Effective or just busy?

As I pastor I enjoyed using this time of the year to look back at the previous months. As I looked back I could tell if our church had been effective or if we had just been busy. There is a difference. Lots of churches have full calendars with plenty of activities to keep everyone busy. However, when they look at the results of all that activity they may find that nothing has really changed. The church hasn't grown. Few people came to faith in Christ. Church members continue to struggle with the same issues they've had since they became Christians. In fact, for some churches they only things that has changed is their ruts became even deeper.

We often equate busyness with effectiveness, but the two have little in common. Some of the busiest people I know accomplish little while others accomplish a great deal with what seems like minimal effort. The difference is the ones who are effective are focused on doing the things they need to be doing rather than allowing their calendars to fill up with busy work.

When I began the ministry I wanted to please everyone and do whatever I was asked. That is a dangerous approach to take as a bivocational minister. It took me awhile, but eventually I learned that I could not continue doing that. One of the four Spiritual Laws is that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. I learned that some have changed that to say God loves you and everybody has a wonderful plan for your life. I found out that if I tried to do everything people asked me to do I would not have time to do the things I needed to do. One of the greatest days in my life was when I learned it was OK to say no.

How does one know when to say yes and when to say no? It begins with a God-given vision. What is God's vision for your ministry or that of your church? Once you know that you can say yes to those things that will help bring that vision to fruition and no to those things that will detract from it.

It also helps to know your areas of giftedness. I want to work as much as possible in the areas where God has gifted me because that is where I am going to be most effective. I need to manage around the areas of ministry in which I am not gifted, and this often entails delegating those tasks to others. For example, nobody would want me to lead the music in a worship service! It is best to have someone with some musical talent take on that role, and that would not describe me!

We hear a lot about minister burnout. I am convinced much of that is self-inflicted. We try to do too much that we have no business doing because we don't want to say no to people. Some think having a full calendar is a sign of spirituality. It's probably more a sign of being dependent upon the approval of others. Spend time discerning God's vision for your ministry and learning the areas of ministry in which you are gifted and focus as much of your ministry in those areas as possible. You'll find at the end of 2019 your ministry was much more effective, and you'll probably feel less stressed as well.

Continued attack on religion in America

If anyone wonders if there is an attack on religion in America one only has to look at questionnaires sent to federal judicial nominee, Brian Buescher. Democratic senators Kamala Harris (CA) and Mazie Hirono (HI), both who serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee, included questions sent to the nominee about his membership in the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic charity organization. They claimed the organization, established in 1882, holds a number of extreme positions that may make it impossible for the nominee, if confirmed, to be able to judge fairly and impartially some cases that might be brought to his court. These "extreme" positions included its opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage, positions held by the Catholic church.

A spokeswoman for the K of C blasted the questions as a throw-back to the anti-Catholic rhetoric heard in this country in its past. She added that "We were extremely disappointed to see that one's commitment to Catholic principles through membership in the Knights of Columbus - a charitable organization that adheres to and promotes Catholic teachings - would be viewed as a disqualifier from public service in this day and age."

While persons of faith might be disappointed, none of us should be surprised. Such attacks on those who hold to Christian teaching have been increasing over the years. Beliefs that have been held by the majority of persons for thousands of years are now considered extreme by those who seek to promote an ungodly agenda on America. Anyone holding traditional beliefs are attacked and vilified by those who want to remove all vestiges of religion from America. It is only by removing the moral teachings found in Scripture can those who want to promote their radical agenda hope to succeed.

The criteria used by these two Senators would exclude the majority of Americans from public service. There are over 70 million registered Catholics in America. Evangelical Protestants count for approximately 25.4 percent of Americans. Add to these numbers other conservative Christians and it adds up to a lot of people who do not believe that opposing abortion and same-sex marriage is extreme.

The church must find its voice and speak out against the attacks on traditional values that are becoming more and more common. We must educate people on the moral principles found in Scripture so that we can defend them against such attacks. Further, we need to help people develop a worldview that is based upon Scripture and not the philosophies of man. Finally, we need to challenge Christian people to run for political office to defeat those who want to change this nation into something it was never intended to be.

Current reading list

Last week I shared my top ten favorite reads for 2018. Today I want to let you know what I'm currently reading and the books in my to-read stack.

For my morning devotional read I am working through O. S. Hawkins' book The Nehemiah Code: It's Never Too Late for a New Beginning. Anyone interested in leadership in any endeavor would be advised to study the book of Nehemiah. This particular book is perfect for devotional study with short chapters that focus on the act of rebuilding.

Redefining Truth: Delusions of Replacing God and Calling Evil Good by David Fiorazo is one that I just started reading a couple of days ago. Although I'm just into the first few chapters I'm finding it interesting partially due to its current examples of how our society is changing the whole concept of truth.

Sitting on the shelf waiting their turn are

• The Forgotten Church: Why Rural Ministry Matters for Every Church in America by Glenn Daman. I wrote an endorsement for this book and read a draft copy at the time. This is a very worthy read for anyone serving in smaller or rural churches, and I want to work through it slower this time.
• Scientism and Secularism: Learning to Respond to a Dangerous Ideology by J. P. Moreland. As I mentioned last week, I try to read at least one book a year by this author so I went ahead and ordered this one to get it on the list early.
• Leading with Integrity: The 28 Essential Leadership Strategies of Solomon by Pat Williams. Pat Williams is the senior vice president of the Orlando Magic and a great leader and motivational speaker. I'm looking forward to reading this book.
• Come Thirsty: No Heart Too Dry for His Touch by Max Lucado. This will be my next devotional read. Lucado's books are always encouraging and inspiring.

Leaders are readers. I hope you have a stack of books sitting on your shelves waiting to be read. Just don't leave them there too long. Don't believe the lie that says you are too busy to read good quality books. The fact is the work you've been called to do demands you read. Some of the busiest and best known leaders in America today read 2-3 hours every day, and some read more than that. Paul told young Timothy to study to show himself approved, and that is needed advice for everyone in leadership, especially church leadership. We begin with the Bible and then add other quality books to feed our faith and to help us better understand the world in which we live and serve.

2018 Top Reads 1-5

Yesterday I shared five of the best books I read in 2018. In that post I covered books 6-10. Today I will give you my top five reads.

5. Hidden Worldviews: Eight Cultural Stories That Shape Our Lives by Steve Wilkens and Mark L. Sanford.  All people have a worldview that impacts the way they live their lives, that shape the values and beliefs they have, and even impact the way we spend our money. However, many worldviews are not promoted by religious beliefs but are shaped by the culture in which we live. Because they come through culture we give little thought to them and probably don't even realize they are a worldview. This book looks at eight of these worldviews and explains how we come about following them and the problems that can occur if we continue to follow them. This book will cause you to look at the worldviews that shape your life, and it will preach!

4. Breaking The News: How the Media Undermine American Democracy by James Fallows.  This is not a new book; it was first published in 1996. Some of its stories are dated, but this doesn't make them less true nor does it mean that the book is not as relevant as it was when first written. For instance, the author explains why many Americans mistrusts the news media. Sound familiar? He also discusses how the media does not report the news, they make the news. They have the power to ignore the stories they do not want to report which means for many Americans those events never happened. They have the power to twist stories to suit their political views. One of the remarkable things I found when reading the book was how virtually every political analyst and prominent columnist declared Bill Clinton's run for the presidency was dead after various controversies occurred during that race. In many cases, it was the same people who were certain that Donald Trump's campaign was doomed and he had no chance of being elected. And they are still working and earning big paychecks. Reading this book will impact the way you watch the news.

3. There Is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind by Antony Flew.  For over 50 years the author was a committed atheist and philosopher professor who wrote over thirty books, many of which promoted his arguments against the existence of God. However, he always worked by the philosophy that he would follow the argument wherever it lead. In 2004 he shocked the world by announcing that he now believed in the existence of God. The atheist world was stunned that they had lost one of their leading defenders of atheism. In this book he explains the four lines of evidence that convinced him that there is a God. It is a fascinating read.

2. Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul by J. P. Moreland. The author is one of the leading Christian philosophers in America today, and I've tried to read one of his books each year for the past several years. One of the criticisms of Christians is that many have not thought deeply about what they believe, and as a result their faith has remained shallow. Some in the church world have actually promoted an anti-intellectualism mindset. How this squares with the biblical mandate to make disciples is not clear to me as part of discipleship is having a good understanding of what we believe. As a result of this mindset many have lost the ability to think as Christians about the issues facing our world today. Moreland challenges us to use our minds, our ability to reason and logic to grow individually as Christians and to better evangelize, worship and defend our faith. I found this book to be an excellent resource as one can tell from all the markings in it.

