Right from the beginning I have to confess that I am not a big fan of retirement. I've retired from two different jobs, and I'm still working at least part time. My wife tells me retirement just doesn't seem to stick with me. Frankly, I would probably go back to full-time work tomorrow if I found the right job. However, at some point, if we live long enough, retirement will come into the picture and it's important that we are financially prepared.
The church I pastored had never paid into a pastor's retirement fund. Their average pastoral tenure before me was 12 months as they had a succession of seminary students serve as pastor. I stayed there 20 years. After being there for several years I asked the finance committee if they would consider enrolling me in our denomination's retirement plan instead of giving me a raise that year. They agreed and made that part of their budget proposal.
This led to the first major conflict in the church since I had been the pastor. Since the church had never done this before a handful didn't want to do it now. At the time, to enroll in that program required the church to pay 16 percent of the pastor's salary into the fund. Some argued that was too big of a raise. There was a lot of "intense fellowship" around the topic, but in the end the church voted to enroll me in our retirement fund. The good news is that we lost no one over this issue, and despite the stated concerns of some, it did not lead to the church suffering any kind of financial stress.
Over the years I have met a number of pastors who have nothing going into retirement. Some have opted out of social security but are not putting anything towards retirement. Like many Americans ministers are not taking seriously the need to financially prepare for retirement.
According to one study, one out of three Americans have less than $5,000 saved for retirement. One out of five have nothing set aside for retirement. One third of Baby Boomers, those now approaching retirement age, have between $0-25,000 in retirement funds. Obviously, preparing for the future takes a back seat to immediate gratification for many people.
No doubt there are many reasons why some pastors are not setting money aside for retirement. Many enter the ministry with a huge amount of student debt that must be paid. Starting and raising a family can make it hard for anyone to put money into a retirement fund that won't be needed for 30-40 years. Many ministers are not well paid, and there just isn't enough money left over to put into retirement. Another problem is that if a church is not part of a denomination there is not a denominational retirement fund into which a church can pay towards the minister's retirement. Of course, even if such a fund is available to a church that doesn't mean they want to pay into it. Smaller churches, especially, may use their size to argue that they cannot afford to pay anything towards the pastor's retirement.
A few years ago I talked with a minister in his 50s who had nothing set aside for retirement. He was serving in a nondenominational church and was understandably concerned about the future. Not too many years before that the retirement fund for the denomination in which I serve had opened up their services to ministers in any denomination. I explained this to the minister and gave him the phone number of our area's representative. Long story short...he is now enrolled in a retirement fund. He won't have as much money in his account as he would have if he had done this when he was 30, but at least he'll have something to draw from in retirement.
If your church is not paying anything towards your eventual retirement, this is a conversation you need to have with your leadership. As in yesterday's post which addressed continuing education, you may need to ask someone to lead this conversation for you. From personal experience I can vouch for the difficulty you may have in asking your church to pay towards your retirement. It was not an easy conversation I had with our church when it was first raised, but it was an important conversation. It was important not only to me but for future ministers in that church who would not have to fight that battle.
Scripture makes it very clear that we have an obligation to provide for our families. That also includes after we retire. One of the things I pointed out to those opposed to the church paying into my retirement was that every one of them had a pension plan where they worked. I then asked why they were opposed to me having the same opportunity to have one. Make sure you can retire with dignity and that your family will be financially secure when you are no longer able to earn a paycheck.
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Send your pastor to class
"The only thing worse than training someone and losing them is not training them and keeping them." I had the privilege of hearing Zig Ziglar speak at several motivational conferences, and in every one of them he made this statement. It impressed me so much I made a copy of it and posted it in the office of a small business I owned. Any of my employees could attend almost any continuing education event that would benefit the company, and the company would pay for it and pay them their wages while attending.
In addition to allowing them to attend such events they wanted, there were several I sent them to. One person had to have a certain number of hours each year to maintain a license we needed to work in Kentucky. Our primary vendor offered classes each year to inform us of new products and new ways of doing business which I attended along with some of our other employees. Yes, we trained a few people only to see them leave for other companies, but we also benefited from the training those people received who stayed with us.
A couple of days ago in this blog I posted an article encouraging ministers to attend continuing education (CE) events. One pastor asked if I could write another article encouraging congregations to see the value in their pastors attending such events. Consider this that post.
Some churches, especially smaller ones, seem to be anti-education. As regular readers of this blog know, when I began as the pastor of the church I served for 20 years I had only a high school education. One of the people on the search committee even commented that some of their best pastors had never attended seminary. Only one person in the congregation, a school teacher, had a college degree. While no one applauded ignorance, there was little interest in the church in me pursuing an education or seeking any kind of training.
After about 18 months I decided some ministerial training might be a good idea! I enrolled in a Bible school about an hour from our community, and for the next four years attended classes there. After graduation I decided to enroll in college and earn a bachelor's degree. Sometime in that time period I asked the church to provide me with money in the budget for continuing education and to give me two weeks to attend such events. Evidently, they had seen some improvement in me because they agreed to both requests with no problem. The budget provided me with $200.00 I could spend on CE events, and the church allowed me two weeks to attend those events.
I hope your church provides something similar for their pastor, and if not you need to seriously ask why not. Most ministerial CE events are very reasonably priced, and $200.00 will allow for 2-3 such events each year unless one needs to stay overnight at one. The two weeks allowed to attend such events are unlikely to be fully used. Most of the ones I attended were one day events held during the week so I didn't even miss a Sunday attending them, but that time was provided if I did need it.
BTW - That time granted for CE is not vacation. Every pastor should be given four weeks vacation annually plus at least two weeks for CE. I know many churches only give two weeks vacation. Shame on them! You will never know the difference two extra weeks of vacation will make on your pastor and his or her family until you begin giving that to them. You will have a new pastor.
I would encourage the church leadership to sit down with the pastor to discuss his or her CE plans for the upcoming year. The pastor may or may not have identified some events that sound promising, but have that conversation anyway. The church should let the pastor know they expect him or her to attend one or two events during the year, and this will be one of the things that will be included in the annual evaluation. If the pastor does have specific plans to attend an upcoming CE event, and it costs a little more than is in the budget, add the money to make it possible. What your pastor learns is going to benefit your church.
About now someone is asking "But what if we spend all that money and the pastor leaves for another church?" So what? You are investing in the Kingdom of God, not just in your church. Perhaps your new pastor will have attended even more CE events and brought some new skills to your church that it needs. Besides, it's not ALL that money. We're talking about a few hundred dollars a year, and if that is a problem then your church has even bigger problems than finances.
I encourage pastors who do not have CE funds available to talk to their churches about this. Give them a copy of this post. If you're not comfortable talking to them about this ask your district or regional leader to have this conversation with them. If that's not possible, ask them to have me come talk to them or contact me. I feel very strongly that every pastor needs regular times of training to stay fresh in the ministry, and I feel just as strongly that churches should provide the finances and time away to make this possible. I have no problem talking to any church about this.
In addition to allowing them to attend such events they wanted, there were several I sent them to. One person had to have a certain number of hours each year to maintain a license we needed to work in Kentucky. Our primary vendor offered classes each year to inform us of new products and new ways of doing business which I attended along with some of our other employees. Yes, we trained a few people only to see them leave for other companies, but we also benefited from the training those people received who stayed with us.
A couple of days ago in this blog I posted an article encouraging ministers to attend continuing education (CE) events. One pastor asked if I could write another article encouraging congregations to see the value in their pastors attending such events. Consider this that post.
Some churches, especially smaller ones, seem to be anti-education. As regular readers of this blog know, when I began as the pastor of the church I served for 20 years I had only a high school education. One of the people on the search committee even commented that some of their best pastors had never attended seminary. Only one person in the congregation, a school teacher, had a college degree. While no one applauded ignorance, there was little interest in the church in me pursuing an education or seeking any kind of training.
After about 18 months I decided some ministerial training might be a good idea! I enrolled in a Bible school about an hour from our community, and for the next four years attended classes there. After graduation I decided to enroll in college and earn a bachelor's degree. Sometime in that time period I asked the church to provide me with money in the budget for continuing education and to give me two weeks to attend such events. Evidently, they had seen some improvement in me because they agreed to both requests with no problem. The budget provided me with $200.00 I could spend on CE events, and the church allowed me two weeks to attend those events.
I hope your church provides something similar for their pastor, and if not you need to seriously ask why not. Most ministerial CE events are very reasonably priced, and $200.00 will allow for 2-3 such events each year unless one needs to stay overnight at one. The two weeks allowed to attend such events are unlikely to be fully used. Most of the ones I attended were one day events held during the week so I didn't even miss a Sunday attending them, but that time was provided if I did need it.
