June 1. I still had some material to add to one chapter and the initial editing to do before sending it, so that has taken up a lot of my "spare" time. I sent the manuscript out this morning just before noon.

I am excited to be working with Beacon Hill Press again on this project. Assuming I have the same editor again, he knows my material better than I do! His insights really adds much to my thoughts. He's not afraid to challenge some of my thinking and asks the really tough questions that I believe helps make my books much better.

I promise to be better about posting, but right now my brain is cooked. I'm going to spend a little time relaxing this afternoon.

Storms of ministry

2011-05-19T09:38:00.000-04:00

Every minister will face various storms during his or her ministry. A sudden accident, a medical test that doesn't come back the way you wanted, a spouse leaves, a child rebels, a disgruntled church member that causes the minister to be terminated, a series of bad choices that lead to moral failure, and a host of other issues can create storms. When Jesus taught on the two men who built their houses, one upon sand and the other upon a rock, He taught us that it is never if a storm comes into one's life; it is always a matter of when the storm comes. No matter how well things may be going today, storms do come into every life. This isn't being pessimistic; it's being realistic. What do you do to prepare yourself for those storms?

While traveling to a church meeting yesterday I listened to the latest CD of Pastor to Pastor by H. B. London, Jr. The title of the CD is Storms of Ministry. I have subscribed to these CDs ever since they became available, and this may be the most helpful one I've heard. H. B. interviews three individuals who have weathered major storms in their lives. One pastor of a mega-church developed a disease that nearly killed him. He was unable to swallow for months and needed constant care from family members. Doctors never properly diagnosed his illness. Although he had to resign as senior pastor he remains on the staff of the church he served as he continues to recover. The second minister was involved in a motocycle accident that led to him going through multiple surgeries and an extended stay in the hospital. The third pastor's storm was of his own doing as he entered into a relationship with another woman that led to him leaving the ministry.

Listening to each of these individuals talk of their experience, their challenges, and the things that got them through their storms was inspiring, and I have to admit, challenging. As I listened I wondered if I could have come through their situations as well as they did, and it was encouraging to hear one say that we should not worry about that: God gives us the grace we need at the time we need it.

You can get a free download of this edition at parsonage.org I would encourage each of my readers to do so. If you do, please let me know how listening to these stories impacted you.

Staying positive

2011-05-17T23:30:00.000-04:00

One of the books I'm currently reading emphasizes the importance of staying positive in our thinking, our words, and our attitudes. This evening it hit me just how difficult it is to stay positive. One would think that anyone who knows Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior would find it easier to maintain a positive outlook on life, but we also know that isn't always the way it is. Christians face the same challenges and struggles that non-Christians experience. It becomes easy to take our eyes off our Lord and begin to focus on the circumstances, and when that happens we can soon fall into a negative mindset that doesn't do anyone any good. Yes, it even happens to ministers.

Several years ago when I was still pastoring I spent an afternoon reviewing some of the sermons I had preached that year. It became obvious to me that I had become quite negative in my preaching. This wasn't intentional on my part, and I hadn't even realized it happened until I began looking back at some of the sermons I had preached in the previous months. But, there was no mistaking the fact that I had become quite negative. I was probably tired and frustrated that things were not going the way I hoped, but that's no excuse. That afternoon the Lord really convicted me about my sermons and my attitude. He showed me the people were beaten up all week by their own circumstances, and they didn't need to get hammered again when they came to church.

The next Sunday I apologized to our congregation for my negativity. (BTW - it never hurts to apologize to your church when you mess up. They already know you did and will be relieved to find out you now realize it as well!) I explained that I could preach the same sermon from a positive perspective as I could from a negative one, and I promised them future sermons would come from the positive perspective. During my remaining years with them I tried very hard to remain positive even if I had to address difficult subjects.

We live in a very negative world, and I am convinced that unless we intentionally take steps to remain positive we can fall into that negativity. Some of those steps are to read positive books, surround ourselves with positive people, watch what we view on TV or at the movies, and avoid news programs that major on the sensational. If one eats nothing but junk food it will have a negative impact on his or her health, and the same thing is true of the material we feed into our minds.

I would encourage you to examine your recent sermons. Were they designed to build people up or tear them down? Would you say you have been mostly positive or negative in your relationships with family members? How are you feeling about yourself right now? Your ministry? If you've allowed negativity to creep into your thinking and your words, what do you need to do to turn that around?

Death tsunami

2011-05-09T00:20:00.000-04:00

I got this interesting title for a blog post from an article I recently read about the financial problems facing denominations. The article's author correctly noted that the financial struggles currently experienced by many denominations are not likely to improve even when the economy improves. This is due to a number of reasons but one that many people do not seem to grasp is that we are facing a major loss of people in the coming years due to the aging baby boomer population. This will not only affect denominations, it will affect many of our churches as well.

The WWII generation is often referred to as the builder generation because of their commitment to building churches, businesses, companies, institutions, organizations, and much of the infrastructure that exists in our country today. They not only were personally involved in building these organizations, they supported them financially and with their time. The boomer generation (my generation) that followed has not demonstrated that same commitment to these institutions, and succeeding generations have shown even less commitment. In many of our churches, especially bivocational churches, a good percentage of the financial support has come from the builder generation and the older baby boomers. If your church is an exception, count yourself fortunate. As these generations continue to pass from the scene, many churches can expect to see their finances shrink which may spell trouble.

There is seldom a week goes by that I do not see persons my age in our local newspaper's obituary column. There are fewer of my classmates at each high school reunion. I think the term "death tsumani" is an accurate way to describe what is going to happen during the next decade, and I'm afraid that some of our churches do not realize how that may impact them. Right now is a good time for church leadership to sit down and identify where the church's financial support is coming from. Rather than waiting until finances nearly disappear now is the right time to be proactive and make some decisions based on the strong possibility that financial support will drop off in the coming years. Here are some things to consider.

Now may not be a good time for a church to go into debt. I already know too many churches that have reduced staff or cut programs because of debt they incurred in better economic times. If giving levels continue to shrink it will become more difficult to make the mortgage payments and provide ministries to the membership and community.
Teach on stewardship. I know many churches resist stewardship training, but these are probably the churches that need it the most. Younger generations such as Gen-X do not understand tithing or the basic stewardship principles. There is a reason the builder generation and older baby boomers support their churches financially. Most of them were trained to do so before churches decided it wasn't cool to talk about money.
Encourage church members to do responsible estate planning that would include remembering their church in that planning. I doubt most pastors have the knowledge to lead people through estate planning, but many denominations have persons who can come to your church and lead people through that process.
Do long-range planning figuring on reduced giving levels in the future. I think it would be very dangerous to plan for the future believing that giving levels will remain the same or will increase. If you plan on lower giving levels, and those levels do increase, then you will be in a position to do additional ministry, and that would be great. However, if you have to cut back on anticipated ministries and programs because of lower than expected giving, everyone is disappointed.

If you have other suggestions for how to plan for what many believe will be reduced giving levels in the future, please share them with other readers of this blog. That way we all will benefit

Does absence make the heart grow fonder?

2011-05-07T00:02:00.000-04:00

I realized today I had not posted anything since Easter. The truth is I have been quite busy with a number of things including some personal family issues that will linger on for a few more months. I am learning that getting older doesn't mean you get to slow down or that life becomes easier, but, of course, no one really said that it would.

This past week I have been thinking about two bivocational churches. One has been bivocational for several years and the other one is in the process of transitioning to being bivocational after having been fully-funded for a number of years. The bivocational church has seen some significant growth in the past few years. In fact, its attendance has nearly doubled to around 100 people on an average Sunday morning. They have baptized a number of new believers in recent months, many of them adults. Parking is now at a premium, and I have to believe that their Sunday school space is getting rather tight.

The church that is transitioning to being bivocational has seen a steady decline over the past several years. Their average Sunday attendance is probably around 50 people now. The church realizes it can no longer afford a fully-funded pastor and is looking for a bivocational pastor. Unfortunately, many in the church seem to believe that their new pastor will be bivocational salary-wise, but they still have the same expectations for this individual as they have for the previous pastors. I have been working with their leadership over the past few months to help them understand that members of the congregation will have to take on some of the ministries their previous pastors have done. I think the leadership gets it, but I'm not sure about rest of the congregation. I do know that if they expect their new bivocational pastor to do everything their previous fully-funded pastors did, their church will continue to decline and will probably have to search for another pastor in the near future.

