A few days ago I read a story about Pathway Church in Wichita, KS that paid off medical bills totaling $2.2 million for persons living throughout Kansas. They were able to do this for approximately $20,000 through an organization that purchases medical debt for pennies on the dollar that is owed by people who cannot afford to pay the debt themselves. By buying their debt so cheaply it makes it possible for these individuals and families to be able to pay it. However, this time the church stepped up and paid it for them.
Pathway Church is a megachurch of about 4,000 members. Chances are your church isn't that big. That doesn't mean you can't do something similar to what they did. It just means you might have to do it on a smaller scale, but the end result will be the same. You will have touched people's lives in a way that will make an impact.
As the pastor reported, this action perfectly illustrated the message of Easter. A debt that had been hanging over the heads of these folks had been forgiven giving them the opportunity to have a second chance at life.
Churches spend a lot of time talking about the love of God; this church demonstrated it in a very real way. Only about 500 of the people whose debts were paid lived in the Wichita area. Obviously, the church didn't do this for any benefit they might enjoy. It was simply an act of selfless love, the same kind of love that sent Jesus Christ to the cross. Some, perhaps the majority, of those whose debt was paid may not have attended a church Easter Sunday to hear the Easter story, but they have now had a chance to live it. Someone paid a price they could not pay to make possible the forgiveness they needed.
What needs exist in your community that your church could address? If your church is part of an association of churches perhaps you could go together to meet a larger need. A few years ago I joined several men from an association of churches to winterize some houses in Appalachia. Each of these churches were small and served by bivocational pastors. Separately, each church could not have done a lot, but together we made a difference for a couple of families during our one-day trip. The next year or two they returned to that area to do more work and provide a weekend VBS for the children in the community.
Serving others is what the church is called to do. I encourage you to begin prayerfully looking at what needs your church, or a group of churches, could meet in your community, and then reach out in a way that will touch people's lives.
Monday, April 29, 2019
Friday, April 26, 2019
Pastor, it's OK to rest
I once knew a pastor who played golf 5-6 days a week and could not understand why his church was complaining about his inability to get anything done. After talking with some in the congregation I was convinced that they wanted him to succeed, but the feeling of many was that if his wife didn't push him to do something he would never leave the golf course. I finally told him he needed to decide if he wanted to be a pastor or earn his PGA card.
This individual is the rare exception to a problem too common among ministers. Some of us just do not take good care of ourselves. We are much better at pastoral care than we are at self-care. We don't take the vacations the church gives us, and we often don't take the days off.
Some of this might be due to our trying to meet the unrealistic expectations of our churches, a topic I addressed in a post last week. But, I'm convinced a lot of it is due to our own unrealistic expectations for ourselves. Some of us are still trying to prove that we are capable and competent people. Perhaps we are trying to prove this to parents who demanded too much of us when we were growing up. Maybe we're trying to make amends with God through our works, or, perhaps, we are trying to overcome our own insecurities by being workaholics. Regardless of the reasons, unless we decide to take care of ourselves our ministries are likely to be short-lived.
Those who know my story know how I experienced clinical depression in my own life due to poor self-care. I know first-hand the dangers associated with not taking care of myself.
I want to speak directly to the pastor who feels worn out, discouraged, and perhaps depressed. How long has it been since you took some vacation and really relaxed? I found it often took me the first week just to unwind, so we began taking 10-14 days at a time when we went on vacation. How long has it been since you actually took a day off you enjoyed? What are your hobbies, and how long has it been since you actually got to enjoy one of them? Can you let the phone ring on a day off without answering it, or are you fearful it might be an emergency? Can you let the phone ring while you're having dinner with your family without answering it?
Friends, it's OK for a pastor to rest. It's OK to spend a day on the golf course, or the fishing lake, or at the beach or whatever you and your family finds enjoyable. It's Ok to take every day of vacation the church allows, and if it's less than four weeks a year it's OK to ask for more. It's Ok to let the voicemail answer your phone calls. If it actually is important you can call back. It's Ok to attend your children's events without feeling guilty. It's Ok to act and live like a human being because that is what you are. If you want to enjoy a long-term, healthy ministry you need to get away, rest, and enjoy life on a regular basis.
When I appeared before my ordination board I made a comment about my attending my daughter's basketball games. An older pastor asked, "When you are attending those games do you ever think about the ministry you should be doing?" For reasons I won't go into here I was amazed he asked that question, but I responded, "No, when I attend my daughter's basketball games I am wondering where they found these referees who know nothing about basketball!" Most of the people laughed. He was not amused, but I was ordained anyway!
It's Ok to enjoy life even if you are a minister. In fact, you will be a much better minister if you do enjoy this wonderful life God has given and take some time to rest and refresh yourself.
This individual is the rare exception to a problem too common among ministers. Some of us just do not take good care of ourselves. We are much better at pastoral care than we are at self-care. We don't take the vacations the church gives us, and we often don't take the days off.
Some of this might be due to our trying to meet the unrealistic expectations of our churches, a topic I addressed in a post last week. But, I'm convinced a lot of it is due to our own unrealistic expectations for ourselves. Some of us are still trying to prove that we are capable and competent people. Perhaps we are trying to prove this to parents who demanded too much of us when we were growing up. Maybe we're trying to make amends with God through our works, or, perhaps, we are trying to overcome our own insecurities by being workaholics. Regardless of the reasons, unless we decide to take care of ourselves our ministries are likely to be short-lived.
Those who know my story know how I experienced clinical depression in my own life due to poor self-care. I know first-hand the dangers associated with not taking care of myself.