BTW - That time granted for CE is not vacation. Every pastor should be given four weeks vacation annually plus at least two weeks for CE. I know many churches only give two weeks vacation. Shame on them! You will never know the difference two extra weeks of vacation will make on your pastor and his or her family until you begin giving that to them. You will have a new pastor.
I would encourage the church leadership to sit down with the pastor to discuss his or her CE plans for the upcoming year. The pastor may or may not have identified some events that sound promising, but have that conversation anyway. The church should let the pastor know they expect him or her to attend one or two events during the year, and this will be one of the things that will be included in the annual evaluation. If the pastor does have specific plans to attend an upcoming CE event, and it costs a little more than is in the budget, add the money to make it possible. What your pastor learns is going to benefit your church.
About now someone is asking "But what if we spend all that money and the pastor leaves for another church?" So what? You are investing in the Kingdom of God, not just in your church. Perhaps your new pastor will have attended even more CE events and brought some new skills to your church that it needs. Besides, it's not ALL that money. We're talking about a few hundred dollars a year, and if that is a problem then your church has even bigger problems than finances.
I encourage pastors who do not have CE funds available to talk to their churches about this. Give them a copy of this post. If you're not comfortable talking to them about this ask your district or regional leader to have this conversation with them. If that's not possible, ask them to have me come talk to them or contact me. I feel very strongly that every pastor needs regular times of training to stay fresh in the ministry, and I feel just as strongly that churches should provide the finances and time away to make this possible. I have no problem talking to any church about this.
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
The splinter and the log
In Luke 6:22 Jesus asks, "How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the plank from your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye."
This past weekend the report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller was released indicating that after 22 months and nearly $30 million he found nothing that indicated that President Trump had colluded with the Russians to steal the 2016 election. This despite claims made by some Democrats that they had direct evidence that such collusion occurred. Even last night one reportedly said he still believes there is "significant evidence of collusion." An investigation that included around 500 witnesses and over 2,800 subpoenas found nothing but that will not silence nor satisfy congressional Democrats, the liberal media and those darlings in the entertainment industry who know it all. Much more money and time will be wasted by Congress in continual hearings trying to prove something that did not happen.
Let's be honest. This is all about the 2020 election. Congressional Democrats are more interested in trying to win the next election than in governing our nation. Their "Chosen One" was defeated to the amazement of all by an outsider. Despite every effort to steal the election, Miss Hillary lost. The only reason any future investigation into Russian collusion will occur is to keep this before the public in hopes of winning in 2020.
I have a suggestion. Why not spend a little time investigating members of Congress? Let's see if we can understand how people making Congressional salaries can become multi-millionaires within a short period of time. Let's look into their sources of income, their foundations, and the amount of work they actually do to better America. Let's investigate the Clintons with the same thoroughness President Trump was investigated and see what comes out.
I would never claim the president is perfect. Far from it. But, like many Americans, I'm weary of those with logs in their own eyes screaming about the specks in the eyes of others. Jesus calls such people hypocrites, and that is exactly what these people are.
I read where Mike Huckabee said that those who claim they have direct evidence that Trump colluded with the Russians, should either present that evidence, under oath, or shut up. I suspect they will do neither. I do have to wonder, since they made that statement, why were they not subpoenaed to present that evidence to Mueller and the FBI. I would think that people claiming to have such evidence should have been the first ones contacted.
Again, it's interesting to see the parallels between the political world and the church world. I often found the ones who complained the most about the sins of others had just as many, if not more, in their own lives. Those who went around pointing fingers at everyone else had even more pointing against them.
This past weekend the report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller was released indicating that after 22 months and nearly $30 million he found nothing that indicated that President Trump had colluded with the Russians to steal the 2016 election. This despite claims made by some Democrats that they had direct evidence that such collusion occurred. Even last night one reportedly said he still believes there is "significant evidence of collusion." An investigation that included around 500 witnesses and over 2,800 subpoenas found nothing but that will not silence nor satisfy congressional Democrats, the liberal media and those darlings in the entertainment industry who know it all. Much more money and time will be wasted by Congress in continual hearings trying to prove something that did not happen.
Let's be honest. This is all about the 2020 election. Congressional Democrats are more interested in trying to win the next election than in governing our nation. Their "Chosen One" was defeated to the amazement of all by an outsider. Despite every effort to steal the election, Miss Hillary lost. The only reason any future investigation into Russian collusion will occur is to keep this before the public in hopes of winning in 2020.
I have a suggestion. Why not spend a little time investigating members of Congress? Let's see if we can understand how people making Congressional salaries can become multi-millionaires within a short period of time. Let's look into their sources of income, their foundations, and the amount of work they actually do to better America. Let's investigate the Clintons with the same thoroughness President Trump was investigated and see what comes out.
I would never claim the president is perfect. Far from it. But, like many Americans, I'm weary of those with logs in their own eyes screaming about the specks in the eyes of others. Jesus calls such people hypocrites, and that is exactly what these people are.
I read where Mike Huckabee said that those who claim they have direct evidence that Trump colluded with the Russians, should either present that evidence, under oath, or shut up. I suspect they will do neither. I do have to wonder, since they made that statement, why were they not subpoenaed to present that evidence to Mueller and the FBI. I would think that people claiming to have such evidence should have been the first ones contacted.
Again, it's interesting to see the parallels between the political world and the church world. I often found the ones who complained the most about the sins of others had just as many, if not more, in their own lives. Those who went around pointing fingers at everyone else had even more pointing against them.
Monday, March 25, 2019
Continuing education for ministers
This past weekend I had to fulfill my 16 hours of continuing education (CE) required before I can renew my auctioneer's license. Most states, perhaps all, that require a license for auctioneers have some CE requirement. When I owned a heating and air conditioning business we had to have someone with an HVAC license to work in Kentucky. That license also required a certain number of hours of CE before it could be renewed. I've often wondered why we don't require CE for ministers.
There are numerous reasons why CE for many licensed professions are needed. Laws for many professions change, and people need to be brought up to date on those changes. New products and services are developed which people need to know. People need to be reminded of things they may have forgotten. These classes also give people an opportunity to interact and learn from one another. While people may not want to give away their trade secrets, there are always people attending these events that talk about experiences they've had and how those were resolved. It's always better to learn from the mistakes and experiences of others than having to go through them yourself.
The same reasons could be given for requiring ministers to undergo regular continuing education. The laws surrounding churches and ministry do change. One state now requires churches to charge sales tax for charitable events it hosts. This applies to everything from bingo cards people purchase to benefit golf tournaments. I wonder how long it will be before a church in that state gets into trouble because they didn't know the new law.
Ministry has changed over the years since many graduated from seminary. I'm not sure what the half-life is for a seminary education but I doubt that it's very long. However, some ministers are still operating like they were taught in 1975, and they and their churches can't understand why it's not working.
Many pastors operate as lone rangers. Attending a CE event gives the minister an opportunity to interact with other ministers and learn from their stories. Even if the event doesn't provide a lot of helpful information, that interaction probably will.
As a judicatory minister I worked with many churches seeking new pastoral leadership. Our denomination used a standard form in place of a resume for our ministers seeking placement. This form had a place to list CE events the minister had attended. When I met with the search teams I told them if that did not include any CE events it should send up a yellow flag that meant if they interviewed the person they should ask why there was nothing there. Maybe that information had not been submitted leaving that space blank, or maybe the minister saw no need to attend such events. If it was the latter, I told the search team that would turn that yellow flag into a red one for me. Why would any church want a minister who saw no value in improving his or her ministry knowledge and skills?
Ministers should seek out CE events on their own. I suggest a minimum of one or two a year. If they don't, the church they serve should insist on it. The Personnel Team or others in leadership should discuss this with their ministers and part of their annual evaluation should include CE events they've attended. Denominations and judicatories could also begin to insist their ministers attend CE events and have some method of enforcing that.
I'm sure some ministers will say no one has the right to require this of them. Auctioneer commissions, HVAC boards, nursing boards, and a host of other professional organizations require their people to have CE before they can renew their licenses. As ministers, we are responsible for the eternal souls of those whom we serve. This is much more important that knowing how to unstop a toilet or call a bid. We should be held to even higher standards than others, and requiring regular CE is just one way to ensure that we in the ministry stay at the top of our calling.