1. Last Call for Liberty: How America's Genius for Freedom Has Become Its Greatest Threat by Os Guinness.  I consider this to be one of the most important books I've ever read and one that should be required reading for every high school student. It would be a great text book for a civics class, but of course that is no longer taught in our schools anymore. The author points out that how one defines freedom is critical. In the past freedom included accountability and responsibility for one another. Today, many define freedom as the right to do whatever they want without regards for anyone else. As the author explains, such an understanding of freedom will result in "the destruction of freedom in the name of freedom." Guinness makes it clear that our freedoms came from a Jewish and Christian understanding of covenant and creation, and the solution out of our present crisis is to return to the values that come from that understanding. This is a powerful book filled with insights every American needs to understand.

2018 Top Reads 6-10

Each year many bloggers post their favorite books for the year. I've done this myself for the past few years. Out of 45 books I read this year this is my top 10 books for 2018. Today I'll list 6-10, and tomorrow we'll mention 1-5.

Since retiring from active ministry my reading has changed somewhat. For instance, I read fewer books on pastoral ministry since I'm not serving in that role now. I tend to concentrate more on theology, philosophy, apologetics, and how our world is being impacted by various worldviews. You'll see this in the lists. As an act of editorial transparency, if you click on one of these books and purchase it through Amazon.com I will receive a small referral fee. Believe me, it's very small, but I wanted to be upfront with my readers!

10. Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked by Adam Alter. We all know how addictive technology can be with many of us checking our emails, Facebook and other media accounts so often it affects our productivity. The author points to studies that demonstrates that the average human had an attention span of 8 seconds in 2013. BTW - A goldfish has an attention span of 9 seconds. Problems associated with technology led Steve Jobs to not allow his children to use an iPad, and many other tech giants had similar rules in their homes. Why? Because they understood how addictive technology and social media can be. This fascinating book could be helpful to anyone in ministry for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is when we are helping someone with addictions associated with technology. One clinical psychologist told the author "Every single person I work with has at least one behavioral addiction." Chances are there are people in your church, or family, with the same problems.

9. Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals by Michael Hyatt.  Numerous studies have shown that setting goals is critical to achieving success in any endeavor. Many years ago I followed a goal setting plan that allowed me to achieve more than I would have thought possible. If you do not have a goal setting program that works for you, this book will provide you with one. Did you know that merely by writing your goals boosted achievement by 42 percent? If you had read this book you would have known that. Now is the time to be setting your goals for 2019 and beyond which means now is a great time to follow the advice presented in this book.

8. Not God Enough: Why Your Small God Leads to Big Problems by J. D. Greear.  Many of us, and many churches, like a small God who we believe we can control and predict. The problem is conceiving God in this way holds us back from experiencing the true God who wants to do marvelous things in our lives. One of my favorite chapters in the book discussed the burning bush encountered by Moses in the wilderness. While we don't know much about how Moses perceived God prior to that experience, we know what happened afterwards! Moses went on to do far more than he ever thought possible. The author points out several things that can burning bushes in our lives. I identified with some of them, and I guess you will, too.

7. Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland by Christopher R. Browning.  This is a troubling book that I could not put down. It tells the story of ordinary men who made up the Reserve Police Battalion 101 of the German Order Police in 1942. These men were responsible for mass shootings of Jewish people and rounding them up for shipment to Nazi death camps. The first time they were ordered to murder innocent people, many in the unit refused. As time went on three different groups emerged. One was a core of eager killers who enjoyed hunting down their victims, a second group who carried out their orders, and a third group who continued to refuse to carry out the killings. The meticulous research of this book followed many of the men in this unit. One of the reasons this book was so troubling was that it described how far down ordinary people can fall. Which of the three groups would any of us find ourselves? Until we face the pressures these men experienced I'm not sure we can honestly answer that question.

6. The Devil's Delusion: Atheism and its Scientific Pretensions by David Berlinski.  This is a book I read a few years ago and decided it was time to reread it. One of the things that makes this book interesting is that the author identifies as a secular Jew who admits his religious training did not take. Most of his life has been committed to teaching and writing books about mathematics and the sciences, but here he takes on the New Atheists such as Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris. With biting humor and a brilliant mind he defends religious thought and attacks the idea that science disproves the existence of God. As he writes, "Confident assertions by scientists that in the privacy of their chambers they have demonstrated that God does not exist have nothing to do with science, and even less to do with God's existence." For me, this is a must read book for pastors and anyone who wants to better defend their faith against the attacks being made today against Christianity.

Tomorrow I'll share my favorite top five books that I read in 2018.

Will America retain its freedoms or will it's new understanding of freedom destroy it?

As regular readers of this blog knows, I read a lot. My goal is to read an average of one book a week. I have just finished reading what I consider to be one of the most important and powerful books I've ever read, Last Call for Liberty: How America's Genius for Freedom Has Become Its Greatest Threat by Os Guinness. The author has a DPhil from Oxford, was born in China, educated in England and now lives in the United States. I have never read anything that better describes the current state of America. However, he not only describes our current condition, he reminds us of how our nation was founded and what has happened to cause us to veer so far from our founding to our current situation. Finally, He repeatedly shows us how we can get back to being the nation we once were.

He repeatedly compares the American revolution of 1776 to the French revolution of 1789 and shows how many in our nation today want to embrace the attitudes and values of the 1789 revolution while rejecting those of the 1776 revolution. While both revolutions were an attempt to bring freedom to their respective nations, there were significant differences in how each defined freedom.  The freedom sought by the American colonists was one that combined freedom with responsibility. The French revolution sought a freedom without responsibilities, one in which everyone did as they pleased. This is the freedom many today are pursuing in America.

However, such freedom comes with a price. Part of that price is that everyone is a victim. As soon as someone's personal freedom is violated they become a victim demanding justice. Soon new laws are passed ensuring their rights are no longer ignored. Of course, this tramples on the rights of those who disagree with the original demands. But, few care because we have ceased being "one nation." The author writes

"All citizens are now viewed, polled, analyzed, and treated as members of groups rather than as individuals. All Americans are tribal now. But then, the postmodern assumption of relativism is added to the mix of groups, giving rise to the notion of different truths for different tribes - feminist truths, black truths, homosexual truths, Hispanic truths, millennial truths, Left and Right truths, Fox truths, CNN and MSNBC truths, and the like. Each group sees the world its own way, lives in its own world and wants its own perspectives confirmed, so each is automatically suspicious of the perspectives of others."

Another part of the cost is that we become less free. Those who do not conform to the politically correct perspective of some group are shouted down on university campuses or uninvited because some organization considers their message hurtful. New laws are passed in an effort to force people into certain beliefs and values. Guinness writes, "Whereas nineteenth-century liberals sought to protect personal freedom by limiting the role of government in private life, twentieth-century liberals sought to achieve each purported advance of freedom by expanding the role of government in more and more of life, including private life." The more government dictates what we must do and believe the less free we are.

A third cost is that of chaos and violence. When everyone is free to do whatever they please it can only lead to chaos. Again, we read, "There is an obvious practical problem in stating secularist freedom in terms of unrestrained individual freedom - other people are similarly free, and that creates the fundamental social and political problem of how we are to create a harmonious society out of a cacophony of competing selves all claiming freedom in a million different ways." As these differing freedoms confront each other violence is sure to erupt as we see happening today throughout our nation.

Guinness covers much more ground than I can in a blog post. Part of his solution to our problem is to return to the source of our freedoms which is a Christian and Jewish understanding of freedom. He states clearly that "The key to the remedy of the American crisis of freedom lies in a fresh exploration of the Hebrew notions of creation and covenant that lie behind both American freedom and the US Constitution."

He goes on to write, "The open rejection of the Jewish and Christian roots of the American Revolution will mean that all the flowers that grew directly from those roots will someday die. Notions such as human dignity, freedom, justice, equality, Constitution, the separation of powers, and forgiveness have been cut off from their roots. Sooner or later they will become unrecognizable and die."

I don't care what one's political beliefs are, every American should study this book. You may not agree with everything you read in it, but it will make you think. It might also lead to some much needed dialogue about where we want our nation to be 200 years from now. Heaven knows we could use some thinking and dialogue right now.