Much of the growth in the first church can be traced to the hard work of a number of people in the congregation, not just the pastor. Both new and older members of the church are involved in a wide range of ministries in the church and out to the community. People are not afraid to invite their friends and family members to visit the church, and many of the visitors return. It will be interesting to see how the church will change if it continues to grow, but this is a better problem to have than wondering of anything will stop the church's decline.

Everyone has to be involved in ministry in a bivocational church if it will have a positive impact on its community. The first church understands that; I'm not sure the second church does yet. Does yours?

Celebrating Easter

2011-04-24T09:17:00.000-04:00

I want to wish each of you a joyous Easter as you celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! My wife and I are leaving shortly to spend this Easter with our daughter and her family. We're looking forward to spending time with family, and I think Granny has a couple of surprises for the grand-children.

Easter

2011-04-22T23:28:00.000-04:00

It seems like a lot of people I've talked to in the past few weeks are struggling. Pastors and lay people alike are struggling with the economy, relationships, job security, health issues and a host of other issues. Some are exhausted from the constant stress; a few are about ready to give up. Some remind me of the disciples after they witnessed Jesus' death on the cross. They just want to get away, lock the doors behind them, and avoid any further problems. Life hasn't worked out the way they hoped, and they just want to withdraw and escape any more pain.

You pastors probably already have your Easter messages prepared, but I do hope your message will offer hope to the hurting people who will attend your services. The story of Christ's resurrection is a story of hope. The Son of God is alive forevermore and wants to dwell within every man, woman, and child who will receive Him. To those who will call out to Him He promises to hear. Furthermore, He promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us no matter what we may experience in this life. Some of the paths we walk on earth are dark and uncertain, but what hope it brings to know that our Lord is with us on those paths! This is the Sunday to remind your listeners how precious they are in the sight of God and of the unconditional love God has for each of us.

I would also encourage you to listen to your own messages this Sunday. I've talked to a number of pastors recently carrying a lot of pain in their own lives. They need to be reminded of the hope found in the story of Easter, and when I write "they" I really mean all of us. It's easy for any of us to forget sometimes that God's love isn't reserved for those pastors who are doing great things for the Kingdom of God or for those who seem to have it all together in their lives. Unconditional love is just that...unconditional. God has chosen to love us even when we are not very loveable.

If you are struggling in some areas of your life right now, please remember you are not alone. God is with you in the midst of your struggles and doubts. He is ready to listen anytime you want to talk to Him. So am I. Friends, whether you are bivocational, fully-funded, or a lay person, please know I care about you, your ministries, your families, and your struggles. Feel free anytime to contact me. I'll be more than glad to pray with you and to encourage you any way I can.

Until we meet again, have a most blessed Easter weekend.

New book

2011-04-21T23:22:00.000-04:00

Beacon Hill Press informed me this week they have accepted my latest book proposal for publication with a planned release in spring 2012. The working title is Heart Disease in the Body of Christ. This book is not directly related to bivocational and small church ministry as my previous books but looks at various factors that limit the effectiveness of churches. I believe each of the conditions examined in the book are heart issues which is why I've selected the title I have. Chapters will explore issues such as doctrinal confusion, a lack of grace, a lack of mission, a lack of spiritual maturity, a lack of pastoral leadership, a lack of denominational excellence, and others. I try to not only point out the problems but offer solutions that can lead to a healthier church. This is my fifth book with Beacon Hill Press, and I know I will enjoy working with them on this book as I have with the other books. I'll keep you posted as more information becomes available.

The value of a soul

2011-04-15T00:08:00.000-04:00

A few years ago I was approached by some people upset with some recent expenses their church made for its youth ministry. When they voiced their concerns to me I asked how many young people had made professions of faith in Christ in recent year. They admitted that the church had received several young people and/or their family members in recent years and their church was growing. I then asked, "How much do you think a soul is worth?" I never received an answer, and in a few minutes the group left.

In our current financial recession many churches have struggled financially. Many have been forced to cut their budgets, sometimes through staff reductions or by eliminating ministries. In some situations this has been necessary in order to survive, especially in those areas hardest hit with high unemployment numbers or other financial difficulties. However, one of my concerns is that most of the money that was cut from budgets was for mission work both locally and abroad. We've kept the items in our budget that provided care and ministry for our membership, but too often we've reduced or removed entirely funding that would enable our churches to effectively impact people outside of the church. Both denominational mission agencies and local ministries have been impacted by these cuts.

I would encourage you to look at your budget with your church leadership and determine how much of your budget is for the church membership and how much is for reaching out to those outside the church. Then ask yourself the question I posed that evening: How much is a soul worth? Does a ministry project that would impact unchurched people really have to be eliminated, or could something else in the budget be reduced? Could people be challenged to give more to ensure that the project can continue? How important to your church are the unchurched people who live in your community?

These questions are not meant to be mean-spirited or accusatory. I ask them to help remind each of us of the main purpose of our church. As someone has said, the church was never meant to be a hotel for saints but a hospital for sinners. The mission of every church is to fulfill the Great Commission and the Great Commandment, and that doesn't change because of changing economic situations. I could not put a financial figure on the value of a soul, but I do know the cost God paid. John 3:16 tells us what God thought the value of our souls was, and He was willing to pay it. Personally, I'm thankful He was, and the people your church reaches for the Kingdom of God will be thankful that your church was willing to pay a price to continue reaching out to them.

Computers

2011-04-06T10:07:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I read that Microsoft might be coming out with Windows 8 sooner than anticipated. My first thought was why? They haven't got Windows 7 working right so why would they come out with a new version of Windows? Maybe they've given up on Windows 7 and instead of fixing the problems with that version they are going straight to Windows 8. Isn't that what they tried when they went from Vista to Windows 7? How well did that work???? Over the past several years I've owned 10-12 computers, both desktop and laptops. All have been Windows based, and most of them have been disappointing in some respects. XP has been my favorite system so far by a long shot. I bought a new computer with Vista just before Windows 7 was released. Several months after the release I installed 7 on the computer, and both Vista and 7 have been major disappointments. I can't even use any but one of my USB ports, and from the multitiude of complaints about that problem on the Internet it's a common problem with 7, and it's obvious that months later Microsoft still doesn't have a fix. Don't even get me started with the problems I'm having with Microsoft Office, especially with Publisher. So, instead of fixing their problems they are thinking about releasing a new system early so people can buy it. My daughter-in-law recently bought a new Mac laptop, and I'm seriously thinking of taking the Mac plunge myself.

Why this rant about computers on a blog about bivocational ministry? Microsoft's problems come when they rush to introduce something new before they have the bugs out of it, and I see the same thing happening in some churches. For instance, a church decides it needs to have a contemporary worship service to attract younger people, and they announce that a month later they will begin the new service. The problem is that they may not have the musicians with the talent to have such a service. Or they may not have taken the time to consider what a contemporary service should look like in their situation. In some churches I've attended they've printed off a booklet of 1970's praise songs and put them in the pew racks behind the pews. In about a month they look like a stack of ragged papers that should be thrown into the trash. I've sat in a number of "contemporary" worship services and wondered who the church hoped to reach with what I was experiencing. They had great goals, but they didn't take the time to do it right.

I see the same thing happen sometimes when a church decides to start small groups. Since the other churches in the town has small groups, and because the pastor read about small groups in one of his magazines, the church forms small groups. Six months later these groups shut down. Most of the pastors admit to me the small groups didn't work in their church because the church either wasn't prepared for small groups or because not enough planning went into the small groups before they began. Either way, it leaves the church with the sense that small groups are not a good idea, and they will be reluctant to try them again in the future.

As I often tell church leaders in my workshops, small churches can accomplish more oftentimes by doing less. Instead of trying to offer everything the other churches in your community offer, focus on just 2-3 things that your church can do with excellence. Take the time to think through and pray through the new things you feel led to introduce into your church. Make sure you have the people who can pull it off, and that they are on-board with your ideas. Count the cost, and ensure you have the resources to pay the price. Remove as many bugs in your idea as possible before launching anything new. Doing these few things will ensure a better quality ministry that will have a much great impact on your community than jumping on the flavor-of-the-month every time a new magazine hits your office.