I want to speak directly to the pastor who feels worn out, discouraged, and perhaps depressed. How long has it been since you took some vacation and really relaxed? I found it often took me the first week just to unwind, so we began taking 10-14 days at a time when we went on vacation. How long has it been since you actually took a day off you enjoyed? What are your hobbies, and how long has it been since you actually got to enjoy one of them? Can you let the phone ring on a day off without answering it, or are you fearful it might be an emergency? Can you let the phone ring while you're having dinner with your family without answering it?
Friends, it's OK for a pastor to rest. It's OK to spend a day on the golf course, or the fishing lake, or at the beach or whatever you and your family finds enjoyable. It's Ok to take every day of vacation the church allows, and if it's less than four weeks a year it's OK to ask for more. It's Ok to let the voicemail answer your phone calls. If it actually is important you can call back. It's Ok to attend your children's events without feeling guilty. It's Ok to act and live like a human being because that is what you are. If you want to enjoy a long-term, healthy ministry you need to get away, rest, and enjoy life on a regular basis.
When I appeared before my ordination board I made a comment about my attending my daughter's basketball games. An older pastor asked, "When you are attending those games do you ever think about the ministry you should be doing?" For reasons I won't go into here I was amazed he asked that question, but I responded, "No, when I attend my daughter's basketball games I am wondering where they found these referees who know nothing about basketball!" Most of the people laughed. He was not amused, but I was ordained anyway!
It's Ok to enjoy life even if you are a minister. In fact, you will be a much better minister if you do enjoy this wonderful life God has given and take some time to rest and refresh yourself.
Thursday, April 25, 2019
Free education
I frequently write about the need for bivocational ministers, and all Christians, to develop their minds through reading, attending continuing education (CE) opportunities, listening to podcasts in the car rather than the mindless drivel many listen to while driving, and other ways by which we can improve our knowledge. We must do this is we are to develop a sound Christian worldview and be able to defend our faith and values in a world that has largely rejected both.
Education is not inexpensive. Attending college and seminary can lead to huge student loans if one is not careful. Many CE opportunities are fairly inexpensive, but for the bivocational minister many of them will require missing work to attend those held during the day. Podcasts, for the most part, cost nothing to download, and over the years I've found that books can be expensive or rather inexpensive depending on where you buy them and if they are used or new.
However, there is one free way to get some great education, and that is through the Internet. YouTube offers a huge collection of educational courses that are free for the taking. Last week I started a six session course on YouTube on logical reasoning taught by an instructor at the University of Oxford. Obviously, this is not a full course that covers everything that would be taught if I were a student at Oxford, but I am also not paying the $12,000 Oxford would charge for the course if I were a student there. And, I can watch a session any time I want, stop it if I need to and come back to it later.
Every day we are bombarded with arguments on everything from politics to religion to business and every other area of our lives. People put their own private spin to convince us their argument is right. How can we best determine if their arguments are valid or invalid? Perhaps even more important, how can we determine whether their arguments fit into our Christian worldview, especially if we don't have a particularly Christian worldview or can't defend it?
As Christian leaders we have a responsibility to not only have a personal Christian worldview, we have an obligation to help others develop one as well. The sad fact is that many Christians have allowed themselves to be more influenced by our culture than by biblical teaching. Many sitting in our churches cannot explain their Christian worldview, cannot defend it to others, and many couldn't even explain what a Christian worldview is.
Jesus told the Scribe that the greatest commandment was "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind...and the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" Not only are our hearts and souls to be dedicated to God but also our minds. To me, that says that it is imperative that we continue to grow intellectually. And part of loving our neighbor well is being able to give him or her a reasonable defense of our faith.
There are so many ways to grow in our understanding of our faith and our culture. As Christian leaders we need to take advantage of as many of them as possible.
Education is not inexpensive. Attending college and seminary can lead to huge student loans if one is not careful. Many CE opportunities are fairly inexpensive, but for the bivocational minister many of them will require missing work to attend those held during the day. Podcasts, for the most part, cost nothing to download, and over the years I've found that books can be expensive or rather inexpensive depending on where you buy them and if they are used or new.
However, there is one free way to get some great education, and that is through the Internet. YouTube offers a huge collection of educational courses that are free for the taking. Last week I started a six session course on YouTube on logical reasoning taught by an instructor at the University of Oxford. Obviously, this is not a full course that covers everything that would be taught if I were a student at Oxford, but I am also not paying the $12,000 Oxford would charge for the course if I were a student there. And, I can watch a session any time I want, stop it if I need to and come back to it later.
Every day we are bombarded with arguments on everything from politics to religion to business and every other area of our lives. People put their own private spin to convince us their argument is right. How can we best determine if their arguments are valid or invalid? Perhaps even more important, how can we determine whether their arguments fit into our Christian worldview, especially if we don't have a particularly Christian worldview or can't defend it?
As Christian leaders we have a responsibility to not only have a personal Christian worldview, we have an obligation to help others develop one as well. The sad fact is that many Christians have allowed themselves to be more influenced by our culture than by biblical teaching. Many sitting in our churches cannot explain their Christian worldview, cannot defend it to others, and many couldn't even explain what a Christian worldview is.
Jesus told the Scribe that the greatest commandment was "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind...and the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" Not only are our hearts and souls to be dedicated to God but also our minds. To me, that says that it is imperative that we continue to grow intellectually. And part of loving our neighbor well is being able to give him or her a reasonable defense of our faith.
There are so many ways to grow in our understanding of our faith and our culture. As Christian leaders we need to take advantage of as many of them as possible.