There are numerous reasons why CE for many licensed professions are needed. Laws for many professions change, and people need to be brought up to date on those changes. New products and services are developed which people need to know. People need to be reminded of things they may have forgotten. These classes also give people an opportunity to interact and learn from one another. While people may not want to give away their trade secrets, there are always people attending these events that talk about experiences they've had and how those were resolved. It's always better to learn from the mistakes and experiences of others than having to go through them yourself.
The same reasons could be given for requiring ministers to undergo regular continuing education. The laws surrounding churches and ministry do change. One state now requires churches to charge sales tax for charitable events it hosts. This applies to everything from bingo cards people purchase to benefit golf tournaments. I wonder how long it will be before a church in that state gets into trouble because they didn't know the new law.
Ministry has changed over the years since many graduated from seminary. I'm not sure what the half-life is for a seminary education but I doubt that it's very long. However, some ministers are still operating like they were taught in 1975, and they and their churches can't understand why it's not working.
Many pastors operate as lone rangers. Attending a CE event gives the minister an opportunity to interact with other ministers and learn from their stories. Even if the event doesn't provide a lot of helpful information, that interaction probably will.
As a judicatory minister I worked with many churches seeking new pastoral leadership. Our denomination used a standard form in place of a resume for our ministers seeking placement. This form had a place to list CE events the minister had attended. When I met with the search teams I told them if that did not include any CE events it should send up a yellow flag that meant if they interviewed the person they should ask why there was nothing there. Maybe that information had not been submitted leaving that space blank, or maybe the minister saw no need to attend such events. If it was the latter, I told the search team that would turn that yellow flag into a red one for me. Why would any church want a minister who saw no value in improving his or her ministry knowledge and skills?
Ministers should seek out CE events on their own. I suggest a minimum of one or two a year. If they don't, the church they serve should insist on it. The Personnel Team or others in leadership should discuss this with their ministers and part of their annual evaluation should include CE events they've attended. Denominations and judicatories could also begin to insist their ministers attend CE events and have some method of enforcing that.
I'm sure some ministers will say no one has the right to require this of them. Auctioneer commissions, HVAC boards, nursing boards, and a host of other professional organizations require their people to have CE before they can renew their licenses. As ministers, we are responsible for the eternal souls of those whom we serve. This is much more important that knowing how to unstop a toilet or call a bid. We should be held to even higher standards than others, and requiring regular CE is just one way to ensure that we in the ministry stay at the top of our calling.
Friday, March 22, 2019
Dumbing down of America and the church
Schools are much different today that when I attended them back in the Stone Age. That's understandable. Young people today need to learn different things that we did. The world has changed making these changes necessary. However, there are some things that are no longer being taught that is leading our nation down a dangerous path. One of these is Civics.
I still remember taking Civics and my teacher in that class. Don't ask me why I remember that teacher because I don't remember most of them, but I can still see her standing in front of the class teaching us valuable information about how our nation is structured and why it is important. I do not believe that many, if any, schools teach Civics today. This means today's graduates do not understand why there are two separate houses of Congress, how bills are passed, the separation of powers, the importance of voting and many other things that we were taught in Civics.
Why is this dangerous? We have people today in Congress, many running in 2020 for the office of President, advocating eliminating the Electoral College. They claim that doing this will make every vote equal. No, there is a reason the Founding Fathers created the Electoral College. It ensured that the entire nation was equally represented in the Presidential election. Eliminate the Electoral College and the East Coast and West Coast states, along with Texas, will elect the President making the votes of the rest of the nation of no value.
The same people want to allow non-Americans the right to vote. Voting is a privilege for the citizens of this country. It is the means by which we select the persons who will represent our wishes. I know of no other nation on the face of the earth that allows non-citizens to vote in their elections. Any introductory Civics class would point out the fallacy of even considering doing such a thing.
Speaking of voting, many of these same individuals want to lower the voting age to 16. They insist these young people have the maturity to vote in national elections. However, one must be 18 to purchase a long gun in America and 21 to purchase a handgun from a licensed dealer. The legal drinking age is 21. Why these higher age limits? Because our nation has determined that persons younger than this lack the maturity to purchase weapons and alcohol. I wonder if our presidential hopefuls would be in favor of lowering the age to purchase guns and alcohol to 16 as well.
The same people also want to enlarge the Supreme Court, what some are calling "packing the court." There's no valid reason for doing so except they aren't happy with the recent justices who have been named to the court. They have no idea of the importance or the role of the Supreme Court. They just want to make sure there are enough justices to get what they want.
These are just four dangerous ideas being floated by some Presidential hopefuls. Again, a class in Civics 101 would show how dangerous they are. They all go against the desire of our Founding Fathers to limit the control the government has over the people. Some are unconstitutional, but they don't care about that.
What makes them even more dangerous is that many young people today do not know what makes them dangerous because they've been deprived of an education that teaches what it means to live in a Republic governed by a Constitution. They've had zero education in the founding of this nation and how it was set up and why it was set up the way it was.
BTW - The same thing is happening in our churches. When we fail to adequately teach our young people what Christians believe and why we believe it we set them up for failure. Unable to defend their faith many choose to abandon it once they leave home. When all we do is entertain them we and teach them cute little Bible stories we send them out into a world filled with dangerous beliefs that many of them will find attractive.
If the schools are not going to teach Civics, perhaps the church needs to. We certainly need to do a better job of teaching our young people sound theology that includes both the what we believe and why we believe it.
I still remember taking Civics and my teacher in that class. Don't ask me why I remember that teacher because I don't remember most of them, but I can still see her standing in front of the class teaching us valuable information about how our nation is structured and why it is important. I do not believe that many, if any, schools teach Civics today. This means today's graduates do not understand why there are two separate houses of Congress, how bills are passed, the separation of powers, the importance of voting and many other things that we were taught in Civics.
Why is this dangerous? We have people today in Congress, many running in 2020 for the office of President, advocating eliminating the Electoral College. They claim that doing this will make every vote equal. No, there is a reason the Founding Fathers created the Electoral College. It ensured that the entire nation was equally represented in the Presidential election. Eliminate the Electoral College and the East Coast and West Coast states, along with Texas, will elect the President making the votes of the rest of the nation of no value.
The same people want to allow non-Americans the right to vote. Voting is a privilege for the citizens of this country. It is the means by which we select the persons who will represent our wishes. I know of no other nation on the face of the earth that allows non-citizens to vote in their elections. Any introductory Civics class would point out the fallacy of even considering doing such a thing.
Speaking of voting, many of these same individuals want to lower the voting age to 16. They insist these young people have the maturity to vote in national elections. However, one must be 18 to purchase a long gun in America and 21 to purchase a handgun from a licensed dealer. The legal drinking age is 21. Why these higher age limits? Because our nation has determined that persons younger than this lack the maturity to purchase weapons and alcohol. I wonder if our presidential hopefuls would be in favor of lowering the age to purchase guns and alcohol to 16 as well.
The same people also want to enlarge the Supreme Court, what some are calling "packing the court." There's no valid reason for doing so except they aren't happy with the recent justices who have been named to the court. They have no idea of the importance or the role of the Supreme Court. They just want to make sure there are enough justices to get what they want.
These are just four dangerous ideas being floated by some Presidential hopefuls. Again, a class in Civics 101 would show how dangerous they are. They all go against the desire of our Founding Fathers to limit the control the government has over the people. Some are unconstitutional, but they don't care about that.
What makes them even more dangerous is that many young people today do not know what makes them dangerous because they've been deprived of an education that teaches what it means to live in a Republic governed by a Constitution. They've had zero education in the founding of this nation and how it was set up and why it was set up the way it was.
BTW - The same thing is happening in our churches. When we fail to adequately teach our young people what Christians believe and why we believe it we set them up for failure. Unable to defend their faith many choose to abandon it once they leave home. When all we do is entertain them we and teach them cute little Bible stories we send them out into a world filled with dangerous beliefs that many of them will find attractive.
If the schools are not going to teach Civics, perhaps the church needs to. We certainly need to do a better job of teaching our young people sound theology that includes both the what we believe and why we believe it.
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Closing Christian bookstores
It appears LifeWay bookstores will all be closed by the end of 2019. They will join Family Christian and Cokesbury who have also closed their bookstores in the last six years. These brick-and-mortar stores were just not able to compete with Amazon, CBD and the various megachurch bookstores.
The closest LifeWay bookstore to me was about an hour's drive away. When we would go into that city I would often stop in and pick up a couple of books, but, like many people, most of what I bought came from Amazon. The prices were hard to beat, and the books would come straight to my front door. I didn't have to drive two hours in hopes of finding a book I wanted.