Leadership pipeline

In yesterday's post I wrote about the challenge smaller churches have finding pastors and gave some suggestions where they might look the next time they need to call a new pastor. An additional challenge many smaller churches face is finding lay leadership. Numerous small church pastors have told me their churches struggle to find good leaders for the leadership positions they have. Even mid-size churches have problems in this area.

Many of these churches need to take a hard look at the positions they are trying to fill. Frankly, many of them were created when the church was larger and it's doubtful they are still needed today. Most smaller churches I have worked with are greatly over-structured for the size they are now. Eliminating some of these unneeded positions would help with finding good leaders for the positions the church does need filled.

Churches also need to begin now identifying young people with leadership potential and start training them. I realize that some of them will not be at the church when they get older. It's important to remember that you are not just training them to serve your church. You are training them to serve the Kingdom of God wherever they might live. And what happens if you don't equip them to do ministry and they stay? Zig Ziglar used to say that the only thing worse than training someone and losing them was not training them and keeping them.

Every church, regardless of size, needs a leadership pipeline so when leadership opportunities come up there will be people prepared to take them. Ephesians 4 reminds us that a principal role of the pastor is to "equip the saints to do the work of ministry." If you don't have people prepared to serve in ministry positions in the church whose fault is that? According to that text it would be the fault of the pastor. I know that's painful to hear. It was painful for me when I realized it in my own ministry, but it's still the truth.

People need to be helped in identifying the ministry gifts God has given them, and then they need to be trained in how to use those gifts. Those with leadership gifts need to be trained in leadership. Don't ask someone to accept a leadership role if you have not prepared them to lead. It's scary to lead, especially if you haven't been trained in how to lead, and it's no wonder people turn down those positions.

Part of that training needs to be hands-on. Allow young people to be involved in ministry experiences. Don't just stick them in the youth group and entertain them every week. Give them opportunities to lead, to plan, to implement those plans and then review how well those plans succeeded. Give them honest feedback. Find an area of ministry where they are most likely to succeed and give them the freedom to operate within that area. As they mature and become better equipped give them more challenging opportunities. If you'll do this, when the day comes you need someone for a major leadership role in the church you'll have people prepared to step into that role.

Finding pastors for smaller churches

Many people have written in recent years about the struggle smaller churches have in finding new pastors. I have done so as well in this blog. Studies have found that many seminary trained ministers are not interested in serving in smaller churches. For 14 years I served as a Resource Minister with our denomination. One of my responsibilities was to assist our churches when they needed to call a new pastor. This was always difficult when the seeking church was a smaller one.

The problem was compounded when the church was used to having a fully-funded pastor and wanted to continue doing so. The truth was that most of these fully-funded pastors were not fully-funded. They were able to serve those churches because their spouses worked and often provided the benefits, such as insurance, for their families that the church could not provide. These churches were living in a fantasy world thinking they had a fully-funded pastor when they didn't. Somehow they never connected the fact that most of these pastors left after 2-3 years for churches that did offer salary and benefit packages that would support their families. Now, as they begin seeking new pastoral leadership they find that many ministers are no longer willing to accept their fantasy.

This isn't to put these churches down. It is intended to point out the reality of the situation these churches are in. Before I retired from my position I worked with one church that had a fully-funded pastor but realized their next pastor would have to be bivocational. As one of the members explained to me, they could afford to pay a decent salary, but they could not afford the insurance or other benefits most ministers require. I appreciated their honest appraisal of their situation, and it made it easier to help them find their new pastor.

Where will smaller churches find their pastors as we continue into the 21st century? Like the church above, many of them will need to seek bivocational leadership. Some churches think that is taking a step backwards, but it is not. Bivocational ministers have proven more than capable of serving churches. I have published several books on bivocational ministry that can help the interested reader better understand what a bivocational minister can bring to the church.

Another option is to seek someone within the church to serve as pastor. This will often be a bivocational person as well. The only difference is that it is someone already well known and respected in the congregation. I had a few churches take that approach, and it worked out very well. These persons may not have the training many churches would prefer, but there are numerous ways such training and theological education can be obtained today.

A third option is to call a retired minister. I know most churches want a 35 year-old pastor with 20 years experience, but you will be making a huge mistake if you refuse to consider a retired person. A church once told me they wanted a young pastor with new ideas. I responded that many young pastors don't have new ideas. All many of them know is what they learned in seminary from professors who haven't pastored a church in 20 years. I know many older ministers who have far more new ideas about ministry than some younger ones.

Retired ministers not only have the education; they also have the experience to know how to serve a church. They've been through the battles so they know how to avoid many of them. Another benefit about calling a retired person as pastor is that most of them are not going to be looking to move in the next couple of years. They have no interest in climbing the "ministerial ladder of success" as I like to call it. This means they may remain at the church longer than some younger pastors.

Smaller churches can still find pastors if they broaden the criteria they use when seeking one. Rather than develop a rigid checklist of what you want in a pastor, be open to the person God may be sending you. God always has a person for a church. Don't miss that person by looking for something else.

Charlie Brown's Christmas

We watched Charlie Brown's Christmas last night. Even though I've seen it dozens of times it still makes me laugh and warms my heart. Like many of us, Charlie Brown is tired of the commercialization of Christmas, but it seems there is little he can do about it. It's not until Linus explains the true meaning of Christmas can Charlie Brown escape the holiday blues.

With Linus telling the biblical account of the birth of Jesus Christ I'm surprised this classic Christmas special is still being shown. I'll be even more surprised if someone doesn't condemn it as offensive or politically incorrect. In recent weeks we've seen Veggie Tales condemned as racist and dangerous to children due to the fact that the vegetables are various colors. Here's a news flash to the California college students who issued the condemnation: Vegetables are different colors! We've also seen radio stations stop playing Baby, It's Cold Outside because a handful of listeners found the song sexist. The book series 50 Shades of Grey has sold over 100 million copies, and this 1944 song has been declared sexist! We live in a strange world.

My prayer is that, like Charlie Brown, many will find the true meaning of Christmas to be encouraging. The holidays are always a difficult time for some people. It is a very stressful time with lots to do. The holidays also triggers painful memories for some people. We need to be aware that not everyone will have a wonderful Christmas season and find ways to come alongside those who might be hurting to offer comfort and love.

This is a time for churches to be especially aware of people who struggle during the Christmas season. It's easy to get caught up in our Christmas pageants and programs and forget that some people are alone and hurting. There is often much talk in churches during the holiday seasons about families, but let's remember that not everyone has a family to be with during the season.

The birth of Jesus Christ should bring hope to all people. Born in humble circumstances His birth was first announced to shepherds watching over their flocks in the field. This may not mean much until one learns that shepherds were not the most respected people in that society. This reminds us that Christ came for all people. No person, regardless of their situation, is excluded from the love, the hope and the acceptance He came to offer. Let's make sure that message gets out this Christmas season.

Majoring on the minors

It seems the House of Representatives first priority is to obtain the tax records of President Trump when the Democrats take over in January. What a waste of time! In the first place, any bill they pass to accomplish that will not pass the Republican controlled Senate, and if it did it would be vetoed by the President. Once again, our elected leaders are willing to waste time and money to accomplish nothing.

In the second place, are there not far more important challenges facing America than the president's tax records? Frankly, I could care less what the president made, and I don't know anyone who does except for a few people who are still bitter that Clinton was defeated. I am much more concerned about the ongoing wars and their cost in human lives, the violence that is rampant across our nation, the epidemic of drug abuse that is destroying families, the increased numbers of suicide, our crumbling infrastructure, the plight of the American farmer, the problems we have due to the large numbers of illegal aliens coming into our country and a host of other problems. It seems to me that the House has far more important things to do than to waste their time trying to get President Trump's tax records.

Third, it seems if it is so crucial to American democracy to know how much the president filed on his taxes it should be just as important to know how much each member of Congress filed, their finances before they were elected to office, their finances today and the sources of that money. When I read reports of the wealth of certain members of Congress, many of whom are demanding this inquiry into the president's tax records, I have to wonder how one can earn that amount of money they've accumulated since entering office. Maybe Congress would like to do an inquiry on its own members just to assure the American people that everything is on the up-and-up in Congress.

While there are many reasons behind this action from the House, it is another example of how people supposedly in places of leadership waste time majoring on the minors instead of focusing on what should be priorities. It happens in government, it happens in the business world, and it happens in churches.