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Live your best life
A few days ago I bought a flat at an auction filled with CDs. As I write this post I am listening to one by Hank Williams. For those of you not familiar with country music, Hank Williams is one of the top artists in that genre. Born in 1923 he only lived 29 years yet in that short life time he recorded 35 singles that reached the top ten of Billboard Country and Western Best Sellers chart.
Unfortunately, his personal life was filled with problems. Years of alcoholism, prescription drug abuse and back pain haunted him for much of his professional life and no doubt contributed to his early death. Still, his music lives on and continues to be listened to everyone who loves true country music. One can only wonder what he might have been accomplished if his personal life had been different.
That question might be one we should all reflect on. Each of us have been blessed by God with life and various gifts and abilities. Unfortunately, many of us wander through life settling for lesser things rather than living our best possible lives. We fail to use the gifts God has given us, and we miss the opportunities we have to make a difference in the world around us. We pursue the trivial things life has to offer rather than lifting our sights to those opportunities God places before us.
There are times, when at the end of the day, I look back and wonder why I didn't use it more wisely. Like many things in life, our enemy is not the bad things that consume our time; it is that we settle for the good things rather than the best. We are to be wise stewards of this life God has given us, and as wise stewards we should seek to live our best lives every day.
Unfortunately, his personal life was filled with problems. Years of alcoholism, prescription drug abuse and back pain haunted him for much of his professional life and no doubt contributed to his early death. Still, his music lives on and continues to be listened to everyone who loves true country music. One can only wonder what he might have been accomplished if his personal life had been different.
That question might be one we should all reflect on. Each of us have been blessed by God with life and various gifts and abilities. Unfortunately, many of us wander through life settling for lesser things rather than living our best possible lives. We fail to use the gifts God has given us, and we miss the opportunities we have to make a difference in the world around us. We pursue the trivial things life has to offer rather than lifting our sights to those opportunities God places before us.
There are times, when at the end of the day, I look back and wonder why I didn't use it more wisely. Like many things in life, our enemy is not the bad things that consume our time; it is that we settle for the good things rather than the best. We are to be wise stewards of this life God has given us, and as wise stewards we should seek to live our best lives every day.
Friday, April 19, 2019
Life without God is boring
Our postmodern world is focused primarily on materialism and scientism. It believes that science tells us all we need to know about life, and anything science cannot prove is unprovable. Likewise, life consists of obtaining those things or experiences that will make us happy or bring fulfillment. The problem with both those approaches to life is that they lead to dead-ends and ultimate boredom.
There are many things science cannot prove and was never intended to prove. Just because science is not equipped to prove certain things does not mean they do not exist. Many things transcend the limits of scientific discovery such as the existence of God and the souls of mankind. Some will insist that since science has not found such things they must not exist, and yet many leading scientists believe they do.
Solomon points out the limits of materialism. Considered the wealthiest person who ever lived he wrote that anything he desired he experienced whether it be pleasure, possessions or power. Yet, at the end of his life he insisted that it was all meaningless. He found it all unsatisfying and boring just as multitudes find it today.
Trying to escape the boredom postmodern mankind focuses on anything that can provide even a temporary escape: sports, movies, video games, drugs, alcohol, sex and constant checking of cell phones and social media. Families sit around dining tables each focused on their phones fearful they will miss a post. Attend a sporting event and you find the same thing. Many are more focused on their phones than on the game being played out before them.
In The Republic Plato rightly describes persons who live in a world without God when he describes those who "never taste any stable or pure pleasure. Instead, they always look down at the ground like cattle, and, with their heads bent over the dinner table, they feed, fatten, and fornicate." The atheist Bertrand Russell admitted that if God does not exist then all we can do is build our lives on "the firm foundation of unyielding despair." (I must give credit to Paul Gould and his book Cultural Apologetics: Renewing the Christian Voice, Conscience, and Imagination in a Disenchanted World where I found both quotes.)
In a sermon I sometimes preach I point out that each of us are created to have a relationship with God. I call it the missing piece of the puzzle, and we are not complete without that piece in its proper place. Many of us try to put something else in that location, but just like a puzzle, those other things will never fit properly. Anything we try to use will always disappoint and never fulfill us. Like Solomon, we find such things become meaningless and boring.
Our role as believers is to share that God is real and the most fulfilling and joyful life any of us can imagine is one in which He is active in our lives as Lord and Savior. We must take seriously this role because we are rapidly losing this generation to a life that is ultimately devoid of true meaning.
There are many things science cannot prove and was never intended to prove. Just because science is not equipped to prove certain things does not mean they do not exist. Many things transcend the limits of scientific discovery such as the existence of God and the souls of mankind. Some will insist that since science has not found such things they must not exist, and yet many leading scientists believe they do.
Solomon points out the limits of materialism. Considered the wealthiest person who ever lived he wrote that anything he desired he experienced whether it be pleasure, possessions or power. Yet, at the end of his life he insisted that it was all meaningless. He found it all unsatisfying and boring just as multitudes find it today.
Trying to escape the boredom postmodern mankind focuses on anything that can provide even a temporary escape: sports, movies, video games, drugs, alcohol, sex and constant checking of cell phones and social media. Families sit around dining tables each focused on their phones fearful they will miss a post. Attend a sporting event and you find the same thing. Many are more focused on their phones than on the game being played out before them.
In The Republic Plato rightly describes persons who live in a world without God when he describes those who "never taste any stable or pure pleasure. Instead, they always look down at the ground like cattle, and, with their heads bent over the dinner table, they feed, fatten, and fornicate." The atheist Bertrand Russell admitted that if God does not exist then all we can do is build our lives on "the firm foundation of unyielding despair." (I must give credit to Paul Gould and his book Cultural Apologetics: Renewing the Christian Voice, Conscience, and Imagination in a Disenchanted World where I found both quotes.)