Still, I hate to hear about the stores closing. They brought employment to some really fine people. Plus, I like to look at a book before I spend my money on it. Online reviews do not always paint a very accurate picture of what is found inside a book. Several that I have bought online, thinking they were one thing, turned out to be something much different when I started reading them. A lot of these I've just tossed. So much for saving money!
It's odd because a week ago I was in that LifeWay store for the first time in months. I told my wife I had heard they were closing, and I wanted to go there one more time. They had completely rearranged the entire store so I had trouble finding anything I was interested in. I also noticed that much of the store was filled with "Jesus Junk." While that might appeal to some, I go to a bookstore to buy books, not stickers to put on my car's rear window. In fact, that stuff had taken over much of the store leaving much less space for books. I still found a couple I thought were good and likely made my last purchase in a LifeWay store.
Years ago we rejoiced at Wal-Mart coming into our town. Within a few months a number of local stores, many of which had been in business for decades, closed. Their empty buildings still sit along Main Street reminding us of a past that future generations will never know. Over the years Wal-Mart has changed, and not for the better, but it remains nearly the only place in town to buy what we want. Those small stores that served the community so well will never be back.
Now we are seeing the same thing happening with Amazon. Local brick-and-mortar stores, even those associated with larger companies, continue to close their doors. Their workers lose their jobs, but the communities lose even more. They lose the connection they once had with their local stores and those who ran them. Their children's sports teams lose their sponsors. The schools lose the financial support many of them provided. None of those connections are possible with a distant online store who might provide good prices and service but cares nothing about the community.
As a capitalist I understand how these things happen. As an older American who remembers what it was like to go into some of these old stores with wooden floors and mammoth cash registers sitting on wood display cases I'm saddened by what is happening.
Thank you LifeWay, Family Christian and Cokesbury for your years of faithful service to the Christian community.
The closest LifeWay bookstore to me was about an hour's drive away. When we would go into that city I would often stop in and pick up a couple of books, but, like many people, most of what I bought came from Amazon. The prices were hard to beat, and the books would come straight to my front door. I didn't have to drive two hours in hopes of finding a book I wanted.
Still, I hate to hear about the stores closing. They brought employment to some really fine people. Plus, I like to look at a book before I spend my money on it. Online reviews do not always paint a very accurate picture of what is found inside a book. Several that I have bought online, thinking they were one thing, turned out to be something much different when I started reading them. A lot of these I've just tossed. So much for saving money!
It's odd because a week ago I was in that LifeWay store for the first time in months. I told my wife I had heard they were closing, and I wanted to go there one more time. They had completely rearranged the entire store so I had trouble finding anything I was interested in. I also noticed that much of the store was filled with "Jesus Junk." While that might appeal to some, I go to a bookstore to buy books, not stickers to put on my car's rear window. In fact, that stuff had taken over much of the store leaving much less space for books. I still found a couple I thought were good and likely made my last purchase in a LifeWay store.
Years ago we rejoiced at Wal-Mart coming into our town. Within a few months a number of local stores, many of which had been in business for decades, closed. Their empty buildings still sit along Main Street reminding us of a past that future generations will never know. Over the years Wal-Mart has changed, and not for the better, but it remains nearly the only place in town to buy what we want. Those small stores that served the community so well will never be back.
Now we are seeing the same thing happening with Amazon. Local brick-and-mortar stores, even those associated with larger companies, continue to close their doors. Their workers lose their jobs, but the communities lose even more. They lose the connection they once had with their local stores and those who ran them. Their children's sports teams lose their sponsors. The schools lose the financial support many of them provided. None of those connections are possible with a distant online store who might provide good prices and service but cares nothing about the community.
As a capitalist I understand how these things happen. As an older American who remembers what it was like to go into some of these old stores with wooden floors and mammoth cash registers sitting on wood display cases I'm saddened by what is happening.
Thank you LifeWay, Family Christian and Cokesbury for your years of faithful service to the Christian community.
Monday, March 18, 2019
What is being done to promote bivocational ministry?
As much as one-third to one-half of the churches in many denominations are now being led by bivocational ministers. Virtually every denomination reports the number of bivocational ministers in their churches is increasing. The ones with whom I have spoken believe this trend will continue for the foreseeable future. All of this says that bivocational leadership is going to become even more important to many of our denominations in the near future. The question I have to ask is "What is your denomination doing to support this growing trend?" From my perspective, in most denominations the answer is not much.
Most of my readers know my story. I served as the bivocational pastor of one church for 20 years before moving into judicatory ministry. Even in that role I maintained outside employment as a business owner and author. I have published eight books, most of which focused on bivocational and small church ministry. I have led numerous conferences and workshops on the subject.
As I have met with hundreds of bivocational ministers in various denominations I have heard the same stories. Many of them feel abandoned by their denominations. They feel unappreciated and ignored. The vast majority of denominational and local events are held during the day when they are at work making their attendance impossible. There is little appreciation for the work they do. Denominational resources are developed for the larger churches, and they are expected to adapt it to meet their needs as if smaller churches were just miniature large churches. They feel like second class citizens. Since many of them do not have the right seminary degrees they sometimes find it difficult to be ordained. As a result of their feeling abandoned by their denomination they tend to be not very supportive of the denomination which shows up in their financial support, their failure to attend denominational events and their unwillingness to fill out denominational reports.
Frankly, some of these negative feelings towards our denominations are not valid. Sometimes our sense of isolation is our own doing and not the fault of our denomination or judicatory. During my stint as a pastor our Region had three Executive Ministers. All three came to preach in our small, rural church. When I was asked how I got them to come to our church I simply replied that I invited them.
However, in some cases, these are valid complaints, which takes me back to my original question: what is your denomination doing to support its bivocational ministers and churches? Is there any denomination that has an office or team specifically designed to strengthen bivocational ministry in its churches? I do not know of any. Some state conventions may have some person assigned to the task, but this responsibility is often passed around from one person to another with no permanent office or staff specifically created just to relate to its bivocational ministers.
How much time does your denomination spend planning regular training events specifically for its bivocational leadership and their churches? What is your denomination doing to identify those God is calling to this ministry? If they expect the numbers to increase I would think they would want to find ways to identify the persons who will fill those roles. What is your denomination doing to train and develop bivocational ministers? Many of these persons will never attend seminary, so it's up to the denominations to create some training for them.
Our bivocational ministers and their churches deserve to have their denominations become intentional about serving them, and if the denominations are not going to be intentional about meeting their needs, do not be surprised to find those churches ignoring you even more in the future.
If you are a bivocational minister, and you feel that you are not being well served by your denomination or judicatory, let them know. Send them this post and ask to meet with them as soon as possible to discuss what needs to be done.
Most of my readers know my story. I served as the bivocational pastor of one church for 20 years before moving into judicatory ministry. Even in that role I maintained outside employment as a business owner and author. I have published eight books, most of which focused on bivocational and small church ministry. I have led numerous conferences and workshops on the subject.
As I have met with hundreds of bivocational ministers in various denominations I have heard the same stories. Many of them feel abandoned by their denominations. They feel unappreciated and ignored. The vast majority of denominational and local events are held during the day when they are at work making their attendance impossible. There is little appreciation for the work they do. Denominational resources are developed for the larger churches, and they are expected to adapt it to meet their needs as if smaller churches were just miniature large churches. They feel like second class citizens. Since many of them do not have the right seminary degrees they sometimes find it difficult to be ordained. As a result of their feeling abandoned by their denomination they tend to be not very supportive of the denomination which shows up in their financial support, their failure to attend denominational events and their unwillingness to fill out denominational reports.
Frankly, some of these negative feelings towards our denominations are not valid. Sometimes our sense of isolation is our own doing and not the fault of our denomination or judicatory. During my stint as a pastor our Region had three Executive Ministers. All three came to preach in our small, rural church. When I was asked how I got them to come to our church I simply replied that I invited them.
However, in some cases, these are valid complaints, which takes me back to my original question: what is your denomination doing to support its bivocational ministers and churches? Is there any denomination that has an office or team specifically designed to strengthen bivocational ministry in its churches? I do not know of any. Some state conventions may have some person assigned to the task, but this responsibility is often passed around from one person to another with no permanent office or staff specifically created just to relate to its bivocational ministers.