The Great Commission is very clear about the mission of the church. Evangelism and discipleship should be the focus of every congregation regardless of size. This is what we are called to do. Yet, look at any church budget and see how much of that budget is set aside for evangelism and discipleship. Look at any church calendar and determine for yourself how much time is spent on evangelism and discipleship. The church today is focused on many things while evangelism and discipleship is often set aside, and we wonder why our churches continue to decline and our member's lives are little different than the lives of those who are not Christians.

Until the church recaptures its biblical mission it will continue its decline into irrelevancy. A lot of organizations provide social services. There are a lot of places people can go for entertainment. What many churches think is important to offer people can be obtained elsewhere, but there is no place that offers the life-changing message of the Gospel but the church. It is the preaching of the Word of God that brings people to a relationship with Jesus Christ, and it is the teaching of that Word that helps people grow as disciples. There is nothing wrong with the church offering these other things I've mentioned, but its primary focus must be on the mission God gave it. Let's not lose sight of what should be our primary purpose.

I also hope our political leaders will return to what should be their primary focus which is addressing the real challenges facing our country. I'm growing quite weary of watching them act like spoiled children and wasting their time and our tax dollars focusing on minor issues while our nation continues to suffer real problems.

41 - A true statesman

We lost a great American a few days ago when former President George Bush passed away. A veteran, he held numerous political offices before being elected as President of the United States. Few men were as prepared as he was for the role due to his wide range of political experiences and the offices he held. He was a very humble man who some feared would not be able to overcome his humility to succeed in the rough-and-tumble primaries, but when he was nominated many political experts said he gave one of the most powerful acceptance speeches they had heard. Even more important than his accomplishments was his love for family. He was never afraid to express that love in ways that made people believe he met every word of it because he did.

One other thing that has been mentioned repeatedly since his passing was that he was a true statesman, something that is seriously lacking in today's political world. He was not afraid to work with Democrats to get America's work done. He was not afraid to speak honestly about what needed to be done and to do what was needed to accomplish the task. I'm not sure we have anyone in political leadership today that is a true statesman. His son, George W. Bush, did not have that quality to the degree that his father did. Presidents Clinton, Obama and Trump certainly would not be confused as statesmen. It is a trait desperately needed in America today.

It was a sign of that statesmanship when we saw him and Clinton working together to raise money for areas hit hard by natural disasters. Today when we see our latest former president still interfering with American policies and attacking the one who replaced him, it is another demonstration of how much we need statesmen in leadership today.

Bush had such high approval ratings just a few months prior to running for reelection that it has always surprised me that he did not win that election. The public turned on him as the economy began to cycle down, and Clinton took full advantage of that. You might remember the mantra of that election was "It's the economy, stupid." People forget that the economy goes through regular cycles, and in a down economy they are quick to blame whoever is in office. They also forget that the most important thing a leader brings to his or her office is character. Yes, the economy improved during the next president's term of office as it would have anyway, but the character factor took a nosedive and became an embarrassment for our nation.

It also hurt his reelection effort when he approved a tax increase after his famous statement, "Read my lips. No new taxes." It's very difficult for a political leader to make a promise like that not knowing what the future might bring. No doubt he knew when he approved that increase that his critics would howl and accuse him of lying to the American people, but he also knew it was needed at that time. He would do what he thought was the right thing and let history decide later whether he was right or wrong. The American people turned against him, but I think history will be much kinder to his presidency.

I pray one day that we will return to having leaders with the statesmanship qualities that our 41st president had regardless of which political party they may represent. We need men and women of decency, people with gentle spirits who put the needs of the nation ahead of their own to lead our nation. We need people with faith in God who are more committed to doing the right thing than what will ensure their reelection. Unfortunately, the older I get the less hopeful I am that we have such people today. I pray I am wrong.

What do smaller churches have to offer?

Much of what is said about smaller churches is not very positive. People talk about how they are resistant to change, how they are dying, how they have limited resources and cannot offer the ministries and programs larger churches can. Having worked with smaller churches throughout my ministry I've heard all of these and much more. What amazes me is that people cannot seem to see the positive things smaller churches offer. Let me share just a few of these.

Smaller churches offer a sense of family. They provide people with relationships with other people. Larger churches have to develop small groups to offer the same relationship possibilities that are naturally found in smaller churches. There's nothing wrong with the small groups, but it does require people to be part of such a group. That sense of family just comes naturally in the smaller church.

Smaller churches value people over performances. You typically do not have to audition to sing in the choir in a smaller church. Just show up. The pastor may not have the latest degree from the most prestigious seminary in the nation, but he or she visits the people and genuinely loves them, and they love the pastor. Some of the community kids are not quite "church broke," but they are loved by the members of the congregation who care for them as their own.

In smaller churches you are more likely to be with people who are just like you. I served as pastor of a small church for 20 years that was mostly made up of farmers, blue collar workers and retired people. When I first went there only one person had a college degree, and it wasn't me. I often explained that we were not the church God would use to reach the professors of a nearby college, but that we would likely reach people who were a lot like we were.

Smaller churches communicate quickly when people need help. It doesn't take long in a small church for everyone to know when someone is sick or been in an accident. Funeral dinners are quickly arranged, and meals are taken to homes when members get sick.

Although it's true that some smaller churches can resist change, they are also able to be more flexible than larger churches. A person doesn't normally have to jump through four committees and three boards to get permission to do something. Large churches often remind me of the aircraft carrier I served on while in the Navy. It took miles to turn that thing around. Smaller churches are more like the bass boat I used to own. It could turn on a dime.

While I could list more, I'll just mention one more. In smaller churches people feel like they have a part in what's going on. People care that they are there. In some larger churches people come to the service, speak to their small circle of friends and leave. Few even notice they were there or not, and it doesn't make a lot of difference if they weren't.

I have nothing against large churches, but I do get weary of hearing people say only negative things about smaller churches. These smaller churches have much to offer and play a vital role in the Kingdom of God.

Distractions lead to destruction

When historians describe the factors that led to the downfall of the Roman empire they can find several, but one of the major ones was the political complacency of the average person. The people stopped caring about the political leaders and their antics. They were more interested in the "bread and circuses" those leaders provided. The bread represented the things necessary for life, and the circuses provided them with the entertainment that they craved.

Does anyone recognize the comparison between what happened then and what it occurring today? We have a welfare system that provides just enough to give people the basics but not enough so they can lift themselves above the poverty that holds them in its clutches. Those who are dependent upon that system will vote for anyone who guarantees the system will continue despite any moral or character failings those people might possess.

At the other end of the spectrum tax loopholes are provided for the wealthiest among us to ensure they keep the vast majority of their wealth. It's ironic that the political leaders who cry the loudest about how the rich should pay more are the same ones who help pass such laws and, in fact, often benefit from those loopholes to hold on to their great wealth. Somehow this fact is seldom mentioned, and if it is, it's ignored by the masses.

Then we have the circuses. Cities that struggle to provide basic services for its citizens spend millions of dollars to build new stadiums and arenas to attract various sports teams. Many of these stadiums are packed out for each event as people come to support "their" team.

For those who can't afford the rising costs of tickets to attend those events we have the movie industry, TV, social media, comedy clubs, and other outlets to provide entertainment. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with entertainment, but it is often little more than a distraction to keep us from thinking too much about what is happening in our society. When a people is content with its "bread and circuses" and fails to observe what is happening in its culture it is a people that is heading to destruction.

This problem is not limited to our nation and its current problems. "Bread and circuses" are a problem in many of our churches as well. In this context the bread represents meeting the needs of our members. Too many church members are satisfied as long as their needs are being met. When the pastor makes an acceptable number of visits to the members and keeps the church machinery running smoothly most church members are content. No one bothers to ask what impact their church is making in its community or why the church isn't seeing people come to Christ.

Our churches enjoy its circuses as well. In too many churches entertainment has replaced worship. Self-help sessions have replaced theological sermons. The pastor preaches to win the applause of the people rather than the approval of God. When the service ends exactly on time and everyone leaves feeling better about themselves many church people consider it a good Sunday. And now that this is checked off their to-do list they can go on to enjoy the remainder of their week.

Being satisfied with "bread and circuses" in our churches are a major reason our churches have little impact today. It's also one reason why so many of our members are theologically illiterate. They are not being challenged to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ, to serve their communities and to grow deeper in their understanding of the Word of God. The distractions of the "bread and circuses" keeps them from thinking too deeply about any of this.