In a sermon I sometimes preach I point out that each of us are created to have a relationship with God. I call it the missing piece of the puzzle, and we are not complete without that piece in its proper place. Many of us try to put something else in that location, but just like a puzzle, those other things will never fit properly. Anything we try to use will always disappoint and never fulfill us. Like Solomon, we find such things become meaningless and boring.
Our role as believers is to share that God is real and the most fulfilling and joyful life any of us can imagine is one in which He is active in our lives as Lord and Savior. We must take seriously this role because we are rapidly losing this generation to a life that is ultimately devoid of true meaning.
Thursday, April 18, 2019
Bivocational ministers must practice good self-care
For those of you not familiar with my story, I began as a bivocational pastor in 1981. When I began I had no pastoral experience and no education beyond high school. After about 18 months in the church I decided I wanted some training. About an hour from my house was a Bible college with a good reputation. The only problem was that they only offered classes in the morning, and I worked day shift in a factory an hour from my house in the opposite direction of the school.
After much prayer and talking with my wife, I transferred to third shift at my job and enrolled at the school. I would leave home at 10:00 pm, work all night and then drive 100 miles to my classes. Around noon classes would end and I would make the 50 mile drive back to my home, go to bed and start the cycle again that night. This was a two-year program, but it took me four years to complete as I could not take more than 2-3 classes a semester.
A few months after graduation I began to have problems and was diagnosed as clinically depressed. Trying to work a full-time job, pastor a church and attend classes for that length of time had depleted the neurotransmitters in my brain. It took a year of medication and counseling before I recovered. Like many pastors, I had not taken care of myself.
Yesterday's post on managing the expectations a congregation has for their bivocational pastor generated more comments than any post I've written. Today I want to address the need for us to manage our own expectations of what we can do. I paid a high price because I did not, and I don't want you to make the mistake I made.
One of my favorite sayings over the past few years is "Self-care is not selfishness; it is stewardship of a very valuable gift God has given you." Ministers are often guilty of taking better care of others than they do themselves.
As a bivocational pastor you must accept that you cannot do it all. You have obligations to your family and to your other employment as well as to the church, to God, and to your own self-care. A life well-lived is a life that is lived with proper attention given to all five of those areas of your life.
This means that you cannot possibly go to the hospital every time someone is admitted. You cannot head up every committee in your church or even attend every meeting, especially if your church is over-structured like so many smaller churches are. You cannot preach 3-4 times a week, at least not if you are serious about message preparation. You cannot be in the pulpit 52 Sundays a year. The list goes on with things you cannot do. This means you must learn to delegate.
In yesterday's post I said that churches must transition from pastoral care to congregational care. This is a more biblical form of ministry (Eph. 4), and this chapter teaches us that the duty of the pastor is to train the saints how to do ministry. Too many pastors are wearing themselves out, and leaving the ministry, because they are trying to do everything themselves instead of fulfilling their biblical role of training others to minister to one another.
When I teach this in my seminars the question is always asked how to do this when so few people in the church want to do anything. My response is that we have to ride the horses that want to run. Yes, some people don't want to do anything, but others are just waiting to be taught how so they can minister to others. Love the ones who don't want to do anything, but invest your time and energy in those who want to serve and teach them how.
Identify people who have gifts of healing and mercy and teach them how to make hospital visits. Find the people in your church who have leadership gifts and put them in charge of leading the most important teams in your church. Maybe you don't have the authority to place people on your teams or committees, but you can make suggestions to those who do have that authority. It may take time, but eventually you can have very effective people leading these teams taking a great deal of pressure off of you.
I cannot stress this enough, but listen to your spouse, if married, if they begin to tell you that you are showing signs of stress or if they or the children are feeling ignored. When I pastored I made sure my calendar included a weekly date night with my wife. I attended activities my children were involved in and even coached our son's baseball team for about six years.
Finally, be sure you do not neglect your personal time with God. I know how easy that is to do when you're trying to do so many things. There would be times when I realized I wasn't spending any time with God for my own personal development. My time in the Word was to prepare messages, and my prayer life too often was inconsistent. God called us to be something before He called us to do something.
My book The Healthy Pastor: Easing the Pressures of Ministry includes more information on these topics, and much more about maintaining a healthy life as a pastor. I also have a seminar on this important topic that I can present to your judicatory or other group if you are interested. Be kind to yourself.
After much prayer and talking with my wife, I transferred to third shift at my job and enrolled at the school. I would leave home at 10:00 pm, work all night and then drive 100 miles to my classes. Around noon classes would end and I would make the 50 mile drive back to my home, go to bed and start the cycle again that night. This was a two-year program, but it took me four years to complete as I could not take more than 2-3 classes a semester.
A few months after graduation I began to have problems and was diagnosed as clinically depressed. Trying to work a full-time job, pastor a church and attend classes for that length of time had depleted the neurotransmitters in my brain. It took a year of medication and counseling before I recovered. Like many pastors, I had not taken care of myself.
Yesterday's post on managing the expectations a congregation has for their bivocational pastor generated more comments than any post I've written. Today I want to address the need for us to manage our own expectations of what we can do. I paid a high price because I did not, and I don't want you to make the mistake I made.
One of my favorite sayings over the past few years is "Self-care is not selfishness; it is stewardship of a very valuable gift God has given you." Ministers are often guilty of taking better care of others than they do themselves.