How much time does your denomination spend planning regular training events specifically for its bivocational leadership and their churches? What is your denomination doing to identify those God is calling to this ministry? If they expect the numbers to increase I would think they would want to find ways to identify the persons who will fill those roles. What is your denomination doing to train and develop bivocational ministers? Many of these persons will never attend seminary, so it's up to the denominations to create some training for them.
Our bivocational ministers and their churches deserve to have their denominations become intentional about serving them, and if the denominations are not going to be intentional about meeting their needs, do not be surprised to find those churches ignoring you even more in the future.
If you are a bivocational minister, and you feel that you are not being well served by your denomination or judicatory, let them know. Send them this post and ask to meet with them as soon as possible to discuss what needs to be done.
Friday, March 15, 2019
The greatest generation and this generation
In 1998 Tom Brokaw wrote an amazing book titled The Greatest Generation that told the story of men and women who grew up during the depression, fought in the Second World War and returned home to build America. In the flyleaf we read, "This generation was united not only by a common purpose, but also by common values - duty, honor, economy, courage, service, love of family and country, and, above all, responsibility for oneself." My father was of that generation, and each of these describes him perfectly.
I can't help but wonder what will be written about the generation currently coming of age. When the Builder Generation was 18, 19, 20 years old they were charging the battlefields of such places as Normandy and Iwo Jima. Today, universities must offer persons in that age group "safe spaces" where they can run to in case they hear something that makes them uncomfortable. Whereas the Greatest Generation valued taking responsibility for themselves, many in today's generation depends on everyone else taking responsibility for them.
Everyone gets a participation trophy. Everyone gets a smiley face on their school work. Schools must be careful about issuing any punishments or risk being sued. Helicopter parents stand watch over their children to make sure no one says or does anything to hurt their feelings or damage their self-esteem. Such parents seem to forget that some of our greatest lessons are learned through failure.
Now we have the case of wealthy parents paying bribes to get their children accepted into some of the top universities in the nation. While other young people worked hard to earn the scores and honors that might qualify them for admission to those schools, the wealthy elite just bribed the necessary people to get their children admitted.
The problem with helicopter parents is that they raise snowflakes, and snowflakes melt in the heat. Trying to protect their children from ever making a mistake or being disappointed almost guarantees problems later in their lives. We are already seeing a generation that often seems unwilling to grow up and assume the responsibilities of being an adult. They become dependent on everyone else taking care of their problems and will struggle to make it in the real world.
As I listen to some of the young persons recently elected to Congress talk about the benefits of socialism I hear the whimpering cries of persons who have no sense of personal responsibility: free healthcare, free college tuition, free money for anyone who can't work or doesn't want to work. These young people either do not understand that socialism has never worked anywhere it's been tried, and no one still believes it can work except in university classrooms, or they have another agenda that promises great harm to our nation. However, their demands are a natural, logical extension of being raised with participation trophies and smiley faces.
Christian families are not immune to this problem. We can be just as over-protective of our children as any other family. We need to help our children understand that being a Christian does not protect us from the problems facing all persons, that we can make mistakes and even fail at some of the things we attempt, and that we have a responsibility to rise above those failures to become better persons. We must teach our children the values that helped shape the Greatest Generation if we want them to be responsible adults.
I can't help but wonder what will be written about the generation currently coming of age. When the Builder Generation was 18, 19, 20 years old they were charging the battlefields of such places as Normandy and Iwo Jima. Today, universities must offer persons in that age group "safe spaces" where they can run to in case they hear something that makes them uncomfortable. Whereas the Greatest Generation valued taking responsibility for themselves, many in today's generation depends on everyone else taking responsibility for them.
Everyone gets a participation trophy. Everyone gets a smiley face on their school work. Schools must be careful about issuing any punishments or risk being sued. Helicopter parents stand watch over their children to make sure no one says or does anything to hurt their feelings or damage their self-esteem. Such parents seem to forget that some of our greatest lessons are learned through failure.
Now we have the case of wealthy parents paying bribes to get their children accepted into some of the top universities in the nation. While other young people worked hard to earn the scores and honors that might qualify them for admission to those schools, the wealthy elite just bribed the necessary people to get their children admitted.
The problem with helicopter parents is that they raise snowflakes, and snowflakes melt in the heat. Trying to protect their children from ever making a mistake or being disappointed almost guarantees problems later in their lives. We are already seeing a generation that often seems unwilling to grow up and assume the responsibilities of being an adult. They become dependent on everyone else taking care of their problems and will struggle to make it in the real world.
As I listen to some of the young persons recently elected to Congress talk about the benefits of socialism I hear the whimpering cries of persons who have no sense of personal responsibility: free healthcare, free college tuition, free money for anyone who can't work or doesn't want to work. These young people either do not understand that socialism has never worked anywhere it's been tried, and no one still believes it can work except in university classrooms, or they have another agenda that promises great harm to our nation. However, their demands are a natural, logical extension of being raised with participation trophies and smiley faces.
Christian families are not immune to this problem. We can be just as over-protective of our children as any other family. We need to help our children understand that being a Christian does not protect us from the problems facing all persons, that we can make mistakes and even fail at some of the things we attempt, and that we have a responsibility to rise above those failures to become better persons. We must teach our children the values that helped shape the Greatest Generation if we want them to be responsible adults.
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Find ways to learn new things
In yesterday's post I commented on how we need to stretch ourselves intellectually if we want to grow. The emphasis was on stretching ourselves to deepen our understanding of biblical truth. I mentioned that I was about to start reading a book that I knew would be difficult reading but that I also knew would help me better understand and be able to defend my faith.
However, we must not stop with just stretching ourselves theologically, especially if we are Christian leaders with responsibility to teach others. We need to learn more about what is happening in people's lives, learn about the things that are important to them, and learn what they know. This is critical because we are not called just to exegete Scripture; we must also be able to exegete our culture if we are going to be able to speak to it.
Since getting my auctioneer's license I have had an incredible opportunity to see inside other people's lives. I am currently preparing for an auction in May that will feature a lifetime collection of railroad memorabilia that was collected by a gentleman before his death. As I go through the thousands of items he amassed I am learning new things and seeing things I've never seen before. I have many more hours of work ahead of me, and I'm sure I'll learn much more about the railroad industry before I'm finished.
Similar things have happened in other auctions. Last year I sold an estate belonging to a clock and watch repairman. I learned much about that business as I handled the thousands of items involved in that sale.
In other auctions it's not that I learn a lot about a business or a hobby as much as I learn about people. Often, when people call an auctioneer it is during a difficult time in their lives. Perhaps they have lost a loved one. Maybe they are at the stage in their lives when they need to downsize and move into assisted living. In some cases, they need to sell because they need the money. I've heard many stories as I've met with these people. Often times I've asked if I could pray for them, and I've never been refused the privilege of doing so.
We live in a big world. We will never influence that world for the Kingdom of God if we remain in our holy huddles. We need to be continuously learning as much about our world and the people who live in it as we can. As a bivocational pastor I spent my entire pastoral ministry with one foot in the church and one in the world. I believe it gave me great insights into the lives of the people I served, and it allowed me the opportunity to learn new things.
Stretch yourself. Get out of your comfort zone. Learn things seminary will never teach you, and I believe you'll find ministry to be much more productive and enjoyable.
However, we must not stop with just stretching ourselves theologically, especially if we are Christian leaders with responsibility to teach others. We need to learn more about what is happening in people's lives, learn about the things that are important to them, and learn what they know. This is critical because we are not called just to exegete Scripture; we must also be able to exegete our culture if we are going to be able to speak to it.
Since getting my auctioneer's license I have had an incredible opportunity to see inside other people's lives. I am currently preparing for an auction in May that will feature a lifetime collection of railroad memorabilia that was collected by a gentleman before his death. As I go through the thousands of items he amassed I am learning new things and seeing things I've never seen before. I have many more hours of work ahead of me, and I'm sure I'll learn much more about the railroad industry before I'm finished.
Similar things have happened in other auctions. Last year I sold an estate belonging to a clock and watch repairman. I learned much about that business as I handled the thousands of items involved in that sale.
In other auctions it's not that I learn a lot about a business or a hobby as much as I learn about people. Often, when people call an auctioneer it is during a difficult time in their lives. Perhaps they have lost a loved one. Maybe they are at the stage in their lives when they need to downsize and move into assisted living. In some cases, they need to sell because they need the money. I've heard many stories as I've met with these people. Often times I've asked if I could pray for them, and I've never been refused the privilege of doing so.