Ministry mulligans

2011-03-29T23:23:00.000-04:00

As you'll see in the link I'm providing below, the title of this post has been borrowed. As a golfer, I just couldn't think of a better way to frame the message in the post. For some reason, during the past several months I've spent a lot of time thinking about things in my life I regret. There have been wonderful opportunities I missed because I didn't see them at the time. There have been decisions I've made that proved to be huge mistakes that continue to impact me and my family. We are all confronted with numerous choices in our lives, and the choices we make will always come with consequences. Sometimes that consequence is immediate; sometimes we're not aware of the consequences until years later. If we're fortunate we have time to correct poor choices, but not always. There comes a time in a person's life when one realizes that some doors will always be closed because there isn't time to change a choice we had previously made. Incidently, sometimes we make the only choice we can due to the circumstances at the time. Such decisions weren't wrong, they were the only decision we could make at the time, but the long-term impact of those decisions can cause regrets later in life.

It would be great to have a do-over or to get a mulligan, a second chance to make choices that would lead to better results. Of course, there's no guarantee that we wouldn't make the wrong choices again or even that a different choice would produce better results than we got the first time. More than once I've taken a mulligan on the golf course and hit a worse shot than the first one!

Still, I thought this article was quite appropriate. It is an honest self-evaluation of a person who left pastoral ministry after two decades. I can echo some of his regrets in my own ministry. Both the article writer and I wish we could go back and get a mulligan in our pastoral ministries. But, neither of us can.

I want to encourage my readers to read this article slowly and prayerfully. If you find that you are making the same mistakes the writer made in his pastoral ministry begin to make changes in that area of your ministry now. Don't blow it off or think that somehow it doesn't apply to you. Too many ministers make the tragic mistake of thinking that they are somehow different and the rules don't apply to them. If you make the same poor choices the writer made, you will eventually end up in the same place with a lot of regrets that your ministry, your relationships, and your life wasn't more balanced and healthier.

Here's the article. http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2011/winter/ministrymulligans.html After you read it, let me know what you think.

The power of vision

2011-03-27T23:59:00.000-04:00

This past week I attended the spring meeting of the Church Relations Council at Campbellsville University. For two days we heard about the wonderful things happening at that school. At a time when many colleges and universities struggle to attract students Campbellsville University just experienced their 22nd consecutive record enrollment. During a recession that makes fund raising difficult for most institutions this is a school that has successfully completed a major capital funds campaign. Unlike some schools that have decided to compromise its values, Campbellsville University continues to emphasize its commitment to Christian higher education. While some universities are forced to sell or close some of their buildings, Campbellsville University is building new dorms for their expected increase in students and plans to break ground soon to construct new buildings to house some of their schools. While on campus I visited their Center for Bivocational Ministry and found that it had expanded and was planning new ways to provide resources to bivocational and small church leaders and the churches they serve.

The continuing growth at Campbellsville University is no accident. It has happened because the leadership, beginning with the President, have a vision of what this school can do and what it can become. They recently approved a new vision called Vision 2025, and this vision is impacting every decision that is being made on that campus. Unlike some churches that create a vision statement that gathers dust on a forgotten shelf somewhere, Campbellsville University takes seriously the vision they believe will guide them for the next 14 years. This vision statement gives them a clear mental image of what the school will look like in 2025, and they are taking the steps they believe will allow them to see that vision become a reality.

This university is a great example of how a vision can impact an organization. With an image of a preferred future any organization can become much more focused in its decisions and actions. Instead of drifting through life hoping that good things might happen, with a vision an organization can move forward with a purpose. What is true of other organizations is also true for your church. With a clear vision of where the church would like to be in 10-15 years, it becomes possible for a church to become more focused and intentional in its planning and in its actions. Anything that will help achieve that vision receives a yes vote, and anything that would detract from that vision is declined. With focus and intentionality comes power, the power to become what God has intended, and with that power comes the opportunity to truly make a difference in people's lives and in the culture in which we live.

I cannot emphasize too much the difference having a clear vision can make for your church. You may need assistance in seeking God's vision for your church. You may find it helpful to bring in a coach or consultant from outside your church to assist you in this. If you are interested in having a coach, please let me know. I have worked with a number of churches to help them identify God's vision for their churches, and I may be able to assist your church as well. Regardless of whether you get outside help in this process or do it strictly within your congregation, seek a fresh vision from God and see the impact such a vision will have on your church.

What is our calling?

2011-03-22T23:23:00.000-04:00

I recently read an interesting article that traced the focus of seminary education through the years. In the 1960s the focus in many seminaries was on social justice. It created pastors who thought social justice was the Gospel and excluded everything else. In the 1970s and 80s the emphasis was on pastoral counseling, and pastors filled their calendars with counseling appointments. As we entered the 1990s and into the 2000s the focus in many seminaries has shifted to leadership development. Graduates now begin their pastoral ministries with CEO mindsets. I agree with the article that none of these things are necessarily wrong. The church and its pastors should be concerned with social justice issues. Pastors will be confronted with people having a multitude of psychological and relational issues. The church often has not had the leadership it needs to minister well. No, there's nothing wrong with any of these except we have been called to be pastors. Servant leaders. Shepherds.

Should we be concerned with social and political issues? Absolutely. Scripture speaks often about caring for those who cannot care for themselves, and this is the church's job, not the government's. Should pastors be able to counsel hurting people? Yes, and they should also know when to refer someone to a trained, competent, Christian counselor who has the training needed to help someone with issues that require more knowledge and skills than most pastors have. Do pastors need to know how to lead churches? I believe the lack of strong pastoral leadership is one of the greatest needs in the church today, but this leadership is not the CEO model of leadership. We are not called to be dictators. Our calling is that of a servant leader.

The call to pastoral ministry is one of the greatest callings anyone can have on his or her life. It is a call to love people and to be involved in their lives. There were times I would walk through an empty sanctuary and pray for the people who sat in each pew. During my 20 year ministry in that church I got to know our membership very well. We were not a perfect people. In fact, we all had our warts and problems, but I had such a deep love for the people who gathered there each week. I would sometimes tell them from the pulpit, "Sometimes you drive me up the wall, but I want you to know that I truly love each and every one of you with a love that is much deeper than any of you realize."

Let us not become so involved in the mechanics of ministry that we forget our first calling is to shepherd our people. The hireling flees at the first sign of trouble; the shepherd stays to protect the flock. If one wanders off the shepherd searches until it is found and returned to the fold. The shepherd feeds the sheep and tenderly cares for each one. If a sheep is injured the shepherd tends to it until it is well again.

I think some seminaries need to remember what their students are called to be and take a new look at what they are teaching. Whether or not they ever do that, it is important for us to remember the nature of our calling and seek to live it out each day wherever we are. We should take Jesus' words to Peter as if He was speaking to each of us: if you love Me, feed My sheep.

Obsolete knowledge

2011-03-19T23:37:00.000-04:00

The story is told of a well-known university professor who had just given his class an exam. After the exam had been taken his teaching assistant asked if that wasn't the same test he had given his class the previous year. The professor admitted it was, but remarked that it was OK because the answers had changed.

I read this past week that knowledge is doubling every two years, and I have read that it doubles at an even higher rate than that. This means that it is important to continually be taking in new information just to stay even. Otherwise, a person will soon become obsolete in just about every field including ministry. We see all around us the price that is paid when ministers stop growing. They become stagnant and so do the churches they lead. They become stuck in traditional ways of doing ministry that may no longer be effective and wonder why their church can't reach new people with the gospel.

As I look at my bookshelves I see a number of books I used as a student at Bible college. Those books contained a lot of good information for doing ministry in the 1980s, but then I look at the books I used when I later returned to seminary. Although they deal with the same topics, their approach to those topics is much different. Why? Because over the 15 years between when I went to Bible college and seminary people learned better ways of doing ministry that would be more effective as we entered the 21st century. My approach to ministry changed a great deal over the 20 years I was a pastor. As a judicatory minister I've had the opportunity to learn new things, and I can assure you that if I returned to pastoral ministry it would look much different than when I previously served as a pastor.

How can we keep up with this explosion of knowledge? I believe three things are critical: constantly reading good books, listening to audio learning programs, and attending conferences and workshops that address areas of ministry most important to you. I know this will be a challenge for bivocational ministers who are pressed for time anyway, but I also believe that we have no choice. We must keep learning and growing or we will soon find ourselves obsolete and unable to accomplish the ministry to which God has called us.