Our nation and our churches are in trouble and facing even more serious problems in the near future if we do not wake up to what is going on. We need to quit being distracted by the "bread and circuses" offered by both our national and church leaders and begin to demand more from those leaders. If they can't provide the leadership we need to turn our nation and our churches back to what they need to be then we need to replace them with people who can.

Fake news

The term "fake news" was not one used by many people 4-5 years ago, but it has become a popular one today. We often hear President Trump complain about fake news. During the past presidential election there seemed to have been a lot of fake news spread especially through social media.

Fake news is information that is intentionally spread even though it is not true. It is different from satire and parody as they are  intended to amuse, not intentionally mislead people. Anyone who spends much time on social media such as Facebook has seen numerous fake stories circulated as true. I have often criticized Christians for repeating these stories that were long ago proven false. Repeating such stories makes us appear gullible and uninformed, complaints non-Christians enjoy making about us.

Certainly, the media does spin their stories to support their biases. One morning I was working out at a local gym that had several TVs on. Among the numerous programs being shown at the same time were CNN and Fox News. Even though they might be reporting on the same story, the two reports could not be more different. Watching them side-by-side was incredible.

However, there is another aspect of fake news that is even more alarming to me. It is the power of the media to control what information is given to the public. The fact is the media no longer reports the news; it makes the news. The editors, reporters and anchormen determine what information should be shared with the American public and what information should be withheld. A story is not news until they declare it to be news.

I just finished reading Breaking The News: How the Media Undermine American Democracy by James Fallows, a journalist and former editor. In the book Fallows points out the many ways the media have grown increasingly out of step with the American public and why it has lost credibility with many of us. What makes the book even more amazing is that it was written in 1996! The problems he identified with the media then has only grown worse today.

He points out many ways in which the media fails the public. One is the way the news is presented. Rather than going into detail to provide people with background information and doing an in depth examination of issues, we are given snippets of information 3-4 minutes long before going on to a completely unconnected story. The public is never given sufficient information to know how to think about the news item. It's no wonder people are so uninformed when it comes to the major issues confronting us today.

Another problem is the superior attitude many journalists have of themselves. Especially the ones in New York and Washington give the appearance they are far superior in intellect and understanding of what is going on than the average person. The fact is the leading anchor people who appear in the hot spots reporting on what is going on are using the material the people on the ground have worked on for days. They fly in, receive the material reporters have developed, report it as if they are all wise, and fly out to the next "breaking story."

Of course, since they are so much in the know they can know what is going to happen before it does. The author points out that virtually every prominent journalist and political analyst declared Bill Clinton's campaign finished at various times when accusations about his behavior made the news. Sound familiar? They did the same thing during the last presidential election about Trump. If you want to be entertained watch videos of the people covering the election for the various media organizations when it became obvious that Trump would be elected president. They were shocked! Their reactions are hilarious. The problem is there is no penalty for them being wrong. A few days later they began to covering the mid-term election and predicting who might win there and what that might do to President Trump's agenda.

This incredible book demonstrates that we do have a major problem with fake news. It's not merely that journalists report fake stories, although some do. It's the way they determine what's news, what information is given to the public and the way that information is given.

Divine judgment

This won't be a popular post with many people, but it's one that needs to be made. Throughout the Old Testament the writers of various books made it very clear that to turn away from God's commands and moral codes brought great harm to nations and people. For those who do not accept the Bible as God's Word to mankind, history teaches the same lesson. Show me one atheist nation that prospered. Not one nation or kingdom that rejected God has remained powerful.

Compare that to the short history of America. Revisionist historians will not admit it, but we were a nation founded upon Christian principles. Our Founding Fathers were overwhelmingly Christian. I'm not saying they were perfect, but over and over again they expressed their Christian beliefs and values in the statements they made in both oral and written communication. We achieved our independence over a much stronger nation and went on to become the most powerful nation on earth.

We have made our mistakes. Serious ones. Slavery, a Civil War, the unjust treatment suffered by Native Americans and widespread discrimination are just some among the many major mistakes we've made as a nation. At the same time, we have seen God move in our nation as He poured out the First and Second Great Awakenings, numerous revivals led by ministers such as Billy Graham and others and strong churches that faithfully proclaimed the teachings of God.

Today, our nation is at a crossroads. Our churches have less and less influence in today's America. We have abandoned God as a nation. We have turned away from biblical teaching even in many of our churches and seminaries and substituted human philosophy and health and wealth preaching. Many of our people, even within our churches, do not know what the Bible says or how to apply it to their lives. As a result, America is going in the same direction as those godless nations before us.

America is in a state of confusion and chaos. We are confused about gender identity, marriage, and who should go to what bathroom. College students melt down if they hear something that hurts their feelings. Riots break out if an election doesn't go the way people had hoped. People demand that baby seals be protected while also demanding the right to abort their own children. The drug epidemic continues to destroy families and individual lives while costing the nation billions of dollars, and there doesn't seem to be any way to address the problem except to talk about pouring more money into "education." California is burning, hurricanes and other disasters are destroying people's homes and entire cities. Our list of problems continues to grow larger and larger with no end in sight, and yet we still refuse to turn back to God. In fact, for anyone to even suggest that we need God as a nation brings contempt and ridicule.

The Bible tells us God is not mocked, and what a person (nation) sows that shall he also reap. If we sow to the wind we will reap the whirlwind, and if anyone thinks America is not reaping a whirlwind right now they are not paying attention. The Bible also tells us that if God's people will humble themselves and pray, confessing their sins, that God will hear and heal their land. This is what the church needs to be doing now if we want to experience another revival that will return our nation back to God. Without such revival America will experience divine judgment just as the nations before us have experienced.

Planning your preaching for the new year

During my pastorate this was the time of year I spent time thinking about my sermons for the new year. I would often begin with a theme for the year or a primary focus our church needed to have as we began a new year of ministry. That didn't mean the entire year would be given over to that focus, but it would be the one we would begin with. My goal was to have at least the first three months of sermons planned with at least a title and the text. If I began the year with the first quarter planned it was much easier to stay prepared 2-3 months in advance.

This allowed me to do several things. One, I didn't have to begin each week trying to decide what to preach. I could spend that time actually preparing the message. This also enabled me to be looking for illustrations and stories that could be included in the message to help bring it alive.

It also made it easier to have the resources I needed to prepare the messages. For instance, each year after Father's Day I would do a series of messages on a book or major section of the Bible. Once I decided what book I would cover, I could order commentaries and other helps  to assist me in preparing the messages. When it came time to prepare the sermons I had the resource material I needed.

Planning my sermons this way helped me offer more balanced preaching. Every pastor has his or her favorite topics. Our people need to hear more than that. We need to provide them with a well-rounded study of what the Scriptures have to teach us.

In addition to preaching through a book of the Bible each year I also did a shorter series between Mother's Day and Father's Day that focused on various aspects of family life. Families in America need a lot of help, and the Bible has much to say about the family. If I returned to the pulpit today I would also offer a series of messages each year focusing on apologetics to help people be better able to defend their faith.

I found that planning my sermons well in advance made me a better preacher and helped me better manage my time as a bivocational pastor. I quickly got tired of not knowing until Friday or Saturday what I was going to preach the next Sunday. Saturday night specials are not helpful to anyone. Planning my messages at least three months in advance did much to relieve that stress.

As important as sermon planning is, your schedule cannot be written in stone. In fact, I wrote my sermon's title and text in pencil. You always want the flexibility to change your message if circumstances dictate. For instance, I know one pastor who preached the sermon he had planned a year before the Sunday after 9/11. The church was full that Sunday of people who wanted to know what God had to say about such events, but they left after hearing a message that said nothing about the event. It was a great opportunity that was missed because the pastor would not deviate from his plan. If you feel God leading you in another direction be willing to change your sermon plans.

Sometimes people will push back on the idea of planning their sermons in advance by saying they want to allow the Holy Spirit to lead them. I've heard some of their sermons, and I don't think I would want to blame the Holy Spirit for what I heard! I've always thought God can lead us three months in advance just as well as He can lead us from week to week.

If you have not made it a practice to plan your sermons in advance I encourage you to try it in 2019. If it doesn't work for you feel free to go back to whatever you were doing. My guess is once you do it for awhile you'll continue doing it.