As a bivocational pastor you must accept that you cannot do it all. You have obligations to your family and to your other employment as well as to the church, to God, and to your own self-care. A life well-lived is a life that is lived with proper attention given to all five of those areas of your life.
This means that you cannot possibly go to the hospital every time someone is admitted. You cannot head up every committee in your church or even attend every meeting, especially if your church is over-structured like so many smaller churches are. You cannot preach 3-4 times a week, at least not if you are serious about message preparation. You cannot be in the pulpit 52 Sundays a year. The list goes on with things you cannot do. This means you must learn to delegate.
In yesterday's post I said that churches must transition from pastoral care to congregational care. This is a more biblical form of ministry (Eph. 4), and this chapter teaches us that the duty of the pastor is to train the saints how to do ministry. Too many pastors are wearing themselves out, and leaving the ministry, because they are trying to do everything themselves instead of fulfilling their biblical role of training others to minister to one another.
When I teach this in my seminars the question is always asked how to do this when so few people in the church want to do anything. My response is that we have to ride the horses that want to run. Yes, some people don't want to do anything, but others are just waiting to be taught how so they can minister to others. Love the ones who don't want to do anything, but invest your time and energy in those who want to serve and teach them how.
Identify people who have gifts of healing and mercy and teach them how to make hospital visits. Find the people in your church who have leadership gifts and put them in charge of leading the most important teams in your church. Maybe you don't have the authority to place people on your teams or committees, but you can make suggestions to those who do have that authority. It may take time, but eventually you can have very effective people leading these teams taking a great deal of pressure off of you.
I cannot stress this enough, but listen to your spouse, if married, if they begin to tell you that you are showing signs of stress or if they or the children are feeling ignored. When I pastored I made sure my calendar included a weekly date night with my wife. I attended activities my children were involved in and even coached our son's baseball team for about six years.
Finally, be sure you do not neglect your personal time with God. I know how easy that is to do when you're trying to do so many things. There would be times when I realized I wasn't spending any time with God for my own personal development. My time in the Word was to prepare messages, and my prayer life too often was inconsistent. God called us to be something before He called us to do something.
My book The Healthy Pastor: Easing the Pressures of Ministry includes more information on these topics, and much more about maintaining a healthy life as a pastor. I also have a seminar on this important topic that I can present to your judicatory or other group if you are interested. Be kind to yourself.
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Congregational expectations of bivocational ministers
A major challenge faced by bivocational ministers is trying to meet the expectations of the congregation. Most churches have a job description for the pastor, and most pastors do not get into trouble because they do not meet fulfill that job description. They get in trouble when they do not meet the unwritten job descriptions that exist in every church. If a church has 50 people there may be 50 different expectations placed on the pastor. (I often say that in many churches there is at least one person with schizophrenic tendencies so there may be 51 different expectations. I'm only partially joking when I say that!)
Many churches are now transitioning from having a fully-funded pastor to a bivocational pastor. Such transitions often fail because of unrealistic expectations placed on the pastor. While the church may be paying a bivocational salary some within the congregation still have the expectations they had when their pastor was fully-funded, which may not have been realistic even then.
Some unrealistic expectations that some churches have for their bivocational pastor may include expecting him or her to run to the hospital or home every time someone gets sick. If the pastor has an outside job he or she may not be available to dash to the hospital. When I was pastoring our church we used an SBC program called the Deacon Family Ministry plan which assigned every family in our church to one of our deacons. That deacon became the primary contact person for those families. I was called in more critical situations, but often our deacons would be called and would visit people long before I was able to due to my work schedule.
This is in line with something I've long advocated. We have to get away from a pastoral care model to a congregational care model in our churches. This is a more biblical understanding of how we are to care for one another (Eph. 4). It requires training of both the leaders and the congregation, but when it is done right it works very well, and even more so in bivocational churches.
A second unrealistic expectation is requiring the pastor to speak two or three times a week. Many bivocational churches still expect their pastor to preach Sunday morning, Sunday evening and at a mid-week service. Those evening services may not have but 4-5 people show up, but because they were well attended in the 1950s the church still expects it. That is seldom a good use of the pastor's time. Not only does he or she have to speak each of those times, but each of those messages requires preparation time which may be 5-10 hours each. If lay people cannot lead the Sunday evening and mid-week service then it may be time to give them a proper burial. Again, when I was pastoring I preached Sunday morning and evening but refused a mid-week service.
A third unrealistic expectation is refusing to give the pastor more than a week or two of vacation each year. I served as a bivocational pastor for 20 years. It's hard work that takes a lot out of the minister and his or her family. I always advocated that a church should give their pastor four weeks vacation right from the beginning. Most churches will give two weeks and pay a supply preacher $150.00 or less while the pastor is gone. Giving the pastor two more weeks will cost the church $300.00 or less. That is a minimal cost to the church but provides the pastor and family a huge blessing. Most churches budget X amount of dollars a year for the pastor's salary, so does it really matter whether that includes the pastor being there 48 weeks or 50 weeks? If a church cannot afford $300.00 to bless their pastor in this way it probably needs to decide if it is viable that it remains open.
While I'm upsetting people I might as well go all the way! Give your bivocational pastor a three-month paid sabbatical every seven years. (I just heard jaws hit the floor.) I made this statement in a workshop I was leading a few years ago and an older woman spoke up and said that they all worked for a living and didn't get three months off with pay. I responded that none of them were on-call 24/7/365 and responsible for the eternal souls of those they served either. (She left the workshop.)