I try to read an average of one book a week. I keep a book in my car so if I have some downtime in the car I can read a few pages. I read when I'm on the treadmill. I keep a book next to my chair, and I wouldn't think of going to a doctor's office or anywhere I might have to wait without a book to read. I keep highlighters and a pen to mark interesting passages or make notes in the margins. Very seldom do I read fiction. Much of what I read has to do with ministry, leadership, personal growth, or political events.

Because my current ministry role requires me to spend a lot of time in my car I often listen to my I-Pod while I'm driving. There are a number of programs I download so that I have a variety of options to listen to while I'm on the road. That is a much better use of my time than listening to a lot of the drivel that is on the radio today.

I lead a number of workshops and conferences each year so it's sometimes a challenge to attend as many as I might want as a learner, but I still try to get to at least one or two each year. I can always leave one of these events with at least a nugget or two of new information, and sometimes I leave there with a whole sack of gold. These are a great way to hear the newest information from someone who has spent time studying a specific topic.

Develop a plan for personal growth that will work for you and then follow that plan. You'll find ministry much more enjoyable, and you'll find that growing ministers lead growing chuches.

When does a bivocational pastor need a coach?

2011-03-15T23:41:00.000-04:00

For the past few years I have had the privilege of coaching a number of bivocational and fully-funded pastors. It has always been exciting to see these pastors experience break-throughs in their ministries, their home lives, and in their own personal lives. One of the things I enjoy about coaching is that we always work on the issues the person being coached brings to the session. We always work from the agenda of the person being coached, not the agenda of the coach. There are two reasons I enjoy this aspect of coaching. One is that it means we are often dealing with different issues in each session. The second reason is that I know that the coaching will be helpful because we are addressing the most pressing issues the minister is facing at that particular time. I don't have to guess what the pastor needs; he or she has already told me.

How does a person know he or she is ready for a coach? There are several, and I will just touch on a very few in this posting. The first is that the minister feels stuck. He or she feels stuck in some aspect of their lives. It may be ministry related; it may be work related; it may be relationship related. Try as he or she might, they just can't seem to be able to move forward with some aspect of their lives. A coach can help break through roadblocks and enable the individual to get unstuck and begin to move forward again.

Coaching can also be very helpful when an individual is sensing a change in his or her life. When I was receiving my training in coaching we were required to have a coach through the training process. That happened to be a time when I was contemplating some major changes in my life and career. My coach helped me work through the direction some of those changes would take, and it was my coach who helped me decide that God was calling me to return to school and work on my doctorate. I was very concerned about what I needed to be doing, and my coach helped me work through that confusion so that things could become more clear.

Sometimes the best candidate for coaching is the person who isn't struggling with any issues in his or her life. It may be that the individual is enjoying life, work is going well, and good things are happening in the ministry. But, the individual is wants to grow and become even more competent in his or her career or ministry or wants to take his or her relationships to a higher level. Such persons are often highly motivated to experience an even more rewarding life, and motivated persons are always the best candidates for coaching.

Are you in a place in your life where a coach could be beneficial? Are you wanting to experience more out of life or ministry than you are currently experiencing? If so, you might be ready for a coach to come alongside and help you become more of the person you want to be. If this describes you, I would enjoy working with you in a coaching relationship. My fees are very reasonable; much less than most life coaches and executive coaches charge. I would encourage you to see these fees as an investment in your life and ministry, an investment that will pay rich dividends over the next few years.

If you are considering working with a coach, please contact me and let's set up an initial discussion to see if coaching would be right for you.

Leadership in the small church

2011-03-12T22:56:00.000-05:00

In the past two weeks I've had conversations with two pastors of smaller churches regarding some leadership challenges they are facing. One was celebrating his first anniversary as the pastor of his church; the other had served nineteen months as the pastor. Each one was having their pastoral leadership challenged by controllers in the church. As usual, there were few people in the church willing to stand up against these controllers, and, as a result, it was becoming increasingly difficult to introduce any kind of change into the church's structure or ministry.

We discussed the problem of controllers in the church and some ways to address these people, but I spent much of my time with these pastors talking about the challenge of bringing change into a small church. I told each pastor the first thing they need to remember is that everything in a smaller church is dependent upon relationships. Relationship in the smaller church is so important that the first question many in the small church will ask when being challenged by change is how the change will impact the current relationships in their church. Small churches often claim they want to grow, but that claim quickly turns to dust if reaching new people might require changes that would cause established members to leave the church. The second question that church members ask regarding proposed change is how the change will impact their role in the church, and will they even have a role in the new system? Most members of small churches know their roles; in fact, these have often been their roles for years if not decades in that church. You can expect resistance if there is any danger that their roles will be changed under a new way of doing things. I suggested to these pastors that understanding these two common questions can help them answer these questions before they are even asked making it more likely to see any attempted changes succeed.

That then brought us to the leadership issue. At least one of the pastors was a little surprised when I told him that after only a year at the church he really had not earned the right to lead that congregation. He thought as the pastor that he was automatically the leader until I explained that he had not been there long enough to have earned the trust of the congregation, and until that happens he will not really have much leadership in the church. I encouraged him to lead through the existing leadership of the church, and he was certainly able to name these individuals. I told both pastors that their greatest success in their churches would come if they were able to work with their lay leadership to introduce any changes they wanted to see in their churches. If they get buy-in from those lay leaders it is much more likely the congregation will be in favor because they usually already have a trust relationship with these lay leaders.

Small churches are notoriously resistant to change, but I believe it has as much to do with how the change is presented than the actual change itself. Some changes will never be accepted by some churches, but if the change is presented in the right manner it is more likly to be accepted. Pastors in smaller churches lead best when they can anticipate the concerns people will have about any proposed change and present the answers to those concerns before they are even asked, learn how to neutralize the controllers in the church, and work through the current leadership while they are building their own trust relationship with the congregation.

If only

2011-03-09T05:00:00.000-05:00

I recently read that the two most common words a counselor is apt to hear is "If only...." Sad to say, I've said those words myself on many occasions, and they seldom were stated in positive terms. Usually when those words are uttered it is because we are remembering a choice we made some time in the past that did not turn out as well as we hoped or we are remembering the actions or words someone else directed towards us.

Anyone who has lived very long has made choices that were proven wrong. If only we had chosen a different school. If only we had chosen a different profession. If only we hadn't chose to be at that location at that specific time. If only we had chosen different friends, or a different spouse, or a different course of action our lives would be much different now. Unfortunately, what these words do is to hold us hostage to a past that we cannot change, and they often keep us from the ability to move forward with our lives.

An interesting truth is that our minds are not capable of holding but one thought at a time. The more time we spend thinking about how things might have been "if only" we had made different choices the less time we have to think about how things can be better in the future. I know pastors that cannot plan for the future because their minds are locked into mistakes they made in the past. I know even more churches that spend much more time reliving the past than they spend preparing for the future. Sometimes those memories of the past are much better than the past really was. Such thinking reminds me of the person who said that the older he got the better he was. At other times the church's thinking is more in line with "If only...." In either case, the church can't prepare for the future as long as it spends its time reliving the past.

Individuals, pastors, and churches all have made choices that didn't work out as we had hoped. We can spend our time visualizing what life might have looked like if only we had made other choices, but what good does that do? Take time to learn from those poor choices, and move on. Spend as little time and energy thinking about the if only's in your life and more time seeking a fresh vision from God for the future. You and the church will find it much more rewarding if you do.

Beware of the send button

2011-03-08T09:27:00.000-05:00

A bivocational pastor friend of mine writes a monthly column for his local newspaper. He shared with me a recent article in which he admitted recently sending an angry e-mail to a good friend of his. His friend called him expressing surprise at his anger and some of the things that were said. As their conversation ended apologies were offered and accepted, but my pastor friend knows that this will probably always have at least some impact on their future relationship.

Few things in recent years have done more to make life easier than e-mail. (I am here excluding the many SPAM e-mails we each receive every day.) E-mail gives us the opportunity to send out mass mailings or individual messages any time of the day. With smart phones we don't even have to be at our computers to receive and reply to important messages. Perhaps best of all, they don't cost 44 cents to send. But, there are some serious dangers to e-mail as my friend learned the hard way.

Once you hit the send button your message is out there. You may instantly regret sending that message, but it's too late. It will be read, perhaps printed out, and distributed to others. One of the problems with e-mail is that it is too easy to get upset about something, quickly type out a flame-throwing response, and hit the send button. At least when we had to write a letter we had a chance to cool down a little before mailing it. I've written a number of letters in the past that went into the trash when I finished them or at least before they went to the mail box. It's just to easy to send something we'll later regret with e-mail.