Do we recognize when the power is gone?

Our area was recently hit with an ice storm that knocked out power for many people. A few had their power restored rather quickly, but for some it was several days before they had electricity. I know a few who moved into local hotels waiting for their power to be restored. Others borrowed generators to get them through the cold weather. Most just waited it out with extra blankets and coats.

Just before writing this post I went to a local supermarket to pick up a few things. As I walked in the door the lights went out. Someone announced the registers were down and customers needed to leave the store. After the recent problem due to the ice storm there was a lot of grumbling overheard as people were leaving.

It's easy to tell when we lose power in our homes. Everything grows dark, and this time of the year it becomes colder. But, do we know when our churches lose power? I would say not as powerless churches are a major problem in our country right now.

Jesus said, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has comes upon you....(Acts 1:8)" The Holy Spirit is the source of our power. Without Him the church is powerless. We might have programs, education, technology, strategies, mission statements and strategic planning, but we will have no power without the Holy Spirit at work in our churches.

It is possible for churches to keep doing what they've always done and never notice that the Spirit has departed their efforts. They can have services each week, enjoy entertaining sermons and wonderful music, and maintain their decades-old ministries without the Holy Spirit. Like cut flowers in a vase, they look good, but because they are not rooted in anything they cannot grow and will eventually die.

Because things are not going as well as we might hope we might assume everyone needs to work a little harder. Maybe it's time for a new minister or staff person. Maybe a fresh coat of paint would improve things. I know one church that has painted everything that doesn't move and can't understand why things haven't got better. Congregations sit around remembering "the good old days" and wonder why things have changed. In all their conversations about what they need to do seldom does anyone look to the source of power in the church - the Holy Spirit.

For many churches He is the forgotten member of the Trinity. We might mention Him from time to time, but many of our churches are reluctant to talk about Him too often. We have at least some understanding of God the Father and God the Son, but God the Holy Spirit is another matter. For many churches in my denomination I think people are afraid of Him. When He is given free rein things happen. He can't be controlled and might do things that are not found in our policy manuals.

When you read the book of Acts you quickly realize He can't be controlled, but will do things upsetting to people, especially the religious crowd. But you also find that people's lives are changed when He's in control. People are saved. Marriages and homes are restored. Devils are defeated, and people are set free.

What the church needs more than anything is an understanding that a powerless church is a church without the Holy Spirit, and that our greatest need is a Spirit-sent revival in our land that will bring the power of the Spirit back into our churches. We've been trying to do church without Him for too long, and we've given up too much ground to the Devil. It's time we get reconnected to our power supply and once again become the church God has called us to be.

Respect your predecessor

Among the many troubling things I've noticed in politics in recent years is how former President Obama and his wife talk about our current president. In my 70 years I don't ever remember hearing a former president speak badly in public about the one who succeeded him. In fact, knowing first-hand the pressures a president faces former presidents form a bond with one another despite the political differences they may have. Obama went to great lengths to blame his problems on former President Bush and now spends a great deal of energy attacking President Trump. So does Michelle.

Some of my readers might say that President Trump brings some of that on himself due to some of his comments. Like many Americans I wish he would tone down his rhetoric, close his Twitter account, and behave a little more presidential in his speech, but this still does not excuse the regular attacks from the Obamas.

Once again, I want to draw a parallel between what's happening in the political arena and the church arena. A pastor should never criticize those who previously served his or her church. One of the smartest things a pastor can do when starting in a new church is to speak well of his or her predecessor. In many instances there are people who are still grieving the loss of their former pastor. To speak well of that individual shows a sense of loyalty to the church's past.

In some situations you might not be able to find a lot of good things to say about the previous pastor. Perhaps he or she left due to a moral failure or some other difficulty may have been the reason the former pastor left. In those cases it's best to say very little about the individual. Even in those situations there are people grieving the loss of that individual, and speaking harshly of that situation just deepens the sense of loss they feel.

Perhaps the previous pastor instituted some programs that need to be replaced with some that would be more effective. The way to do that is not to criticize the program or the pastor who started it but to point out that while that program served its purpose, it's now time to look at doing something different because of changing circumstances.

Another way to show respect for your predecessor is to invite him or her back for special occasions. I was recently honored to preach at the 200th anniversary of a church I served as an interim pastor in 1980. It's not the first time I've been back to that church, but it was an honor to be invited to speak at such an important event in the life of that congregation. It was even more special considering that 52 years ago my wife and I were married in that church.

You will win favor with people in your church when you speak well of their former pastors and include them in special observances of your congregation. Remember, one day you will be a former pastor in that church so treat those who came before you the same way you will want to be treated by those who follow you.

Questions small churches must ask - 5

For the past week I have asked a series of questions that small churches need to ask and answer as they move forward. Today will be the last question, and I believe it is the most important one. "Who are we here for?"

Answering this question is vital to answering the other questions. If your church exists for its current members then you probably don't have to change anything. You can just keep doing what you've been doing and everyone should be happy. But, if you answer that your church exists for those outside the Kingdom of God then most likely many things will need to change.

I believe the Bible teaches that the church exists primarily for those outside. Yes, the church provides believers with a place to worship and to learn more about God, but our main role is to reach persons who do not know God as their personal Lord and Savior. That is the Great Commission which I said earlier this week is the mission of every church regardless of size. If we are not reaching people for Christ we are failing in our primary task.

The church was never intended to be a hotel for saints but a hospital for sinners. It is to be a place where hurting and broken people can find healing. It is to be a place where those who have been marginalized can receive love and acceptance. Most importantly, it is to be a place where people can find a relationship with Jesus Christ that will prepare them to live now and forever.

Once you answer this question you will be ready to develop your church budget and plan your programming. If you exist for those outside the congregation then both the budget and ministry programs should reflect that. If you exist to keep your current members content then the budget and programming will reflect that as well.

Most small churches would answer this question by saying they exist to reach those outside the Kingdom of God, but what is their actual practice? Where is the evidence this is the case? Many small churches have not seen an adult receive Christ as Savior in years (decades?). I once spoke with a pastor whose church had not baptized anyone in 50 years! We know how to say the right things, but what are we actually doing.

This question leads to tough conversations. In fact, all the questions I've posed this week leads to such conversations, but these need to happen if our churches are going to offer relevant and biblical ministry into the 21st century.

Questions small churches must answer - 4

Today's question is "What is your church's vision for ministry?" The mission of the church is very simple: It's the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. This mission is the same for every church regardless of size. However, the church's vision will be different for every church because it describes how it will carry out the mission.

I have advocated for years that God has a unique vision for every church because every church is unique. Each church is made up of different people with different spiritual gifts and different passions for doing ministry. When those two factors are combined with a ministry need in the community you will find God's vision for the church.

Notice that I said God's vision. The pastor's vision is immaterial. So is the deacon's or elder's. The only vision that matters is God's vision for your church. This vision is not determined by a majority vote but by discerning the mind of God. There are steps a church can take in the process of discerning that vision, but it must come from God.

Over the years I have asked many small church leaders to tell me their church's vision. None could do it. Some referred to a "Vision Statement" which no one knew without searching for the document where it was written. This tells me that what they were calling a vision was not considered in any of their ministry plans, budgeting or any other decision made by the church. They didn't have a vision; they had a document gathering dust on a shelf.

If you really want to know a church's vision you will find it by looking at their checkbook and calendar. Regardless of what anyone says is their vision for ministry, the real vision is found in those two documents. In a majority of cases, these documents reveal that the primary vision of the church in focused inward. They are about survival, not mission. Little, if any, money is spent on evangelism or ministering to the community outside the walls of the church. Few, if any, ministries in the community are found in their calendar. So...exactly how does such a church expect to fulfill the mission they've been given if their focus is solely on themselves.

The most exciting time in a church's life is when it discerns a fresh vision from God and begins to live into that vision. That is when you see God move and lives change. Again I ask, "What is your church's vision for ministry?"

Questions small churches must ask - 3

Today is the third installment of a series of posts on questions small churches need to ask and answer if they want to continue to minister in the future. The question for today is "Where will we get our future pastors?" This question is primarily directed to congregation led churches that seek their own pastoral leadership.

For several years smaller churches have struggled to find quality pastors to lead their churches. Numerous studies have found that many seminary graduates refuse to serve in a smaller church. This is true for a variety of reasons for which we do not have space to address in a blog post, but it is not likely to improve any time soon.