That paid sabbatical may be the best investment you will make in your church. I am convinced many pastors leave after 5-7 years, not because they feel led to, but because they are just tired. They resign from the church, rest for awhile, and then begin to look for another place in which to serve. If they had that sabbatical they could refresh themselves and their families and then return back to a church that had loved on them in this way. Virtually every study shows that growing, healthy churches are led by long-term pastors, and this may be a way to keep your pastor for a long time. I can assure you, if you expect your bivocational pastor to just keep plugging away he or she will eventually wear out and have to leave just to protect themselves.
I encourage bivocational churches to invite someone such as a DS, a judicatory leader or a consultant to lead a discussion on how a congregation and bivocational pastor can set some realistic expectation for each other. It may be one of the healthiest things your church can do.
Many churches are now transitioning from having a fully-funded pastor to a bivocational pastor. Such transitions often fail because of unrealistic expectations placed on the pastor. While the church may be paying a bivocational salary some within the congregation still have the expectations they had when their pastor was fully-funded, which may not have been realistic even then.
Some unrealistic expectations that some churches have for their bivocational pastor may include expecting him or her to run to the hospital or home every time someone gets sick. If the pastor has an outside job he or she may not be available to dash to the hospital. When I was pastoring our church we used an SBC program called the Deacon Family Ministry plan which assigned every family in our church to one of our deacons. That deacon became the primary contact person for those families. I was called in more critical situations, but often our deacons would be called and would visit people long before I was able to due to my work schedule.
This is in line with something I've long advocated. We have to get away from a pastoral care model to a congregational care model in our churches. This is a more biblical understanding of how we are to care for one another (Eph. 4). It requires training of both the leaders and the congregation, but when it is done right it works very well, and even more so in bivocational churches.
A second unrealistic expectation is requiring the pastor to speak two or three times a week. Many bivocational churches still expect their pastor to preach Sunday morning, Sunday evening and at a mid-week service. Those evening services may not have but 4-5 people show up, but because they were well attended in the 1950s the church still expects it. That is seldom a good use of the pastor's time. Not only does he or she have to speak each of those times, but each of those messages requires preparation time which may be 5-10 hours each. If lay people cannot lead the Sunday evening and mid-week service then it may be time to give them a proper burial. Again, when I was pastoring I preached Sunday morning and evening but refused a mid-week service.
A third unrealistic expectation is refusing to give the pastor more than a week or two of vacation each year. I served as a bivocational pastor for 20 years. It's hard work that takes a lot out of the minister and his or her family. I always advocated that a church should give their pastor four weeks vacation right from the beginning. Most churches will give two weeks and pay a supply preacher $150.00 or less while the pastor is gone. Giving the pastor two more weeks will cost the church $300.00 or less. That is a minimal cost to the church but provides the pastor and family a huge blessing. Most churches budget X amount of dollars a year for the pastor's salary, so does it really matter whether that includes the pastor being there 48 weeks or 50 weeks? If a church cannot afford $300.00 to bless their pastor in this way it probably needs to decide if it is viable that it remains open.
While I'm upsetting people I might as well go all the way! Give your bivocational pastor a three-month paid sabbatical every seven years. (I just heard jaws hit the floor.) I made this statement in a workshop I was leading a few years ago and an older woman spoke up and said that they all worked for a living and didn't get three months off with pay. I responded that none of them were on-call 24/7/365 and responsible for the eternal souls of those they served either. (She left the workshop.)
That paid sabbatical may be the best investment you will make in your church. I am convinced many pastors leave after 5-7 years, not because they feel led to, but because they are just tired. They resign from the church, rest for awhile, and then begin to look for another place in which to serve. If they had that sabbatical they could refresh themselves and their families and then return back to a church that had loved on them in this way. Virtually every study shows that growing, healthy churches are led by long-term pastors, and this may be a way to keep your pastor for a long time. I can assure you, if you expect your bivocational pastor to just keep plugging away he or she will eventually wear out and have to leave just to protect themselves.
I encourage bivocational churches to invite someone such as a DS, a judicatory leader or a consultant to lead a discussion on how a congregation and bivocational pastor can set some realistic expectation for each other. It may be one of the healthiest things your church can do.
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Leaders need thick hides
Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin has been controversial from the beginning alienating many of the people he hopes will re-elect him to a second term. In perhaps one of his strangest moves is to criticize the popular coach of the Louisville women's basketball team for losing to the University of Connecticut in the NCAA tournament. His criticism came after the coach had commented on Twitter that Bevin had congratulated UK men's team for making the Elite Eight but had ignored the U of L women's team who were also playing in the Elite Eight. Bevin said if the coach had been more focused on coaching the team instead of criticizing him on Twitter he might not have been outcoached costing U of L the game.
There are many things I think President Trump has done well since being elected. However, one thing that constantly frustrates me is that he can't keep from attacking people in interviews and on social media. If anyone says anything negative about him he has to find a way to attack them either by name-calling or by making some disparaging remark about them. Perhaps one of his most outrageous personal attacks was made against Senator John McCain that continued even after the Senator had passed away. While the two never cared much for the other, there was no reason to continue the public animosity after McCain died.
What the president and the governor share in common is that both are rather thin-skinned. They cannot stand to be criticized or even questioned by people who disagree with them. There is something in their egos that demands they are always right, and anyone who opposes them are their enemies who must be put in their place. This is hardly a good quality for anyone in leadership.
Unfortunately, I have known pastors who shared the same problem. If anyone questioned a decision they made they saw it as a personal attack and responded in similar fashion. That never ends well for a pastor or the church. If you are in leadership there are going to be people who are going to question and oppose some of the things you do. People will say unkind and unfair things about you. They will question your motives and even your character. Without a thick skin one will not do well in ministry or any other leadership position.