Another problem with e-mail is that your words can be misinterpreted by the receiver. I was once copied on some e-mails between two people. They were disagreeing with one another, and yet from my perspective they were each saying the same thing only in different ways! I finally stepped into their conversation and told them I thought they were essentially in agreement with one another and that I thought their conversation needed to happen in person and not through e-mails. Fortunately, they both agreed, and in a face-to-face discussion worked out the small differences they had. I've also had the unfortunate experience of being asked in an e-mail my perspective on something, and after responding having the questioner printing out my reply and using it to prove to others that I agreed with his position. The problem was he only gave me a partial description of the issue. My response would have been a little different if I had known the whole story. I haven't made that mistake again! Now if I'm asked my opinion on some issue I normally call the questioner and discuss it with him or her by phone. My position can still be misused, but at least they don't have a document to wave around.

E-mails and other tech forms of communication are quite useful for ministry, but always remember that sin isn't that far away from the send button. Don't respond by e-mail when you're angry or upset about some issue. Don't send anything by e-mail that you would not want the entire world to read, because once it's sent there is no way you can control who will see it. Avoid e-mails if your comments can be taken out of context. Don't substitute e-mails for personal interaction with others.

One final thing about e-mail...why do people think that it's not necessary to use proper writing standards when writing e-mails? This has nothing to do with sin; it has a lot to do with common courtesy. The proper use of capital letters and punctuation make for much more enjoyable reading. Writing in all capital letters suggests anger and should be avoided. There is nothing wrong with starting an e-mail with Dear____ and ending it with a farewell and is simply a matter of courtesy. Previewing e-mails and using spell checker is recommended as well. You might not catch all your mistakes (I certainly don't.) but it does make your e-mails more professional and more enjoyable to read.

When people leave

2011-03-04T13:22:00.000-05:00

Few things frighten a pastor more than to hear that an individual or family is leaving the church. Sometimes people leave because they are moving; that's OK. When it hurts is when the people leave for reasons that always somehow seem to be the fault of the pastor. Some of the complaints are quite common: "I'm just not being fed here anymore." "I don't like the music we use in our services." "Things are changing too fast." "I don't feel we have a pastor who believes the Bible anymore." "I won't go to a church that doesn't have a sanctuary to meet in." "I won't go to a church where the pastor doesn't wear a suit and tie when he preaches." No matter how you cut it, each of these are directly or indirectly the fault of the pastor, or at least that's the way it feels. If enough people leave, the pastor can expect a call from the board to address the problems. In far too many churches, especially smaller churches, the pastor will automatically be seen as the cause of the problem. Few smaller churches want to admit that the problem might be the spiritual immaturity of the ones leaving.

Let me say right now that I have met a number of pastors whose problems were the result of their own actions and/or attitudes. Someone asked me in a workshop I was leading why so many churches stabbed their pastors in the back. My response was that I thought more pastors shot themselves in the foot than were stabbed in the back. Anytime a pastor tries to push things on people before they are ready there will be issues. A pastor who believes he or she is the de facto leader because of his or her position is destined for a hard fall. Such people understand nothing about leadership. The right to lead must be earned; it is not automatically granted. True leadership is servant leadership, and when a pastor faithfully serves a congregation for a period of time he or she will earn the trust of the congregation and the right to lead.

Doing the right things with the right attitude doesn't mean that people still won't blame the pastor for all the various complaints listed above. After all, isn't it the responsibility of the pastor to feed the people? Or should spiritually mature people be able to feed themselves? When I was a baby my mother fed me every bite of food I consumed, but there came a time when I was expected to feed myself. I shudder to think what would happen if I told my wife it was her responsibility to feed me! Maybe the ones complaining they are not being fed at their church would be able to feed themselves if they took their Bibles out of the floorboard of their cars during the week and read it for themselves.

For the sake of time I won't go into each of the complaints I listed above, but I think you get the idea. Spiritually immature people suffer from "I" disease. They think everything in the church revolves around them, and if their particular preferences are not being met the church and, especially, the pastor is at fault. They will leave to find that perfect church that seems to exist in many people's minds.

When such people leave there are some things the pastor should do. One, consider their complaints or issues. Is there any validity to what they are saying? If there is a kernal of truth in their comments, this presents you with a great time to make some changes in your leadership. Admit what is true, but don't accept the totality of their complaints. Second, this is a good time to check your attitudes. You've probably known they were unhappy for some time. Have you been ignoring them or avoiding them? When you have talked to them, how was the tone of your voice? Did you really listen to their concerns, or did you just blow them off as chronic complainers? There is little you can do about how people feel about you, but there is much you can do about your attitude towards such people. Third, wish them well in their new church. Be sincere as you say good-by. Avoid the temptation to tell them off as they are leaving, and resist the even greater temptation to criticize them to others after they are gone. Take the high road. It always pays off. Finally, refuse to beat yourself up over their leaving. Maybe some of it was your fault. There's nothing you can do about that now except learn some important lessons and vow to do better next time. No pastor will please every person all the time. Accept that and work with the ones who are still with you.

The wonder of God's Word

2011-03-02T07:57:00.000-05:00

A number of years ago when I was still a pastor one of my members left the sanctuary after the service and expressed his surprise at my message that morning. He told me that when I read my text he assumed he knew the theme of the message and was prepared to shut me off and think of other things. Suddenly, he realized my message was going in a completely different direction than he assumed so he decided to pay attention. He meant it as a compliment when he told me he had never heard anyone preach that message from that particular text. Although he was complimenting me, his comments bothered me for a couple of reasons.

One, they reminded me that we should never assume that people are paying attention to what we are saying. For some, it is pretty obvious. As the message begins their eyes begin to close not to open again until the invitational hymn wakens them. However, we should never assume that just because someone is looking at us while we preach that they are paying attention. Their thoughts may be on the dinner they are planning for that afternoon, an upcoming activity, or stresses related to work or family issues. They may have completely tuned us out.

This is often the case when our sermons are delivered without passion, conviction, or application to real world struggles. I have sat through too many sermons in the past several years that could not hold my attention for very long, and it didn't take my mind long to wander. (I should say that I have also preached a few messages that I realized about half way through that they were unlikely to hold anyone's attention. It was even hard for me to listen to my own message!) This is really a shame because God's Word holds such power and truth and truly does have the power to change one's life.

The second thing that concerned me is that after we have been Christians for some time it becomes easy to take God's Word for granted. We lose the mystery and wonder of the Scriptures. When my friend heard my text that morning his mental file immediately pulled up all the previous sermons he heard from that text and assumed that he already knew the content of my message. Aren't we all at risk of doing that? Yet, the more time we spend in God's Word the more we find that it can speak to us in new ways. How many times have I read a familiar passage of Scripture or heard someone preach from a passage and saw something new that I had never seen before? I am convinced that God is always wanting to reveal Himself in new ways to us, but if we begin to treat His Word as common and lose the wonder of that Word we run the risk of missing what He wants to reveal to us.

The challenge for us who preach from the Scriptures is to keep the wonder of that Word we handle. A creator God has revealed Himself to mankind through His Word, and through that Word He wants to change lives. Listen to His still small voice through the pages of that book and allow their words to bring change to your life. Then you'll be ready to preach with a passion and conviction that will speak to the hearts of your listeners.

Building relationships

2011-02-23T10:20:00.000-05:00

Successful ministry, especially in smaller churches, is directly related to the relationships the pastor has with his or her people. I find many pastors today unwilling or unable to develop healthy relationships with members of their congregation. Churches often tell me their pastor is unwilling to visit people in the hospitals, nursing homes, or even in their homes. Too many ministers, even in smaller churches, sometimes get caught up in a CEO mentality and forget that they are called to be a shepherd to their people. Just this week a church member told me their pastor was asked three times to visit an individual in the church who had been quite ill for an extended time. He finally, reluctantly, I'm told, made the visit.

As I have shared elsewhere, it took me seven years to earn the trust of my church that allowed me to become a leader in that church. This was due to many factors, not the least of which was that their average pastoral tenure for many years before me was 12 months. The church had been conditioned to believe that the pastor would not be there long so there was no reason to really get acquainted or develop much of a relationship. But, I stayed, and I worked hard to build good relationships with people. I let them know my heart, and even when they might disagree with me about something they knew that everything I tried to do was out of a deep passion for that church and its people. A series of events at my seven year anniversary at the church indicated that I had finally earned the trust of the congregation, and our ministry there began to flourish at that point.

