Too busy to retire

When I finished my recent time as a Transitional Pastor several people asked if I was going to retire again. I retired from Cummins Engine Company in 1996 and retired as a Resource Minister with the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky in 2015. As my wife says, I don't do retirement well! So, when I was asked if I was going to retire again I told everyone I was afraid to. Every time I retire I get busier than I was before!

Retirement is a word I try to avoid using. I still have my auction business going. In fact, I have two auctions scheduled for September. I'm always open to filling the pulpit for a pastor who's going to be away, and I would consider serving a church as a Transitional Pastor again. God called me to preach in 1980 so I'm going to preach as long as He gives me life and the opportunity to do so. I backed off leading workshops and conferences while serving as a Transitional Pastor, and I'm now available to do that again. Plus, I've been working on two more books and plan to finish them this winter.

Today I celebrate my 70th birthday. My health is generally good. I feel good although I have a few pains now and then I didn't used to have. As I am writing this post George Jones just came on Pandora singing "I Don't Need Your Rocking Chair." That's exactly the way I feel! Life is good, and I plan to enjoy it as long as I can. God has been better to me than I've been to myself, and I intend to serve Him until He calls me home. That pretty well eliminates any talk of retirement.

What should a minister (or anyone) do if they don't plan to retire? Here are some things I plan on doing. Maybe they'll help you.

• Set goals for the future. I already mentioned one of my goals which is to finish the two books I've been writing. Work on those goals regularly until you complete them, and then set new ones.
• Stay busy doing things you enjoy doing. If you are retirement age you have earned the right to do things you enjoy. Do things that add value to other people and things that are fun for you and your family.
• Watch your health. Recent blood tests showed a couple of things that were slightly over the top limit so we are working on them to get them back in the acceptable range. A little more exercise and cutting out some foods should make that happen.
• Know your limits. I was recently faced with a choice between two opportunities. Although one was more appealing to me personally, I felt it would be unfair to the organization. They needed someone younger who could commit more years to them than I might be able to give.
• Not retiring doesn't mean you have to work every day. Take time to do things with your family and friends. Create memories that will outlive you.
• Continue to grow. Read. Learn new skills. Add to your information base. Keep your mind sharp. I once knew a retired pastor in his 90s who took a class to learn a foreign language. I've recently acquired a number of books on antiques, and I'm learning more about them to help me in my auction business.
• Find a young person to mentor. You have a lot to offer younger ministers and other leaders. Make yourself and your wisdom available to them. One such minister recently asked if he could call me with questions. He said he night not always do what I said, but he would be interested in knowing what I thought about some things. That is as it should be, and I told him to call me anytime.
• Stay close to God. 

Are you praying for the president or just being critical?

This past evening I did something I never enjoy doing. I unfriended an individual from my FB account. He was a denominational leader and a preacher. I found some of his posts  very enjoyable to read, but I became frustrated at his constant attacks on President Trump and especially the type of remarks he made about the President. Most days there would be several posts with such remarks.

There were a number of people I would have preferred to have seen elected as President in the last election. There are times when I wish he would close down his Twitter account or just stop making some of the comments he makes. But, the fact is the American people elected him to the office, and as Tiger Woods correctly pointed out last week, we are to respect the office.

In my lifetime I have never seen a president attacked with so much venom as our current president. Many of the things he is accused of have been committed by former presidents. That does not make them right, but it's quite interesting to me that the media did not hound those presidents over their actions. I'm not surprised that the Democrats continue their attack on him. They started talking about impeachment even before his inauguration. I am surprised that many Republicans have not shown more support. It seems like in politics it's often a good idea to follow the money so this indicates to me that he is costing a lot of politicians money.

It is also discouraging to me that so many individuals in ministry join in these attacks. It's one thing to oppose policies. There has never been a president with whom I've agreed on every single policy they've introduced. When a woman began to question Barack Obama's character, presidential candidate John McCain took the microphone from her and told her she was wrong. He said that while he and Obama had major policy differences Obama was a fine person whose character should not be challenged. Disagree with policies that Trump might support if you wish, but making the kind of snide remarks that I see increasingly on FB by Christians and ministry leaders are not appropriate.