Does this mean that a leader should just accept whatever people say about him or her? No. There is nothing wrong with responding to some attacks, especially if they are character related. It's how we respond to those attacks that are important. To stoop to the same level as some who will attack us only gets us down to their level. It does nothing to alleviate the situation and will probably make it worse. It also makes it difficult for our supporters to defend us. Some of Bevin's and Trump's supporters wish they would just be quiet for once rather than lashing out at every real or imagined slight.
Debating issues is fine; making disparaging remarks about our opponents is not. Only thin-skinned people make such remarks as a way to win their fights.
If you are going to pastor a church or be in any leadership position, develop a thick skin. It's not a matter if someone will challenge you; it's only a matter of when it will happen. Before it does, resolve in your mind to not receive the challenge as a personal attack, even if it is, and resolve how you to will respond to it. Your leadership will grow if you can do this.
There are many things I think President Trump has done well since being elected. However, one thing that constantly frustrates me is that he can't keep from attacking people in interviews and on social media. If anyone says anything negative about him he has to find a way to attack them either by name-calling or by making some disparaging remark about them. Perhaps one of his most outrageous personal attacks was made against Senator John McCain that continued even after the Senator had passed away. While the two never cared much for the other, there was no reason to continue the public animosity after McCain died.
What the president and the governor share in common is that both are rather thin-skinned. They cannot stand to be criticized or even questioned by people who disagree with them. There is something in their egos that demands they are always right, and anyone who opposes them are their enemies who must be put in their place. This is hardly a good quality for anyone in leadership.
Unfortunately, I have known pastors who shared the same problem. If anyone questioned a decision they made they saw it as a personal attack and responded in similar fashion. That never ends well for a pastor or the church. If you are in leadership there are going to be people who are going to question and oppose some of the things you do. People will say unkind and unfair things about you. They will question your motives and even your character. Without a thick skin one will not do well in ministry or any other leadership position.
Does this mean that a leader should just accept whatever people say about him or her? No. There is nothing wrong with responding to some attacks, especially if they are character related. It's how we respond to those attacks that are important. To stoop to the same level as some who will attack us only gets us down to their level. It does nothing to alleviate the situation and will probably make it worse. It also makes it difficult for our supporters to defend us. Some of Bevin's and Trump's supporters wish they would just be quiet for once rather than lashing out at every real or imagined slight.
Debating issues is fine; making disparaging remarks about our opponents is not. Only thin-skinned people make such remarks as a way to win their fights.
If you are going to pastor a church or be in any leadership position, develop a thick skin. It's not a matter if someone will challenge you; it's only a matter of when it will happen. Before it does, resolve in your mind to not receive the challenge as a personal attack, even if it is, and resolve how you to will respond to it. Your leadership will grow if you can do this.
Monday, April 15, 2019
The death of God is greatly exaggerated
Years ago Friedrich Nietzsche claimed that God was dead. In his mind, the Enlightenment had killed people's concept of God. Although an atheist, Nietzsche did not necessarily believe that the death of God was a good thing. Unlike postmodern people today Nietzsche understood that with no God there was also no absolute morality and a rise in nihilism could plunge the world into chaos.
In 1966 Time magazine's front cover asked "Is God Dead?" Certainly, the sixties was a time when it seemed all restraints had been removed. Sex, drugs and rock-and-roll was the mantra of the 60s. The Vietnam War, racial issues, assassinations of some of our national leaders and many other challenges of the time all seemed to indicate that God had disappeared. Churches and denominations also began to see a decline in membership and attendance as compared to the 1950s.
However, God hasn't died although many thinkers continue to insist that He has. I just finished reading a book that I will not promote by sharing the title. It is a major work written by a New York Times best selling author. Early in the book he announces in a matter-of-fact manner that God is dead. He gives no reasons for this assertion but expresses how it is a good thing that people no longer have to believe the myths surrounding the concept of God. According to the author, all organisms, including mankind, are nothing but algorithms which eliminates the possibilities of possessing a soul, having free will, or having much value in the near future when everything is taken over by AI and the Internet-of-all-Things. Replacing God will be the emerging religion of Dataism which worships only data.
Like multitudes of people before him, this learned professor is mistaken. One can deny the existence of God but only if one ignores the obvious signs that there is a God and that He is active in today's world. Ps. 19: 1 tells us "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork." In Ro. 1: 20 we read, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse." These passages, and others, demonstrate that there are many evidences for God if one is willing to seek them.
Some of these evidences include such things as the existence of the universe, the fine-tuning of the universe, the existence of moral values, the life of Jesus Christ (and especially His resurrection from the dead and the impact it made upon His disciples), the millions of people whose lives have been dramatically transformed through faith in God, and other evidences.
Many, like the author of the book, ignore these evidences preferring to look at how future events seem to be taking us further and further away from God. Perhaps these events are actually leading mankind towards God.
1 Cor. 2: 7-8 says, "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." This tells me that Satan, in his pride, believed he could defeat Jesus Christ through His death on the cross. What Satan did not understand was that this death was necessary for God's ultimate purpose of offering salvation to mankind. Postmodern man, in his pride, believes that all of the technological advances, artificial intelligence, and other scientific discoveries and philosophical arguments are making God irrelevant. Perhaps they do not understand that these things are only bringing mankind closer to the fulfillment of end-times prophecies.
In 1966 Time magazine's front cover asked "Is God Dead?" Certainly, the sixties was a time when it seemed all restraints had been removed. Sex, drugs and rock-and-roll was the mantra of the 60s. The Vietnam War, racial issues, assassinations of some of our national leaders and many other challenges of the time all seemed to indicate that God had disappeared. Churches and denominations also began to see a decline in membership and attendance as compared to the 1950s.