As bivocational pastors we share a common struggle with time issues, but one of our priorities must be relationship-building. Even a mediocre pulpit ministry can be accepted in a church when the people knows the pastor loves them and is available to them. That availability doesn't have to be 24/7 either. Your people are smart enough to make allowances for your other work, especially when you have proven to them that you will be there for them as soon as possible.

I do not believe that seminaries stress enough the importance of relationships in the church. Too many of them continue to teach a professionalism that stresses keeping distance between the pastor and the congregation. That may be one reason so many pastors leave ministry within five years after graduating from seminary. Building relationships is key to a healthy, successful ministry.

Transitioning to bivocational ministry

2011-02-21T07:22:00.000-05:00

One of my goals for this year is to try to find or develop a template churches could use as they transition from being fully-funded to bivocational. Of the churches in my Area there are two who had pastors retire in January. Each of these churches had been served by fully-funded pastors in the past but find they are not financially able to continue to have fully-funded pastors. I believe this will be a growing trend in the next several years, and I do not have a good method for helping such churches make that transition. One of the churches simply called a local person the Sunday after their previous pastor's retirement became effective. We'll see how well that works out, but I must admit I am concerned about the long-term effects of such action. The other church has yet to create a search committee, and I am hopeful that I will be able to work with that church and lead them through a systematic search for a bivocational pastor.

Have any of my readers led a church through such a transition? If so, what were some of the major challenges you and the church faced? Looking back, what do you wish you had done differently? What was the most effective part of the transition? If the transition occurred more than three years ago, what have been the consequences to the church with the move to bivocational ministry? Any help or advice you can give me will be greatly appreciated. If you wish to make a long comment, please send it to dennisbickers@abc-indiana.org. THANKS!

Vision and timing

2011-02-20T22:08:00.000-05:00

Sometimes it's hard for us to recognize that just because God gives us a vision it doesn't mean that it will quickly come to pass. Abraham is a good example of this truth. God had promised him that he would become the father of many nations if he faithfully followed God's leading. Twenty years later, long after Abraham didn't think it was possible for him to father a child, God's promise was finally realized and Abraham and his wife became parents. If you remember the story you will recall that there came a time when Abraham decided to help God out a little bit and father a child through his wife's servant. That decision led to disasterous results as it always does when we try to help God out a little. I do not say that to condemn Abraham because quite frankly it would be hard for me to wait twenty years to see a promise of God fulfilled in my life. In fact, there have been a few times when I've decided to help God out and tried to complete some endeavor I felt God had been calling me to do without waiting on Him. Most of the times such efforts on my part have led to greater problems. God's vision doesn't always mean right now is God's timing to bring that vision to fulfillment.

This morning I attended a church that was dedicating a new sanctuary. They have been at their current location for five years. They completed their fellowship hall first and began worshiping there while they raised the funds to complete the sanctuary. This church encountered numerous obstacles and roadblocks from the time they first voted to relocate. It seems the obstacles intensified during the five years they were waiting to complete their sanctuary. There were times of frustration and confusion, but they kept moving forward until the sanctuary was finally completed this past November and dedicated today.

The church had a great time of celebration today as they met in a beautiful, new sanctuary. It is an excellent facility that provides them plenty of room to grow. I suppose they could have tried to help God a few years ago and built the building at the lowest possible cost. They might have been able to move into a sanctuary sooner if they had done that, but it would not have been the quality of worship space they now have. They waited upon God to act, and when He did He enabled them to build a wonderful place of worship with excellent seating, great sound and video systems, and a beautiful spirit. I visited the facility a couple of times when there were not even studs up for the walls and told the church members then that I felt a sweet, strong sense of God's presence in that area. That same spirit was evident today as well.

Most of us, including myself, are not comfortable waiting. We prefer action to waiting, but sometimes God calls us to wait. Yes, He might show us the vision of where He wants to take us, but then He calls on us to wait for His timing. When we do we will find the results will be much better than if we had pushed on ourselves in an attempt to accomplish His will without His involvement.

I have no doubt this church learned some valuable lessons about waiting upon the Lord. I also have no doubt that because they did they will see God begin to do some new things in and through them that they will find exciting in the months ahead. I believe this church is poised to have a far greater impact on their community than they have ever known at any other time in their history. Finally, I believe God wants to do the same thing in each of our lives if we will be willing to work within His time frame.

Apologetics

2011-02-18T07:26:00.000-05:00

Most of us know what we believe. It may not always be right, but at least we believe what we believe. I like a Mark Lowery comment he made one time about a pastor who wasn't always right, but he was never confused! I have often found myself in that same condition!!

But, why do we believe the things we believe? Is it because we've done an extensive study on the subject? Do we believe some things because we've been told that is what we should believe by a parent, a seminary professor, or some other person in authority? How much of what we believe simply comes from our denominational heritage? How do you answer when an unchurched person asks why you believe some particular doctrine? Unchurched people are not shy about asking that question, and they are usually not satisfied with a shallow, vague answer.

In our postmodern world today many people are willing to accept all "truths" as equally valid and equally wrong. I wish that had been the mindset when I was in high school. Every math test I turned in included answers that were true for me, but for some reason the teacher did not consider my answers as valid as her answers. Had I waited to be born fifty years later and had a postmodern math teacher I might have made straight As in math.

Actually, it is primarily when we are talking about God that this postmodern mindset comes into play. We live in a time when people want to believe that all religions lead to God and all religious systems and philosophies are equally valid. The problem with that mindset is that all religions contain teachings that, if true, make all other religions false. Critics often accuse Christians of being exclusivistic in their teachings, but the fact is that all religious worldviews are exclusivistic. This is why I believe apologetics may be more important today than ever before.

If I was a young man today starting my theological study I think I would focus on apologetics. The Bible teaches that we are to always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and apologetics can help us do that. Since I am not a young man starting my theological study, I have decided to focus my devotional reading this year on books written by some of my favorite apologetic writers such as Ravi Zacharias.

I would encourage you to commit to reading at least one book this year written in the area of apologetics. Can Man Live Without God is a very good place to start. Has Christianity Failed You? would be another good book, especially if you are someone who often feels that God has disappointed you despite your faith in Him. It is important to not only be able to tell others what you believe but why you believe it, and I have found that apologetics can help me do that.

Coming together

2011-02-07T07:32:00.000-05:00

Yesterday afternoon (Sunday) I joined five bivocational pastors for a light lunch, some good fellowship, and a time to pray for one another. There was no agenda, no items that had to be discussed. One of the pastors had invited the others to join him just to spend some time together and to pray for one another. Each pastor went around the table sharing the happenings in his church before we prayed. It was a very enjoyable time spent with dedicated, faithful bivocational pastors.

One of the common complaints voiced by many bivocational ministers is their sense of being alone in their work. It is a valid complaint. Many pastor gatherings are held during the day when bivocational ministers are at their other employment. The same thing is often true of denominational training events. Even if the bivocational minister can meet with other pastors in the area, they often do not understand or appreciate the work that the bivocational minister does. One of the suggestions I would make to my readers is to not expect that to change any time soon. At times you are going to feel isolated in your ministry, and the only one who can do anything about that is you.

This gathering happened because the host pastor was feeling very lonely. He decided to do something about it. He invited all the pastors in his association to his church on a Sunday afternoon and promised them nothing but a good lunch, a time of sharing, and a time of prayer. Because this is one of the associations I serve I volunteered to attend as well and offered to bring desserts to ensure I would be welcome! The host pastor made some delicious soup for lunch, and we sat around the table and just shared with one another for about ninety minutes.

You can do the same thing. Don't wait until your judicatory leader creates some event like this for the bivocational pastors in your area; that may not happen. Invite some of your fellow bivocational ministers to join you for an hour or two on a Sunday afternoon. Fix a light meal, and promise them there is no business to discuss or events to schedule. It's just a time to build relationships with people with similar callings and a time to pray for one another. Don't be discouraged if the turn-out is less than you hoped. Wait a few weeks and invite people back again. As you become accustomed to coming together like this you will find those feelings of lonliness will become less and less, and you will be developing prayer partners who can help one another through the challenges of bivocational ministry. And those are good things!