Such remarks are very divisive to the work of the Kingdom of God. In every church there are persons who feel strongly opposed to President Trump and those who are just as supportive of him. When ministry leaders personally attack the president they are going to alienate those who support him. They are also going to alienate a large number of persons outside the Kingdom of God who God has given us the responsibility to reach. Will such alienation hinder or help us achieve the Great Commission?

Even more importantly, such comments fly in the face of the biblical mandate to pray for our leaders. The New Testament is clear that Christians are to honor and pray for their leaders, and the ones who wrote those words would later be killed by those same leaders. We do not honor our leaders by constantly belittling them or spreading unproven rumors about them. And I have to wonder how many of the Christians who are quick to criticise the president have spent as much time praying for him.

Just as I have never seen a president under so much attack, I have never seen our nation as divided as it is today. As Christian leaders should we not be working to bring healing to our land rather than creating even more division? When policies are unjust I am not at all reluctant to speak against such policies, but I pray that I never join in the personal attacks against our president, or any future leader, as I see coming from some of my Christian brothers and sisters.

Flexibility

A few days I posted that I had completed my time as the Transitional Pastor of a church I had served for the past two years. The day after my last Sunday at the church the new pastor's mother passed away. I was asked to return for another Sunday which I was happy to do.

If there is anything I have learned in 35+ years of ministry is the need to be flexible. Ministry is full of serendipity events that we cannot prepare for. The most careful plan can go out the window with one phone call. One volunteer who doesn't show up can quickly change how an event will be managed. I've always been willing to do just about anything to make something happen.

I was with a pastor and the lay leaders of his church one night for a meeting. After the meeting one of the lay leaders asked the pastor if he could cover for him at an upcoming event he was not going to be able to attend. The pastor became angry at the request and refused saying he had told the church he would not do what he was being asked to do. Personally, I would have had no problem filling in for the lay leader if I was the pastor. I felt the request was not out of line.

Both the refusal and the level of anger the pastor showed surprised me. Later that evening the lay leader called me saying this was frequently the attitude the pastor demonstrated any time he was asked to do something that was outside his official job description. This was a fairly healthy smaller church where many people wore numerous hats. People were used to doing whatever it took to see that ministry happened, and this pastor's refusal to be flexible was new to them. I was not surprised that his ministry in that church was short-lived.

No pastor should allow people to regularly dump their work on him or her, but that was not the case in this situation. I had known this lay leader a long time, and he was a faithful worker in that church. This pastor would have earned the respect of this leader if he had just shown a little flexibility to step up in this time of need. Instead, he lost a lot of respect from many in the leadership of that church by his refusal.

I was glad to have been able to fill the pulpit for the new pastor in a time of need, and it was great to return back to a church I have loved serving for the past two years.

Now is the time to schedule your conference speakers for 2019

For the past two years I have served as a Transitional Pastor for a church as it searched for a new pastor. Next Sunday will be my last day at the church. Their new pastor will begin the following week. During this time I did not schedule any conferences or other speaking events so I could concentrate my attention on serving this church. Now that my time there is ending I am open to speaking at your conferences or leading seminars for your organization.

The primary focus of the eight books I've published has been on small church/bivocational ministry. Because of these books I've been privileged to speak to various groups in ten different denominations and on the campuses of four universities. At some of the events I've led workshops as part of large denominational conferences, and in others I've conducted day-long seminars training pastors and denominational leaders.

My best selling book has been The Healthy Small Church: Diagnosis and Treatment for the Big Issues. That book has also been the foundation for my most requested seminar "The Healthy Small Church." In that seminar we explore some of the problems found in many small churches that lead to poor health and how to address them to enable the church to become healthier.

The second most requested seminar has been "Transforming the Small Church from Maintenance-Minded to Missional." It is based on my book Intentional Ministry in a Not-So-Mega Church: Becoming a Missional Community This seminar examines the differences between a maintenance-minded church and a missional church and how to transition the church from one to the other.