In the past many of the smaller churches in the area in which I live depended on seminary students to serve as pastors. In many cases this allowed them to have a pastor for 2-3 years before the student graduated and went on to a larger church. These student pastors are often unwilling to serve in these churches now as the seminary is not supportive of churches outside its denomination.

Other small churches were able to attract a fully-funded pastor by providing a parsonage along with a minimal salary. They are now finding that many pastors prefer a parsonage allowance and would prefer to not live in a parsonage. As these churches have grown smaller they are not able to provide even a minimal salary to support a pastor and his or her family.

Increasingly, these churches are looking for bivocational leadership even though some are very resistant to the idea. I have a friend who is nearing retirement from a small church where he has served as a fully-funded pastor. The church has declined to the point where their next pastor will need to be bivocational. He said they are not happy about it, but it is the only option they have.

I've written numerous books and articles about bivocational ministry and believe it is a biblical model for many churches. However, few people are going to move from California to serve a bivocational church in West Virginia. This means that the majority of bivocational ministers are going to reside geographically near the church. Although I have no data to support this, I imagine most churches that call a bivocational minister will find that person living within 20 miles of the church.

Something I've advocated to churches seeking bivocational leadership is to look within their own congregation for their next pastor. I've seen this done in several instances and it worked out very well. (I've also seen it not work so well.) Some might object that no one in their church has the theological training to serve as a pastor, but this can be overcome. If a person senses a call to serve in this way, he or she can always receive practical and theological training while serving the church. That's what I did, and countless others have done so as well.

Smaller churches need to realize the new normal as we continue into the 21st century is that they are not likely to find a seminary trained pastor the next time they seek new pastoral leadership. They need to begin now praying and talking about what they will do when the time comes to seek a new pastor. It's a question they will face at some time in the future.

Questions small churches must ask - 2

Yesterday I began a series of posts on the topic of questions small churches must begin asking and answering if they want to move forward. Today's question is "If your church closed its doors tomorrow would anyone in the community know or care?" This is not an academic exercise as approximately 100 churches in the US close their doors every week. None of them ever thought the day would come when they could no longer function as a church, but that day did come. If it happened for your church, would anyone other than the 30 or so people who attend there be impacted?

The fact is, although they might grieve over the closing of the church for a period of time, even the current members would likely find a new place of worship in a month or so and move on with their lives. But, how would anyone else in the community be impacted?

As a judicatory minister one of my responsibilities was to assist the churches in my area find new pastors. Not long after assuming this role I was invited to one of my smaller, rural churches to meet with their pastor search committee. The person who called gave me directions that were not real helpful, but I wrote everything down and thought I could find the church. A sign on the state highway pointed down a country road indicating the church was to be found there. I followed the directions from that point on and soon became hopelessly lost. It was starting to get dark, and I knew if I couldn't find the church in the daylight I would never find it once it grew dark so I did what men don't do: I stopped and asked directions. I stopped at two houses and neither of them knew where the church was. It was now 15 minutes after our meeting was to begin so I decided to turn around at the first available place and try to find my way back home. When I came to a place where I could turn around it was the church's parking lot.

The fascinating thing about all this is that both houses were less than two miles from this church, but neither of them knew where the church was. If that church closed its doors would either of them be affected? I doubt that they would even know it was closed.

Churches exist for many reasons, but one of the most important is to impact the communities in which they are located. We are to advance the Kingdom of God in those communities, but if the people in those communities do not even know we exist we can safely assume we are not doing our job.

A primary reason churches close is because they have no vision for ministry. They are not in the communities representing Jesus Christ and trying to impact them for the Kingdom. They remain enclosed in their sanctuaries (interesting term!) waiting for people to come to them. This is not how I see Christ doing ministry during His time on earth. If we are not in the community then it is safe to say that no one in the community will be impacted if we decide to close our doors.

Let's ask this question another way. Is there anyone in your community who is not a member of your church whose life would be disrupted if your church was no longer there to provide ministry? If the answer is no, what does this say about how well your church is doing the mission it's been given?

Questions small churches must ask - 1

I want to begin a series of posts on questions smaller churches need to be asking. We all know the challenges facing smaller churches today, and I do not know anyone who thinks things will improve any time soon. Those of us who attend or serve in smaller churches can either continue to drift along ignoring the difficulties we face or we can begin to ask and answer tough questions about who we are and what we are going to be in the future.

The first question I want us to consider is "Why should anyone attend your church?" I've actually upset some small church leaders by asking them this question. The reason I ask it is that I have attended, pastored, and been involved in working with smaller churches for 35 years. During that time I've seen very little change in the ministries, worship, structure, or anything else in most of them. Despite the fact that our world is changing today at a pace never seen in earlier generations many of our churches continue to act as if everything is still like it was in 1950.

If every church sings three hymns, has a couple of prayers, takes up an offering, and has a 30-minute sermon, what difference does it make which church a person attends? What makes your church so special that people will drive past other churches to attend it?

When I ask this question the answer I most often get if that they are a friendly church and if people will just come there they would find that out. For 14 years I served in a judicatory role and attended a different church almost every week. I can tell you from personal experience that many small churches are not friendly. They might be friendly to one another, but some are very cold towards people they don't know. I actually developed a workshop on church hospitality that I conducted for some churches that realized they needed that training. Many other churches need it too!

There has to be something about your church that will appeal to people seeking a church. There has to be something that your church offers that some other churches don't. It might be a particular worship style. Perhaps your church has a very good music ministry or children's ministry. It might be that your church is involved in a community ministry effort that allows unchurched people to connect with your church. Your church might have an excellent teaching ministry or small groups that address real needs people have. If you want people to come to your church you must offer something that will make them want to come.

The good news is that I believe God has a special purpose for every church, and it's not just to survive. He has a unique vision for every church that contains that purpose. The challenge for the church is to discern that vision and then live into it. As you do that you begin to relate to new people and give them a reason to come to your church. Without that reason they will continue to drive past your building every week never giving it a second thought.

What is truth?

Apologist Ravi Zacharias says that we now live in a post-truth culture. The media today has replaced journalists who sought the truth with spin doctors who want their listeners to believe their version of the truth. This is true of both liberal and conservative news organizations. News reports today are more editorials than actual reporting of the news. In the last presidential election we had numerous fake stories appear in social media such as Facebook planted there by organizations trying to influence the election.

Truth also takes a beating on many university campuses today. We are told there is no such thing as absolute truth, which by the way is a self-refuting statement. If there is no absolute truth how can a statement saying there is no absolute truth be true? BTW - If this is true my high school math teachers owe me an apology because I thought my answers were true so why did they mark them wrong?

Even in the church we sometimes struggle to know what's true and what's not. Too many pastors are willing to preach to people who have itching ears telling them what they want to hear instead of what Scripture teaches. Some have watered down the gospel so much in an effort to bring more people into their churches that the gospel is unrecognizable. Still others have substituted man's philosophies and preferences for the clear teaching of Scripture that they have abandoned any pretense of presenting biblical truth to their congregations. Such false teachers will one day be held accountable.

When we stand before our people on Sunday morning we must not be afraid to preach the Word of God boldly and with confidence. Our Bible is not a book about God; it's is God's revelation of Himself to us. Holy men of old wrote as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit giving us a Bible is that infallible in all it teaches. While some modern day pastors want to limit the use of Scripture for more "relevant" sources I will join Billy Graham and countless others reminding my listeners "The Bible says...."

I admit I do not understand everything I read in the Scriptures, but I have absolute faith in its trustworthiness. Some people want to point out all the mistakes and contradictions found in the Bible. The next time someone wants to make that argument ask them to show you one. Most are just repeating what they've heard others say and have no personal knowledge of any error.

In a time when people are tired of fake news and spin doctors pretending to be journalists, at a time when people are fed up with robocalls and scams on their phones, the church must be a place where people can hear the truth proclaimed. That will only happen if the pastor has a high view of Scripture and is committed to preaching what it says rather than giving his or her personal opinions. God's Word is true. Preach it like you believe it.

How you handle power says a lot about your character

Now that Democrats have reclaimed the House it will be interesting to see what they do. For months they have said if that happened they would spend their time trying to impeach the president. That would be a mistake on three fronts. One, no one has identified anything for which he could be impeached. Two, only the Senate has the power to impeach a president, and Republicans have solid control of the Senate. Third, there are important issues that are far more pressing that demand their attention.