The Year of the Dog

2011-01-31T07:58:00.000-05:00

My wife and I visited a small bivocational church yesterday and had a wonderful time. As soon as you walked in the building there was a sense of excitement. When I visit churches I like to hear a "buzz" in the building that comes as people are talking and interacting with one another, and this church had the "buzz." Some churches sound like a funeral home when you walk in, but this one did not.

In his message the pastor reminded the congregation that he had earlier challenged them that this year would be the year of the dog. He reminded them of his own little dog that stands only a few inches tall. It's a small dog, but it doesn't know it's small. He told of a time when the dog ran outside to run another animal out of their yard. The pastor said it sounded like his was the biggest dog in the neighborhood when it was challenging the intruder. He acknowledged that they were a small church, but there was no reason to act small or think small. He reminded them of the song "Who Let the Dogs Out?" and said that they were letting the dogs out as each person went into their community, their circle of relationships, and shared what Christ was doing in their lives. It was a clever message and one the congregation was living out. Their program listed several ministry opportunities in the church all being led by volunteers.

Contrast that to many small churches I talk with and visit. They have a common complaint and reason why they just can't do anything. They're too small. Their resources are too limited. No one wants to be involved in ministry. They give a steady litany of reasons why they can't grow and why they no longer have any impact on their community. To such churches and leaders I would remind them that as long as they keep thinking they're too small, they will always be too small. If they continue to remind themselves of all the reasons why they cannot do more as a church, they will never accomplish anything for the Kingdom of God. More times than I care of remember I have been told that their church is just trying to hold on and survive. Why? Since when is survival a spiritual goal?

I am often amazed at the wonderful ministries I encounter in small churches. Each of these churches share something in common. They don't know they are small and shouldn't be able to something significant for God. LIke that little dog, they act much bigger than they really are. They share a vision that is not limited by the size of their church but by what they believe God has called them as a church to do. Rather than looking for excuses why they can't do something, they just do it. And lives are changed forever.

What challenges do you have that are greater than your apparent abilities? What are you tackling that appear to be bigger than you are? What is your church doing that, when it is accomplished, you will have to say, "That was a God-thing because we could never have done that by ourselves."? I'd like to hear your answers.

Campbellsville University

2011-01-29T06:52:00.000-05:00

If you have young people thinking about college may I suggest they consider attending Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Kentucky. For several years I have served on the Church Relations Council for the school. Our Executive Committee meeting occurred yesterday on the campus, and once again I was blown away by all the things happening there right now and their plans for the future. If there ever was a time for Christian higher education it is now, and Campbellsville University is delivering the goods. Consider just a few facts about this university.

21 consecutive semesters of record enrollment.
US News and World Report rank it as one of America's best Christian Colleges and ranked it among the top 25 colleges in the South for the fourth consecutive year and 3rd in the South for "Up-and-Coming Schools."
Ranked as a Military Friendly School in G. I. Jobs magazine.
18th in the nation and 1st in the South for international students among baccalaureate granting institutions.
7 Mid-South Conference Championships
Ranked in the top 20 Most Improved Program in all of college football
124 students and faculty went on mission trips during the 2010 Christmas break resulting in hundreds of decisions for Christ

I could go on and on listing recent achievements of this school, but it's also important to know that it has an agressive vision for the future. They are preparing to build new dorms for students who live on campus and are starting new regional sites across Kentucky. New programs of study are being developed. New facilities are also being developed to house some of their existing schools. They offer classes on-line to make it possible for students to take courses more convenient to their schedules.

The School of Theology has some excellent professors that, in my opinion, are as fine as you will find in any seminary or university. The school offers a Master of Theology degree designed to develop anyone called to pastoral ministry. This school also offers an on-line program specifically designed for bivocational ministers who have not had the opportunity to attend seminary. It is an excellent program that all bivocational ministers should consider.

This is a school that believes that character development is an important part of a student's education. In a time when so many colleges and universities have adopted an anything goes mentality it is good to know that there are still some schools that believe in developing the whole person, and Campbellsville University does that. Your future college students will find that Campbellsville University may be exactly what they want, and I encourage you and them to look into this fine school. You can get much more information about Campbellsville University at http://www.campbellsville.edu/ or contact me for more information.

Apologetics

2011-01-26T07:19:00.000-05:00

Each year I try to do something different for my devotional reading. Many years I will read through the Bible as I did again last year. Some years I read a number of commentaries and other resources as I did a few years ago with the book of Romans. As I considered what I would focus on for my devotional reading this year I settled on reading apologetics. In particular, I am reading some of Ravi Zacharias' books. Over the years he has become one of my favorite authors and speakers. In addition to reading his books I download his podcasts to my I-Pod to listen to while driving. I also recently discovered William Lane Craig's podcasts, and I have added him to my regular listening each week. He is another excellent speaker in the area of apologetics.

Why apologetics? In our current society there are so many assaults on our faith. Much of the music we hear, the movies we watch, many in the media, and some of the books and magazines we read all at least challenge our beliefs, if not outright attack them, that we hold as Christians. In light of that continual onslaught even the firmest of faiths can become shaken over time. For me, reading books that present an apologetic defense of the Christian faith and hearing excellent speakers address the issues of the 21st century from a biblical perspective helps keep me grounded in my own faith in God.

I am currently reading Zacharias' book Can Man Live Without God?. There is a move today to promote the concept that man can be good without God. This is certainly not a new concept, but it seems to be one that the atheists have returned to the forefront of their challenges of the Christian faith, Throughout the book Zacharias proves how empty that philosophy is. Eliminate God from life and we
remove moral absolutes from the equation. At that point every person is free to choose his or her own morality leading to complete chaos. Sounds a little biblical doesn't it? In Judges 21: 25 we read, "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes." Even a brief reading of life in Israel during those times illustrates the chaos and futility of living without a moral code that comes from a greater authority than our own feelings of right and wrong.

As I visit different churches each week I hear very little apologetic preaching. I think that is a tragedy. Unless we can provide believers with a solid biblical foundation for their faith we will continue to see them tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine that comes along. We will continue to see our young people going off to secular colleges and universities, and in some cases Christian schools, to have their faith savaged by secular professors whose only goal it seems is to destroy people's faith in God.

We have a lot of feel good preaching both on television and in our churches. At the other extreme we have some preachers who feel it is their calling to beat their sheep each week. What we need are preachers who will give their congregations a foundation for their faith that will stand against all the pressures that will come against them in their journey through life. That means that we who preach must first ensure that our own faith is solidly rooted in Christ and the Word of God, and, secondly, it requires that we spend the time necessary to develop messages that will deepen the faith of our listeners. Such preaching will not tickle the ears of some, but this may well be one of the greatest needs in our churches today.

Church foreclosures

2011-01-25T07:51:00.000-05:00

The Wall Street Journal reports that since 2008 almost 200 religious facilities have been foreclosed on by banks. The two years prior to that there were eight such foreclosures and virtually none in the decade before that. Clearly, our national economic crisis is having a negative impact on churches. According to the article there are perhaps hundreds of additional churches that will be facing foreclosure or bankruptcy in the near future.

This impact isn't limited to foreclosures however. I know some churches that are severely strapped by their mortgage payments to the point that their ability to do ministry is quite limited. There simply isn't money available to do ministry; it's all tied up in making their mortgage payment. I know of at least one church that is struggling to find a new pastor because of their mortgage payment. In better times, they were making payments ahead of schedule, but now they are finding it difficult to offer a salary that will attract a pastor with the experience and skills this church needs.

Too many churches operated under the premise of "if we build it they will come" only to find out that only works in movies. Churches expanded for an anticipated growth that never developed. In fact, rather than growing some of these churches experienced a drop in attendance. One church that stretched itself for a new mortgage had a serious drop in attendance due to a conflict that erupted. As people began to leave the church their finances followed leaving them struggling to pay a mortgage payment, staff salaries, and offer programming. Other churches saw their offerings drop, not because of people leaving but because of the declining finances of their members. It's hard to tithe on an unemployment check.

It's always difficult to predict the future, but some believe that we will not see a major increase in the numbers of people attending traditional churches in the near future. As the Builder generation continues to shrink churches will find that much of their financial support has come from that generation. Succeeding generations are not making up the difference as long-time members pass away or move to warmer climates. The younger generations are not as committed to church or giving as the older generations. An increasing number of the younger generations are becoming involved in house churches and other non-traditional church settings and are unlikely to return to traditional churches any time soon, if ever.