A third seminar I'm asked to do is "Bivocational Ministry for the 21st Century." This one is based on my book The Bivocational Pastor: Two Jobs, One Ministry and other research I've done on this topic. With the rapid growth of bivocational ministry in many denominations this seminar is becoming increasingly important.

A fourth seminar I've done is based on my book The Healthy Pastor: Easing the Pressures of Ministry and goes by the same title. Ministers face tremendous pressures that seminary often does not prepare them for, In this seminar we explore how to reduce those pressures to help make ministry more enjoyable and effective.

In addition, I have also worked with various denominational leaders helping them to better understand the unique needs of their small church and bivocational ministers.

I served one small, rural church as their bivocational pastor for 20 years and spent the next 14 years serving in judicatory ministry. My doctoral thesis was "Coaching Bivocational Ministers for Greater Ministry Effectiveness." Much of my ministry focus has been on smaller churches and bivocational leadership. The various presentations come not only from my books but from my research on these subjects and over 35 years in ministry.

Any of these presentations are available in a one-hour workshop, a half-day presentation or a six-hour seminar. We can tailor any of them to fit your needs.

As you know, now is the time to think about the persons you want to invite to speak to your 2019 gatherings. Currently, my 2019 schedule is open so now is the time to talk about scheduling me for your next event. The fastest way to contact me is at dbickers@roadrunner.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

The joy of bivocational ministry

The working title for my first book was The Joy of Bivocational Ministry. The publisher wanted to change that title, and as a first time author I had little leverage in the matter, but the editor did agree to use my title as the sub-title. Soon after the book came out a pastor friend of mine said to me he could not see how anyone could find joy in working a full-time job and serving as a pastor. He was not being critical; this was just not possible in his mind.

I wrote the book as I neared the end of a 20 year pastorate in a small, rural church. I was bivocational the entire time. For most of those years I worked in a factory and pursued a bachelor's degree. After earning that degree and taking early retirement from the factory I continued managing a small business our family owned all while still serving the church. While there were challenges, the positives far outweighed the negatives. I experienced true joy serving that church as I did.

Prior to my going to that church it had experienced a revolving-door pastorate. The average pastor tenure before me was about one year. The church had been struggling for years and had considered closing its doors. Although it was difficult to first create any positive momentum in the church it was exciting to see what happened once we started moving forward. That small church accomplished some very significant things during my time with them, and as I explained to them my major contribution was just staying with them until they realized what all they could do. It was a joy watching people accomplish more than they thought possible.

I continue to experience joy through the friendships we made in that church. Although I left the church in 2001 to accept a denominational role, some of my closest friends today were members of that church. I play golf with some of them. I was able to help one of our leaders serve an an interim pastor in several churches, and he later surprised me by accepting the call to be the pastor in one of them. He did a great job in that church which also brought me a lot of joy.

There was joy in seeing people come to Christ in that little church. A friend of my father came to my house one day wanting to talk about becoming a Christian. After we talked he prayed to receive Christ. He wanted to be baptized but wanted a private baptism. He told me he would probably never attend services at our church as he was a very private person. A few weeks later I met him and his family at a nearby creek where I baptized him. I don't think he missed a church service after that until he health prevented him from attending! What joy in seeing Christ come alive in this elderly man's life!

I could tell story after story, but let me close this post by saying there is tremendous joy found in bivocational ministry. That first book is out of print, but you can still purchase copies here for your Kindle device or from a used book seller.

You are replaceable

Years ago I worked third shift on a factory assembly line. One night the foreman on our end of the line was telling me how difficult the job was on him. He was under a lot of stress, couldn't sleep and wasn't sure what to do.

I explained to him that if he went down some night someone would put him in a chair, shove the chair next to the wall and call the in-plant ambulance to take him to the hospital. The assembly line would not stop running, no one would stop working and if he wasn't able to return to work soon he would be replaced within a week.

The next night that was exactly what happened to him. Everything I said occurred. Fortunately, there was nothing seriously wrong with him and he returned to work the following evening.