We live in a big world. We will never influence that world for the Kingdom of God if we remain in our holy huddles. We need to be continuously learning as much about our world and the people who live in it as we can. As a bivocational pastor I spent my entire pastoral ministry with one foot in the church and one in the world. I believe it gave me great insights into the lives of the people I served, and it allowed me the opportunity to learn new things.
Stretch yourself. Get out of your comfort zone. Learn things seminary will never teach you, and I believe you'll find ministry to be much more productive and enjoyable.
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Stretch yourself intellectually
There is an old story of a farmer who wanted to enter his mule in the Kentucky Derby. People assured him the mule could never win the race to which the farmer agreed. He said, "I just thought the association would do him a lot of good."
Proverbs 13: 20 reminds us that "He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm." I remind myself of that when I tackle a difficult book or listen to a lesson that is especially challenging.
I often download podcasts to listen to while I'm driving. One of my favorites comes from William Lane Craig. Craig holds two PhDs and is a research professor at Talbot. He is a Christian philosopher and apologist who has debated some of the best known atheists around the world. No less an authority that J. P. Moreland has said that Craig is among the top one percent of practicing philosophers in the Western world. I love to listen to his podcasts, but there is one problem. Some of what he says goes right over my head! To say he thinks on a different level than I do would be an understatement. Still...I think the association does me a lot of good.
Last year I read On Guard: Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision. The subtitle explains the premise of the book. It was written more for the lay reader and not for the academics for whom he normally writes. It was an excellent book containing a lot of information I used in various sermons.
Yesterday I broke down and finally purchased Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics, a much more academic book of his I had been wanting to read for some time. I was just concerned it would be so far over my head that it would be waste of time for me to even begin reading it. It may be, but we never advance if we are not willing to stretch ourselves intellectually.
Much has been said in recent years about the decline of the Christian mind. Years ago as a pastor I became concerned that the Sunday school material we were using had been so dumbed down that it was of little value. For 14 years I attended a different church almost every week due to my ministry responsibilities, and so many of the messages I heard contained very little substance. Much of the preaching one hears on TV is all fluff. Christians need to be challenged to think, we need to be stretched with biblical truth that will make us more bold in our faith and more confident in what we believe.
Many of our people do not have a Christian worldview because they've not been taught how to think as biblical Christians. They don't know what they believe or why they believe what they claim to believe. There was a time when the pastor was the local theologian, but this is not the case in many churches today. Pastors have been reduced to community activists, social workers, and counselors leaving little time to study the Scriptures in-depth.
Christian people need to hear theological truth from the pulpit to strengthen their faith. They need pastors who will dig deep in the Scriptures to mine out those truths and present them boldly and with authority. For that to happen, those of us in leadership positions must be willing to stretch ourselves intellectually.
I'm excited to continue that stretching in my own life with this new book, but I have a feeling it will be slow reading!
Proverbs 13: 20 reminds us that "He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm." I remind myself of that when I tackle a difficult book or listen to a lesson that is especially challenging.
I often download podcasts to listen to while I'm driving. One of my favorites comes from William Lane Craig. Craig holds two PhDs and is a research professor at Talbot. He is a Christian philosopher and apologist who has debated some of the best known atheists around the world. No less an authority that J. P. Moreland has said that Craig is among the top one percent of practicing philosophers in the Western world. I love to listen to his podcasts, but there is one problem. Some of what he says goes right over my head! To say he thinks on a different level than I do would be an understatement. Still...I think the association does me a lot of good.
Last year I read On Guard: Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision. The subtitle explains the premise of the book. It was written more for the lay reader and not for the academics for whom he normally writes. It was an excellent book containing a lot of information I used in various sermons.
Yesterday I broke down and finally purchased Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics, a much more academic book of his I had been wanting to read for some time. I was just concerned it would be so far over my head that it would be waste of time for me to even begin reading it. It may be, but we never advance if we are not willing to stretch ourselves intellectually.
Much has been said in recent years about the decline of the Christian mind. Years ago as a pastor I became concerned that the Sunday school material we were using had been so dumbed down that it was of little value. For 14 years I attended a different church almost every week due to my ministry responsibilities, and so many of the messages I heard contained very little substance. Much of the preaching one hears on TV is all fluff. Christians need to be challenged to think, we need to be stretched with biblical truth that will make us more bold in our faith and more confident in what we believe.
Many of our people do not have a Christian worldview because they've not been taught how to think as biblical Christians. They don't know what they believe or why they believe what they claim to believe. There was a time when the pastor was the local theologian, but this is not the case in many churches today. Pastors have been reduced to community activists, social workers, and counselors leaving little time to study the Scriptures in-depth.
Christian people need to hear theological truth from the pulpit to strengthen their faith. They need pastors who will dig deep in the Scriptures to mine out those truths and present them boldly and with authority. For that to happen, those of us in leadership positions must be willing to stretch ourselves intellectually.
I'm excited to continue that stretching in my own life with this new book, but I have a feeling it will be slow reading!
Monday, March 11, 2019
Relevance and the church
A large percentage of Americans believe that the presence of a church is a good thing for a community. Half says the church is a "very favorable" thing in a community while another 30 percent says it's "somewhat favorable." But, what do they mean about favorable?
In Good Faith: Being a Christian When Society Thinks You're Irrelevant and Extreme the authors report on a 2014 study commissioned by World Vision in Australia. A majority of people surveyed thought the church should be involved in issues such as protecting children and human rights. However only 25 percent of those responding thought being an active member of a church could help them with their spiritual lives or enhance their connection with the community. The authors concluded, "In other words, the value of a church is, for many, theoretical rather than personal. Church is good. For other people." The same attitude is prevalent among many Americans.
A critical challenge facing the church in America is demonstrating to people the relevance of the church and, even more importantly, the relevance of the Gospel. A large number of people believe we are answering questions no one is asking any longer. They view the church as out of touch with the culture as it exists today, and in many cases they are right.
One mistake some church leaders now make is they misunderstand what it means to be relevant. They think relevance is about having smoke machines and rock bands in their worship services and espresso machines in their lobbies. This is not what people want from the church. They want a church that is addressing real issues both in its teaching and in its actions.
The authors of the book studied churches in Scotland and found several factors that determined whether a church was growing or stagnant. One of those factors was that nine out of ten pastors of the growing churches said they taught from the Bible in a systematic or expository manner. Among the non-growing churches only a third of the pastors preached in that manner. When people are challenged with the Scriptures, they may not always agree with what is being taught, but it forces them to think through what they are hearing. When these biblically-based messages are addressing life as it is in the 21st century the church is well on its way to becoming relevant.
As important as sound teaching is, it is not enough. There must also be actions that correspond to the teaching. The church must show the world that it cares about people, even those with whom they may disagree. If a church takes a stand against abortion does it then offer alternatives? Does it have a ministry to support unwed mothers or families who would struggle supporting a child? Is it actively encouraging adoptions? What is the church doing to address the drug epidemic found in every community today? How does it embrace those whose lifestyles we may not agree with?
James taught us that "Faith without works is dead." There are many in our world today looking at the church's works. They want to see if our actions match our words. Until they do, those outside the church will not be interested in much of what we have to say.
In Good Faith: Being a Christian When Society Thinks You're Irrelevant and Extreme the authors report on a 2014 study commissioned by World Vision in Australia. A majority of people surveyed thought the church should be involved in issues such as protecting children and human rights. However only 25 percent of those responding thought being an active member of a church could help them with their spiritual lives or enhance their connection with the community. The authors concluded, "In other words, the value of a church is, for many, theoretical rather than personal. Church is good. For other people." The same attitude is prevalent among many Americans.
A critical challenge facing the church in America is demonstrating to people the relevance of the church and, even more importantly, the relevance of the Gospel. A large number of people believe we are answering questions no one is asking any longer. They view the church as out of touch with the culture as it exists today, and in many cases they are right.
One mistake some church leaders now make is they misunderstand what it means to be relevant. They think relevance is about having smoke machines and rock bands in their worship services and espresso machines in their lobbies. This is not what people want from the church. They want a church that is addressing real issues both in its teaching and in its actions.
The authors of the book studied churches in Scotland and found several factors that determined whether a church was growing or stagnant. One of those factors was that nine out of ten pastors of the growing churches said they taught from the Bible in a systematic or expository manner. Among the non-growing churches only a third of the pastors preached in that manner. When people are challenged with the Scriptures, they may not always agree with what is being taught, but it forces them to think through what they are hearing. When these biblically-based messages are addressing life as it is in the 21st century the church is well on its way to becoming relevant.