All of this is to say that now is probably not a great time to be building new ministry facilities. That is not to say that such building is always wrong. I know one small, bivocational church that just voted to add on to their fellowship facility. They have outgrown their current one and need the additional space. They are not building for anticipated growth; they are building because of growth that has already occurred. Perhaps more importantly, they plan a very modest addition to their existing facility and have the money in hand to pay for it. They will incur no debt to build this addition, and it will not limit the ministries they are currently doing.

Limiting a church's ability to do ministry by incurring large debt on building new facilities seems foolish in today's economy. I think it is important to remember that buildings are merely tools for ministry; they are a means to an end, not the end itself. IF the church facilities are limiting the church's ability to do ministry, and IF the church has the funds to pay for an addition or new facility, and IF the church is convinced that new facilities are part of God's vision for that church, then go for it. But, if any of these aspects are missing I would be very cautious about building anything right now except the Kingdom of God.

Leader or dictator

2011-01-24T07:52:00.000-05:00

Anyone who has read my books or attended one of my workshops knows that I believe in strong pastoral leadership. If one is called to lead, then he or she should lead. If a church calls a pastor to lead then that church should allow that person to lead. However, there is a difference between being a leader and being a dictator.

A lay person recently called to tell me about problems existing in their church with their current pastor. Anyone who disagrees with this person is ridiculed, ignored, or asked to resign their positions. This person had been an effective leader in that church for three decades, strongly supported previous pastors, faithfully tithed, but now she was finding she could no longer attend the church due to the pastor's dictatorial ways. She called desperately wanting to know what could be done.

This was not the first call I had received about this church so I was not surprised about the accusations. I was also not surprised about the response I received concerning my recommendations. As I did to the other callers, I encouraged this person to contact the leadership board in the church and ask for an opportunity to meet with them and the pastor to discuss what is happening in the church. As previous callers had told me, this caller responded that the leaders will not confront this person nor will they address the issue. I then told the caller that in that case the church deserves the pastoral leadership they are getting.

A healthy church will be one that enjoys strong pastoral leadership, but not dictatorship. A healthy church is one in which the pastor can accept constructive criticism regarding his or her ministry in that church. Every pastor has blind spots that will not be seen until they are pointed out by someone with the courage to speak up, and a pastor should welcome such input as it can only strengthen his or her ministry in that church and in the future.

Unfortunately, when a church selects lay persons to leadership positions who will not lead, who do not have the courage to confront obvious wrong in their church, that church will quickly struggle. Good people will not allow themselves to be abused by others and will leave the congregation in search of another one. They will take their leadership talents, their financial support, and their efforts elsewhere. Soon the church will consist only of those who are so needy and desperate that they are willing to accept pastoral abuse, and the church will quickly spiral downhill.

This is what is happening in this church. A once great congregation is being reduced to ruin because of the actions of a pastor that no one is willing to confront. This pastor has mistaken strong pastoral leadership with a "my way or the highway" approach to ministry, and he is abetted in this wrong-headed approach to ministry by a board lacking in courage unwilling to confront this style of pastoral leadership. It is a sad thing to see.

Embracing change

2011-01-21T09:00:00.000-05:00

This past Christmas our daughter gave my wife and I each a Nook Color reader. Neither of us were sure this would be a gift we would use. Both of us read quite a bit, but we weren't sure that we would enjoy reading a book on an electronic gadget. I like holding a book, highlighting important sections, and writing in the margins to interact with the material. But, we were not about to disappoint our daughter so we registered our Nooks and downloaded a book to read. Since Christmas I have read three books on the Nook and two "real" books. This morning I was looking for a new book to read and realized that I had rejected two or three because they were not available on Nook! Earlier this week my wife told me she really enjoys her Nook and has downloaded two books that won't even be available on the device for another month or two. The other evening I realized that each of us were sitting in the living room reading our Nooks and listening to Pandora, an online radio station that personalizes the music they plan based on the preferences you give them. (We were listening to different styles of music.) I started laughing and told my wife that we had come a long way for a couple in their 60s!

This post isn't a plug for Nook versus Kindle. Both are fine readers as I'm sure some of their competitors are. This is about being willing to try new things. Had someone other than a family member given us the Nooks I'm not sure we might not have returned them for the money. But, we chose to try them out, primarily to honor the gift our daughter gave us, and we've found out that we really enjoy them. Plus, we learned about Pandora and have the added benefit of listening to that station as well.

How many times have we be challenged to consider doing something different only to reject it without even giving it a try or even much thought? How many times have our congregations done the same thing when some new ministry has been proposed? Even worse, how many blessings have we missed for those rejections?

The fact is, change is going to to happen whether we embrace it or not. Now, we can choose to reject change, but that doesn't mean that the change won't happen. It will just happen somewhere else, and we'll find ourselves being left behind in a world that no longer exists. I'm afraid that describes too many of our churches, and, quite honestly, it describes too many of our pastors. God brings us opportunities for new ministries and new ways of doing things, and because of fear or tradition we refuse to take advantage of the new opportunities. We sing the favorite hymn of many churches, "I Shall Not Be Moved." Our rejection of these opportunities doesn't make them go away. God simply raises up another church, often down the road from ours, who will embrace those opportunities. We are left behind wondering why we can't grow and have the ministries that these new churches enjoy.

I am not advocating change for the sake of change. That's stupid. What I am calling for is that we become more aware of new ministry opportunities around us and a willingness to respond to those opportunities. It's all right to stick your toe in the water before jumping in. You may decide that you will try some new thing for six months or one year before fully committing to it. There is often great wisdom in such a decision, especially if the change you are making is a major one. This allows people time to adjust to the change; it allows the church to evaluate how well the change is working; and it often reduces the initial reaction that often comes when new things are proposed.

There are now three churches in my Area that wanted to make major changes in the way they were structured and governed. What each of them did was invite their congregations to agree to suspend their church constitution for two or three years and operate under a new proposed constitution. At the end of the agreed time the church would evaluate how well the new structure was working and could decide then whether or not to make the change permanent. The first church stayed with the new structure. The second church still has about a year to go in their trial period. The third church just began their trial, and I now have a fourth church that is voting on doing something similar next month. This is proving to be an effective way to introduce major change into a church.

What needs to change in your church that would allow it to more effectively minister to your community? How do you feel personally about those changes? How would your congregation respond if you took those changes to them for consideration? If rejection is the first word that comes to your mind, why? Is it due to fear? Tradition? Control issues? Genuine lack of resources? Identify the cause of the possible rejection and ask yourself how that cause could be addressed. Then ask yourself what the potential gains would be if you embraced the change. If the gains are substantial then I suggest it is worth the risk and the time spent in overcoming the challenges.

Bivocational Ministry

Playground politics

Boundaries for former pastors

New Executive Minister for American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky

Big-E

Heartland Bivocational Resource Center

Let's get serious

Awakening

Job descriptions

Newsletter

Coaching bivocational ministers

Frustration and uncertainty

Discipline isn't fun

New year = new opportunities

Favorite books of 2011

Merry Christmas

2nd book published in Korean

Light and salt

The power of coaching

Growth in the small church

Worship in a small church

Truth

Why no vision?

Growth can lead to problems

Social media

Working together to advance the common good

Computers...ugh!

Training events for bivocational ministers

Giving

Doors

Bivocational minister pipeline

Calling: The church's perspective

Calling: A pastor's perspective

Followers

Coaching new pastors

Revival

Legacy

Author's proofs

Leadership development

What do you want people to understand about bivocational ministry?

Lifelong unlearning

Pastor

Don't be the church

Renewing our minds

Happy Birthday

Looking for help

Coaching for new ministers

Books on NOOK

Church hospitality

Ongoing training is essential to successful ministry

A broad view of ministry

Stresses of life

A little cooperation would be nice

2012 workshops

Addicted to technology

Who ministers to you?

Staying true to our call

Taking it to the people

The pastor's honeymoon

Teaching a class

Newsletter

Two kinds of power

The pastor's personal spiritual life

Small churches and opposition to growth

Happy 4th of July

Stirring the pot

Telling your story

Milestone

Book title

Church closings

Manuscript mailed

Storms of ministry

Staying positive

Death tsunami

Does absence make the heart grow fonder?

Celebrating Easter

Easter

New book

The value of a soul

Computers