Many pastors work like they are indispensable. They put in too many hours each week. They seldom, if ever, take vacations. They have no hobbies, no outside interests. They sacrifice their families and their health in a misguided belief that they are too important to the church, and to God, for them to do anything but their pastoral duties. If you go to the cemetery you will find many indispensable people buried there. Somehow the world seems to manage just fine without them.

I once told a pastor that I felt he was probably dealing with clinical depression. I encouraged him to see his doctor for a checkup and diagnosis. I asked him how often he went on vacation, and he just looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. After talking to him for a few minutes and realizing I was getting nowhere I asked if I could tell his wife what I just said to him. He agreed, and I called her into the conversation. As I began to repeat myself tears streamed down her face confirming everything I suspected. That was a few years ago, and I do not believe he had done anything I suggested.

Why do we do this to ourselves? I served a church for 20 years, but they had many pastors prior to my going there, and if the Lord tarries, they will have many more after me. I'm not indispensable to that church. No pastor is called to sacrifice his or her family and health to serve in ministry. We are called to a place for a period of time to do the best job we can until the Lord moves us to another work. If we burn ourselves out we will be of no value to our ministries or the Lord.

Let me encourage you to do some things to help maintain balance in your life.

1. Take your vacations. If you only get two weeks begin to advocate for four weeks. You and your family need that time away.
2. Take your days off. Let the church know what those days are and protect them.
3. Develop interests outside the ministry. Start a hobby. Join a civic organization. Take a course at a community college. Try different things until you find something you like.
4. Build relationships with people outside the church. This might be in conjunction with your hobby or it might not. Get outside the holy huddle.
5. If your church doesn't offer a sabbatical, begin to talk to them about doing so.
6. Establish a date night with your spouse and do not let anything interfere.

I realize it might be difficult for you to advocate for these things yourself in your church. If you belong to a denomination ask your contact person in that denomination to speak to your leadership about some of these things. Just remember: The ministry is not a sprint; it's a long distance event. Take care of yourself and you'll be better able to go the distance.

Third greatest need of the church

I've previously posted the first and second greatest needs of the church, and today I'm going to address what I believe to be the third. First, I want to make something clear. The reader should not necessarily think these are being ranked in order of importance. All three of these need to have high priority in the church. Prayer, a recommitment to the Scriptures as the Word of God, and today's topic, teaching people how to defend the faith are all critical needs of the church if we are to fulfill the Great Commission.

Faithful readers of this blog know the value I place in apologetics. Many Christians struggle to explain what they believe; even more struggle to explain why they believe what they claim to believe. As a result, many of us are afraid to attempt to share our faith with others. We fear someone will ask us a question about our faith that we cannot answer.

The inability to explain why we believe certain things about God also reflects on our lack of growth as believers. We came to Christ as little children and remained little children in our understanding. This also makes us more susceptible to our abandoning the faith. More than a few young people went to college and decided they could no longer believe in God when that belief was challenged and they were unable to meet that challenge.

If we are to grow disciples churches must do more than teach simple Bible facts. Yes, Jonah was swallowed by a large fish. Yes, David killed Goliath with a slingshot. But, at some point, we need to begin teaching people why the fine-tuning of the universe points to a Divine Creator, how evil and suffering are not proofs that a loving and powerful God could not exist, that we can trust the Scriptures as we have them today and a host of other evidences that explain why reasonable and intelligent people can believe in God.

We are constantly bombarded today with a steady diet of attacks against Christianity. The movies we watch, the music we listen to, the media all seem to challenge the Christian faith. Millions of books have been sold in recent years insisting that science has proven God does not exist. The fact that many leading scientists are strong Christians alone proves that statement is not true, but many do not know that. Unfortunately, many people believe that if an academic publishes something it must be true.

Churches need to provide deeper theological teaching to their members, and that teaching must include apologetics. In Sunday school classes, small groups, and from the pulpit people must be given the tools to defend their faith and to be able to discern truth from untruth. Instead of watering down our sermons, we need to go deeper. Let's teach not only what we believe but why we believe it. Our goal should be that every person sitting under the ministry of our church will "always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3: 15)."