Ed Rendell, former Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, has urged the House to focus on legislating, not investigating. As he pointed out, they have an opportunity to show real leadership by reaching across the aisle and working to pass significant legislation that enjoy bipartisan support. Rather than being afraid of giving President Trump a "win" they should be working to improve the lives of their fellow Americans. He offers wise counsel to his party.

Various persons on the news from both parties last night identified health care, immigration reform, and repairing the nation's infrastructure as potential areas in which both parties agree need to be addressed. While there are going to be differences in how these issues are resolved, both sides should be willing to look at finding solutions to these important issues. It would be far better than wasting time and money pursuing something that isn't going to happen anyway and might demonstrate that Congress is actually going to assume a leadership role in government.

How one handles power says a lot about a person's character. It's true in the political arena, and it's true in the church. Some pastors go into a church with a CEO mentality that is determined to tear down the current church structure and replace it with one of his or her own choosing. One pastor began his pastorate by replacing everyone in leadership within the first few months. When I questioned the church how he was able to do that I learned that their constitution gave the pastor that power. The first thing I did with them was help them rewrite their constitution!

I have written much in the past about church controllers. These individuals do great harm in the church by ensuring that nothing changes without their approval. They oppose anything that seems to be a threat to their position or power regardless of the positive impact it might have on the church. Their attitudes and actions demonstrate they lack the character to hold positions of authority in a church, and the church will remain stuck until it finds the courage to remove such individuals from their positions. Sometimes churches do not believe they can do that, but I have assisted several in the process. While it's not pleasant, it's necessary for the life of the church and the advancement of the Kingdom of God.

A new pastor went into a church and quickly learned who had created a lot of problems for the previous pastor. He invited the man to lunch and explained that he did not want them to be enemies but to be able to work together. They enjoyed a supportive ministry during the pastor's tenure in the church all because the pastor sought a positive relationship with the gentleman.

This should be the way things are in every church and in Washington. Learning to work together can get much accomplished and demonstrates character. Gridlock accomplishes nothing

Remember this after an election

Another election is behind us, and the next one won't begin until about tomorrow! Some of the people I voted for were elected and some were not. As I write this post tonight some of the races are still too close to call but it appears the predictions were right...the Democrats will take control of the House and the Republicans will maintain control of the Senate. This means we will continue seeing nothing done by Congress except the constant political bickering and obstruction which has kept the approval ratings for Congress at numbers that should embarrass every person who serves there. Still, those numbers and the lack of leadership found in today's government does not prevent incumbents from being re-elected to office. I suppose the old adage is right: People get the government they deserve.

There are two things I like to remind myself after an election. The Bible commands us to pray for those in authority over us. If you feel you cannot pray for someone you did not vote for or support, remember that Paul wrote those words when Nero was the ruler over the Roman empire. Christians need to make it a habit to regularly pray for our government leaders.

The second thing I like to remind myself is that my hope is not found in our political system. My hope is in Christ. Our salvation will not come from the White House, the State House or the Court House. I believe we are to involve ourselves in the political process by supporting and voting for those persons who best represent our values, and we are to pray for all those in political office, but our hope is in Christ. He will have the ultimate word, and one day He will come back to reign forever.

America needs revival. We need God to pour out His Spirit upon this nation as He has done in its early history. That revival must begin in God's house, the church. 2 Chronicles 7: 14 remains as true today as it was when it was first written. The church has played around too long offering shallow programs and anemic preaching which cannot lead to personal transformation. We have been content to entertain people in the hopes we could grow our churches. We should be more concerned about teaching God's Word which would grow people's souls. Until we have more people coming to our prayer meetings than we have attending our pitch-in dinners revival will never happen.

Pray for our elected officials, but don't stop there. Pray that God will forgive the church for its failure to proclaim the Word of God without compromise. As you pray admit the pride that has filled so many churches that led them to believe they could do their work without the power of the Holy Spirit. Let us confess our sins and seek the face of God and ask Him to heal our land.

You can't solve problems with the people who caused them

I did something last week I've never done before. I talked to a caller who said she was conducting an impartial political survey. Normally, I hang up on such calls as soon as I know what they are, but this time I thought I would give them my views. I found some of the questions misleading, some were confusing, and a few were obviously not impartial.

The question that most peaked my interest was when she asked if I leaned more towards the Republican party or to Donald Trump. I asked her to repeat the question to make sure I didn't misunderstand. After she repeated it, I responded that the question didn't make any sense since Donald Trump had been elected president on the Republican ticket. She moved on to the next question.

Now, it can be argued that Trump is not exactly the typical Republican, and that many Republicans dislike him as much as do the Democrats. Still, I felt it was a loaded question and represented an obvious bias against Trump. After all, I was not asked if I leaned more towards the Democrat party or to Hillary Clinton. I wasn't even asked if I was a Democrat or a Republican. I answered a couple more questions and said I was done and hung up. I had wasted enough of my time.

Every election cycle I say it can't get much worse, and every election cycle I am wrong. It can and does get worse. Every candidate is long on attacks against their opponents and short on ideas for improving the country. We hear a lot of generalities and few specifics. Every candidate promises to improve health care, but none explain how they will do that. They all want to fight the war on drugs, but none say what they will do to actually win that battle. A lot of attack ads, a few general statements guaranteed to appeal to everyone, and no specific plans for doing anything.

As I told someone lately, our nation is plagued with a lot of office holders and few leaders. The majority of politicians are running for an office, a position, but few offer any real leadership. It's amazing to me how Congress can have such low approval ratings and yet the same people keep getting reelected.

Our nation has serious problems, and you can't solve problems with the same people who created them. Most of the ones who are in office today have proven they have no solutions to the problems facing this country, so why should they be returned to their offices? People often call for term limits, but there is no way anyone in Congress is going to vote to put themselves out of a job. However, the American public doesn't have to wait for them to vote in term limits. We have the power to set term limits every time there is an election.

We vote out the ones who are doing nothing and replace them with their opponents, and if they prove incapable of doing the job we replace them the next time they are up for reelection. We should expect and demand real leadership from our elected representatives or we replace them with those who will provide it. If enough American voters take this approach perhaps those running for office will realize we are serious about wanting real leadership from those we elect to represent us.

Every Christian should vote, but our involvement in our political system cannot stop there. Scripture also mandates that we pray for those in office. That includes the ones you voted against. We have no right to complain about our leaders if we do not exercise our right to vote, and we have no right to complain about them if we do not pray for them regularly.

If you have  not voted early I encourage you to vote tomorrow. Too much is riding on this election to sit home.

Pastors must work the angles to be truly successful

Eugene Peterson, one of the truly fine Christian ministers of our time, has passed away. As a pastor, professor, and writer he influenced thousands of ministers during his lifetime. I was one of them. Although I never met the man, his books found their way into my library where they were read again and again. My favorite was Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity.

In that book Peterson pointed out that many of us in ministry focus on the visible tasks of ministry: preaching, teaching and administration. After all, it is in these areas where our congregations evaluate us. After a few short years in ministry almost anyone can become rather skilled in each of these tasks and enjoy a respectable ministry.

However, it is in the invisible, quiet tasks of ministry that gives integrity to what we do. These invisible tasks are prayer, scripture reading and giving spiritual direction. These are what Peterson called the angles of ministry, and he wrote that if we got "the angles right it was a simple matter to draw in the lines. but if we are careless with or dismiss the angles, no matter how long or straight we draw the lines we will not have a triangle, a pastoral ministry."

He then reminded his readers, "We can impersonate a pastor without being a pastor. The problem, though, is that while we can get by with it in our communities, often with applause, we can't get by with it within ourselves."

I've had seasons in my ministry where I felt I was merely impersonating a pastor. While I was going through the motions, at times it felt like I was robo-pastor. Just push a button and out pops a sermon. Push another button and I show up at the hospital. But, during those times I felt empty, and I knew I was not what God had called me to be.

The first time I read this book I realized what was missing: the angles. I had abandoned the times of prayer and scripture reading I needed to feed my own soul, and when your soul is sitting on empty it's hard to give spiritual direction to another. Any time I felt myself falling back in my old ways I would read this book again to be reminded of what God had called me to be as well as what He had called me to do.

A number of Peterson's books sit on my shelves. While all have benefitted me, none touched me or impacted my ministry as much as Working the Angles. The church lost a great Christian leader, but Peterson's influence will be felt for many more years to come.