As important as sound teaching is, it is not enough. There must also be actions that correspond to the teaching. The church must show the world that it cares about people, even those with whom they may disagree. If a church takes a stand against abortion does it then offer alternatives? Does it have a ministry to support unwed mothers or families who would struggle supporting a child? Is it actively encouraging adoptions? What is the church doing to address the drug epidemic found in every community today? How does it embrace those whose lifestyles we may not agree with?
James taught us that "Faith without works is dead." There are many in our world today looking at the church's works. They want to see if our actions match our words. Until they do, those outside the church will not be interested in much of what we have to say.
Thursday, March 7, 2019
Bloom where you are planted
One of my ministry heroes was H. B. London, Jr. H. B. was a cousin of James Dobson, and after retiring from active pastoral ministry became the director of a division in Focus on the Family addressing needs of pastors. I had the privilege of sharing the stage with him in a leadership conference back in the early 2000s and having lunch with him during that conference. He wrote a number of excellent books in the 1990s which I still have in my library.
H. B. believed that pastors needed to sink roots down in the place where they were serving. Like me, I think he believed that too many pastors are too anxious to move to larger places of service the first opportunity they get to do so. As a result, their ministries and that of the churches they serve never experience the positive benefits that come from long-term pastoral leadership.
He understood the pressures of ministry and how difficult some churches can be, but he also understood that abandoning such places does nothing to improve them. One of the things he wrote in one book was that if you are serving in a good place it is because someone stayed there long enough to make it a good place. And, if you are serving in a difficult place perhaps God has placed you there to make it a good place, and that will take time.
This really resonates with me. I went to a small, rural church that had voted whether to close its doors or try one more pastor, a fact that was not told to me until after I had gone there. Things were not easy those first few years. Their average pastoral tenure prior to me was 12 months, and it had been that way for many years. I had been there about six months when I heard people were already wondering when I would leave them. I stayed 20 years and we saw many wonderful things happen during that time. We accomplished things many people said we could never do. When I left I reminded the congregation of many of the things we had accomplished and explained that my main contribution to any of that was that I hung around.
God can do amazing things even in difficult places, but it's hard to do much when the leader keeps disappearing. If you had a family in your church whose husband and father kept leaving every 2-3 years you would say that family was dysfunctional. It would also be a family carrying a lot of pain. I doubt that any of us realize the amount of pain some churches feel because of the frequency with which their pastors abandon them.
If you want to have a better church to serve, then remain where you are and make it better. Instead of asking God to move you somewhere else, bloom where you are planted. Maybe your difficulties are what God wants to use to change you, and if you keep running from those difficulties He will never be able to make the changes in your life He wants to make.
I encourage you to fall in love with the congregation God has given you. Pour yourself into those people and provide servant-leadership to them. A person who truly loves his or her spouse doesn't spend time looking over the shoulder to see if there is someone better. A pastor who loves his or her congregation isn't going to be checking out open churches to see if there might be a better one.
H. B. believed that pastors needed to sink roots down in the place where they were serving. Like me, I think he believed that too many pastors are too anxious to move to larger places of service the first opportunity they get to do so. As a result, their ministries and that of the churches they serve never experience the positive benefits that come from long-term pastoral leadership.
He understood the pressures of ministry and how difficult some churches can be, but he also understood that abandoning such places does nothing to improve them. One of the things he wrote in one book was that if you are serving in a good place it is because someone stayed there long enough to make it a good place. And, if you are serving in a difficult place perhaps God has placed you there to make it a good place, and that will take time.
This really resonates with me. I went to a small, rural church that had voted whether to close its doors or try one more pastor, a fact that was not told to me until after I had gone there. Things were not easy those first few years. Their average pastoral tenure prior to me was 12 months, and it had been that way for many years. I had been there about six months when I heard people were already wondering when I would leave them. I stayed 20 years and we saw many wonderful things happen during that time. We accomplished things many people said we could never do. When I left I reminded the congregation of many of the things we had accomplished and explained that my main contribution to any of that was that I hung around.
God can do amazing things even in difficult places, but it's hard to do much when the leader keeps disappearing. If you had a family in your church whose husband and father kept leaving every 2-3 years you would say that family was dysfunctional. It would also be a family carrying a lot of pain. I doubt that any of us realize the amount of pain some churches feel because of the frequency with which their pastors abandon them.
If you want to have a better church to serve, then remain where you are and make it better. Instead of asking God to move you somewhere else, bloom where you are planted. Maybe your difficulties are what God wants to use to change you, and if you keep running from those difficulties He will never be able to make the changes in your life He wants to make.
I encourage you to fall in love with the congregation God has given you. Pour yourself into those people and provide servant-leadership to them. A person who truly loves his or her spouse doesn't spend time looking over the shoulder to see if there is someone better. A pastor who loves his or her congregation isn't going to be checking out open churches to see if there might be a better one.
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
The importance of Vacation Bible School
As a young boy our church had a two week Vacation Bible School each summer. Try to get your church volunteers to sign up for that!
Many churches are now gearing up for their VBS programs this year. Many will be a week long. Some might only be three days, and I understand some have their VBS one day a week for a month. How a church does it isn't important. What's important is that it is offered in some format.
For some children, VBS is the one contact they have with church. Their parents may not attend church and may not even have much interest in spiritual things. However, most are willing for their child to go to VBS if no other reason to get them out of the house for a few hours. For those children in such environments it is important to give them some contact with Christian people, and more importantly with Jesus Christ.
Nearly 40 years ago our family did not attend church very often. I was working in a factory and often worked 6-7 days a week. I was also doing a little farming on the side so my days and evenings were pretty busy. A neighbor lady asked if she could take our daughter to their church's VBS. Our daughter had already attended three VBSs that summer and enjoyed them all so we quickly agreed. We certainly did not have anything against church, and in fact each of us had been raised in churches as children.
When we sat down to supper on the Friday at the end of the VBS my wife said our daughter had something to tell me. That little eight-year-old proceeded to tell me she had accepted Christ into her life at the end of the closing service. The pastor had told her if she was sincere she should come to church on Sunday and make a public profession before the entire congregation. She intended to do so.
My wife knew I was scheduled to work overtime that Sunday and asked what I was going to do. I responded that if our daughter was willing to do what the pastor asked I would be there to support her. When the invitation was given that Sunday morning our daughter never hesitated but immediately went forward to make her decision public.
A few days later the pastor came to our home to ask what we thought of her decision. We all agreed she was mature enough to understand what she had done so he agreed to baptize her. He then asked me what Christ meant to me in my life. I had nothing to say because I knew He meant very little to me at that time.
To make a long story short, a few months later I invited Christ into my life, and within a few more months my wife did the same. Two years later I was licensed to the ministry and have been serving in ministry ever since. It all began when a neighbor invited our daughter to VBS.
Some question the value of VBS in today's culture, but I will never be convinced it's not important. However you conduct your VBS, be sure to have one this year. Invite every child you can find to attend and be sure to give an invitation. It might just change an entire family.
Many churches are now gearing up for their VBS programs this year. Many will be a week long. Some might only be three days, and I understand some have their VBS one day a week for a month. How a church does it isn't important. What's important is that it is offered in some format.
For some children, VBS is the one contact they have with church. Their parents may not attend church and may not even have much interest in spiritual things. However, most are willing for their child to go to VBS if no other reason to get them out of the house for a few hours. For those children in such environments it is important to give them some contact with Christian people, and more importantly with Jesus Christ.
Nearly 40 years ago our family did not attend church very often. I was working in a factory and often worked 6-7 days a week. I was also doing a little farming on the side so my days and evenings were pretty busy. A neighbor lady asked if she could take our daughter to their church's VBS. Our daughter had already attended three VBSs that summer and enjoyed them all so we quickly agreed. We certainly did not have anything against church, and in fact each of us had been raised in churches as children.
When we sat down to supper on the Friday at the end of the VBS my wife said our daughter had something to tell me. That little eight-year-old proceeded to tell me she had accepted Christ into her life at the end of the closing service. The pastor had told her if she was sincere she should come to church on Sunday and make a public profession before the entire congregation. She intended to do so.
My wife knew I was scheduled to work overtime that Sunday and asked what I was going to do. I responded that if our daughter was willing to do what the pastor asked I would be there to support her. When the invitation was given that Sunday morning our daughter never hesitated but immediately went forward to make her decision public.
A few days later the pastor came to our home to ask what we thought of her decision. We all agreed she was mature enough to understand what she had done so he agreed to baptize her. He then asked me what Christ meant to me in my life. I had nothing to say because I knew He meant very little to me at that time.
To make a long story short, a few months later I invited Christ into my life, and within a few more months my wife did the same. Two years later I was licensed to the ministry and have been serving in ministry ever since. It all began when a neighbor invited our daughter to VBS.
Some question the value of VBS in today's culture, but I will never be convinced it's not important. However you conduct your VBS, be sure to have one this year. Invite every child you can find to attend and be sure to give an invitation. It might just change an entire family.
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
The church of the future
I recently read an interesting article on how the church is moving towards significant change. The author used the recent United Methodist Church vote on LGBTQ issues as a backdrop to his thoughts. Last week the UMC voted 461-384 to adopt the proposed "Traditional Plan" going forward. This plan would forbid ordaining homosexual persons to the ministry and also ban same-sex marriages by UMC clergy. Ministers and churches that violate these bans could be removed from the denomination.
A number of churches are already discussing whether or not they will remain in the UMC over this issue. A lot of people are angry and hurt by the decision. Although a number of older UMC clergy and members supported a more tolerant policy, many of the ones advocating for different policies were younger. A Pew Research Center study found that 54 percent of American Christians say homosexuality should be accepted. Much of this is driven by younger Christians' acceptance of homosexuality, although this study also found the number of Boomer Christians who approved of homosexuality was also increasing. When one considers the size of the UMC and realizes that this measure passed by only 54 votes it's not too difficult to see that in another ten years this vote may be overturned.
The author asked a lot of good questions about what even having this discussion says about the future of the church. Will traditional perspectives on church and religion be replaced by new ways of thinking?
A number of people have been speaking about how the church seems to go through a major shift about every 500 years. About 500 years ago the church experienced the Great Reformation which brought about significant changes in the church. Roughly 500 years before that the church divided between the East and West, and roughly 500 years before that the church came out of the Dark Ages. Are we about to see another seismic shift in the church? If so, what will the church look like when this occurs? Although it is impossible for anyone to know specifically the author, and many others, speculates on what some of those changes might look like.
Some of those changes may be very appealing and may bring new life into the church. However, one possible change concerns me a great deal. We may well see the church move away from biblical truth in order to place a greater emphasis on relationships. Justice issues will become more important than truth and biblical teaching. Our current culture is saturated with people wanting to make everyone feel good about themselves. No one is allowed to judge another person's choices. Even asking about someone's choices is seen by some as bullying and threatening. This mindset seems to be rapidly creeping into the church, and if it's allowed to exist it will destroy any chance the church has of being salt and light to this world.
Please do not misunderstand me. I am not opposed to the church working for justice issues. I just don't understand why some people think it has to be either/or. A church can stand for biblical doctrine and still be engaged in justice issues. A church can be evangelistic in the traditional sense and still meet the social and justice needs of its community.
I've written much about truth in this blog lately because I'm concerned that too many churches and their leaders are willing to sacrifice biblical truth on the altar of political correctness. Once we deny the truths found in Scripture we have nothing to offer our society. If that is the change that is coming to the church it will become just another social club in the community. Ichabod will be written across its doors because the glory of God will have departed.
A number of churches are already discussing whether or not they will remain in the UMC over this issue. A lot of people are angry and hurt by the decision. Although a number of older UMC clergy and members supported a more tolerant policy, many of the ones advocating for different policies were younger. A Pew Research Center study found that 54 percent of American Christians say homosexuality should be accepted. Much of this is driven by younger Christians' acceptance of homosexuality, although this study also found the number of Boomer Christians who approved of homosexuality was also increasing. When one considers the size of the UMC and realizes that this measure passed by only 54 votes it's not too difficult to see that in another ten years this vote may be overturned.
The author asked a lot of good questions about what even having this discussion says about the future of the church. Will traditional perspectives on church and religion be replaced by new ways of thinking?
A number of people have been speaking about how the church seems to go through a major shift about every 500 years. About 500 years ago the church experienced the Great Reformation which brought about significant changes in the church. Roughly 500 years before that the church divided between the East and West, and roughly 500 years before that the church came out of the Dark Ages. Are we about to see another seismic shift in the church? If so, what will the church look like when this occurs? Although it is impossible for anyone to know specifically the author, and many others, speculates on what some of those changes might look like.
Some of those changes may be very appealing and may bring new life into the church. However, one possible change concerns me a great deal. We may well see the church move away from biblical truth in order to place a greater emphasis on relationships. Justice issues will become more important than truth and biblical teaching. Our current culture is saturated with people wanting to make everyone feel good about themselves. No one is allowed to judge another person's choices. Even asking about someone's choices is seen by some as bullying and threatening. This mindset seems to be rapidly creeping into the church, and if it's allowed to exist it will destroy any chance the church has of being salt and light to this world.
Please do not misunderstand me. I am not opposed to the church working for justice issues. I just don't understand why some people think it has to be either/or. A church can stand for biblical doctrine and still be engaged in justice issues. A church can be evangelistic in the traditional sense and still meet the social and justice needs of its community.
I've written much about truth in this blog lately because I'm concerned that too many churches and their leaders are willing to sacrifice biblical truth on the altar of political correctness. Once we deny the truths found in Scripture we have nothing to offer our society. If that is the change that is coming to the church it will become just another social club in the community. Ichabod will be written across its doors because the glory of God will have departed.
Monday, March 4, 2019
The importance of church leadership
Throughout my three-and-a-half decades of ministry I have noticed that leadership is lacking in many churches. Pastors are often content to manage their churches, not lead them. Those who do attempt to provide some leadership often lead by consensus. It's like the politician who has to check with the latest polls before taking a stand on an issue.
A politician was once asked his opinion on a certain issue. He responded that some of his friends were for it and some were opposed to it. He was asked again his opinion, and he replied that he agreed with his friends. Sounds like what happens in many of our churches.
Many, many times I've written in this blog that everything rises and falls on leadership. No organization, including churches, can rise higher than its leadership. When the pastor is a leader he or she will attract other leaders. Leaders are drawn to other leaders.
Go to some larger church's websites and look at the pictures of the staff serving that church. Don't limit yourself to just the well-known churches led by celebrity pastors. Pick an state and a denomination and begin to click on the websites listed there. I did this earlier in the week and was amazed at how often the larger churches had a staff that appeared to be sharp and on top of their ministries. I realize you can't tell much from looking at pictures, and some of these people may have been dumber than a bowl of soup, but as I read their bios I doubt that was the case. My first thought was the senior pastor must be a good leader or there would not be so many other leaders willing to serve those churches. It didn't surprise me that these were some of the largest churches in their communities.
Pastoral ministry is challenging, and when the pastor seeks to lead the church rather than merely manage the machinery, it can become even tougher. Many pastors have the scars to prove how challenging leading can be, but they can also point to great successes that occurred because they dared to lead. Jesus never promised that following Him would be easy. In fact, He consistently taught just the opposite. For those of us in leadership, it can be even more challenging, but lead we must.
Are you leading your church into the future God desires for it, or are you willing to manage it until you can move on to another church? Our churches are crying out for leadership even if they don't know it. Give them the leadership they need.
A politician was once asked his opinion on a certain issue. He responded that some of his friends were for it and some were opposed to it. He was asked again his opinion, and he replied that he agreed with his friends. Sounds like what happens in many of our churches.
Many, many times I've written in this blog that everything rises and falls on leadership. No organization, including churches, can rise higher than its leadership. When the pastor is a leader he or she will attract other leaders. Leaders are drawn to other leaders.
Go to some larger church's websites and look at the pictures of the staff serving that church. Don't limit yourself to just the well-known churches led by celebrity pastors. Pick an state and a denomination and begin to click on the websites listed there. I did this earlier in the week and was amazed at how often the larger churches had a staff that appeared to be sharp and on top of their ministries. I realize you can't tell much from looking at pictures, and some of these people may have been dumber than a bowl of soup, but as I read their bios I doubt that was the case. My first thought was the senior pastor must be a good leader or there would not be so many other leaders willing to serve those churches. It didn't surprise me that these were some of the largest churches in their communities.
Pastoral ministry is challenging, and when the pastor seeks to lead the church rather than merely manage the machinery, it can become even tougher. Many pastors have the scars to prove how challenging leading can be, but they can also point to great successes that occurred because they dared to lead. Jesus never promised that following Him would be easy. In fact, He consistently taught just the opposite. For those of us in leadership, it can be even more challenging, but lead we must.
Are you leading your church into the future God desires for it, or are you willing to manage it until you can move on to another church? Our churches are crying out for leadership even if they don't know it. Give them the leadership they need.
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