However, God hasn't died although many thinkers continue to insist that He has. I just finished reading a book that I will not promote by sharing the title. It is a major work written by a New York Times best selling author. Early in the book he announces in a matter-of-fact manner that God is dead. He gives no reasons for this assertion but expresses how it is a good thing that people no longer have to believe the myths surrounding the concept of God. According to the author, all organisms, including mankind, are nothing but algorithms which eliminates the possibilities of possessing a soul, having free will, or having much value in the near future when everything is taken over by AI and the Internet-of-all-Things. Replacing God will be the emerging religion of Dataism which worships only data.
Like multitudes of people before him, this learned professor is mistaken. One can deny the existence of God but only if one ignores the obvious signs that there is a God and that He is active in today's world. Ps. 19: 1 tells us "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork." In Ro. 1: 20 we read, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse." These passages, and others, demonstrate that there are many evidences for God if one is willing to seek them.
Some of these evidences include such things as the existence of the universe, the fine-tuning of the universe, the existence of moral values, the life of Jesus Christ (and especially His resurrection from the dead and the impact it made upon His disciples), the millions of people whose lives have been dramatically transformed through faith in God, and other evidences.
Many, like the author of the book, ignore these evidences preferring to look at how future events seem to be taking us further and further away from God. Perhaps these events are actually leading mankind towards God.
1 Cor. 2: 7-8 says, "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." This tells me that Satan, in his pride, believed he could defeat Jesus Christ through His death on the cross. What Satan did not understand was that this death was necessary for God's ultimate purpose of offering salvation to mankind. Postmodern man, in his pride, believes that all of the technological advances, artificial intelligence, and other scientific discoveries and philosophical arguments are making God irrelevant. Perhaps they do not understand that these things are only bringing mankind closer to the fulfillment of end-times prophecies.
Friday, April 12, 2019
Denominational responsibility and their churches
Yesterday's post focused on the need to provide training for bivocational ministers who may not have any kind of formal training for ministry. I ended that article by saying if they refuse to take advantage of that training perhaps denominations and judicatories need to refuse to assist them with future placement needs. No doubt some of my readers thought that was a terrible thing to say, so I promised I would discuss that more in today's post.
Here are some hard, cold facts. Denominations and judicatories continue to shrink in size. As an example, when I began as a judicatory minister in 2001 I think we had 14 people on Executive Staff. When I retired in 2015 there were 3-4, and only two of them worked in the field. Some part time people were brought in to serve some of the churches. Other Regions in our denomination had cut back even more. Some judicatories in other denominations were closing and merging with nearby judicatories. All of this is due to declining finances.
At the same time, we are a nation of small churches. I believe the median size church now is 75 people. Many of these churches are struggling to survive, and many of them will not make it. Last Sunday a small church in an adjoining county to me held its last service. Approximately 100 churches a week, 5000 a year, close their doors in the United States.
Many of the smaller churches that remain open struggle to find pastoral leadership. I've written about this numerous times in this blog, and many other writers have addressed the issue as well over the past few years. No one sees any improvement in the near future. If these churches are to survive, and hopefully, enjoy many more years of effective ministry, they must have quality, healthy leadership.
I strongly believe in the smaller church. I've seen what can happen when such churches enjoy healthy pastoral leadership, and I've seen what happens when they are led by someone who doesn't know if he's pitching or catching. I've seen struggling churches flourish under good leadership, and I've seen healthy churches become very unhealthy under poor leadership.
Two things need to happen. Denominations and judicatories need to quit ignoring their smaller churches and begin to focus some much needed attention on them and their pastors, and smaller churches need to stop thinking they don't need their denominations and judicatories. Both need each other. These are the cold, hard facts. Now, what needs to happen.
As I said above, denominations and judicatories need to focus some much needed attention on these churches and their pastors. They need to become very intentional about finding persons called to bivocational ministry and become very intentional about training these individuals. They need to determine how they can help these churches become healthy and vibrant places of worship, and I truly believe this begins with proper training of the pastoral leadership.
Smaller churches need to accept the assistance of their denominational and judicatory leaders, especially when it comes to pastoral placement. Perhaps, in some cases, they might consider allowing the judicatory to name the individual who will serve as pastor. Right now some churches are saying that will never happen; that they are a congregational church who will decide for themselves who they will call as pastor. Let me ask you the Dr. Phil question: "How is that working for you?" Now, I'll answer it for some of you: "IT'S NOT WORKING! IT HASN'T WORKED IN YEARS! THAT'S WHY YOU ARE IN THE MESS YOU'RE IN!" And, if something isn't working then you need to try something else.
If the denomination or judicatory has done its job of identifying good people who can serve in a bivocational role, and if they have developed a quality training program for these individuals, what should they do with those churches and individuals who will not use the people and the training they've developed? In light of the ongoing shrinkage that is occuring in denominational and judicatories the only thing they can do is wish the churches and their pastors well and focus on the churches that do want their help.
At that point, there is no sense in assisting the church with any future placement needs because the church has shown it's not interested in getting quality pastors from the denomination or judicatory. There's also no sense in assisting pastors who aren't willing to be trained in finding new churches. There is no sense in sacrificing good pastors on the altars of dysfunctional churches, and there is no sense in sending unqualified persons who have never had a healthy ministry into good churches to ruin them.
Cold, hard facts are never easy to talk about or read, but they are real. Denominations and judicatories can no longer afford to support their churches that refuse legitimate offers to help them become healthy with quality, trained leadership. Likewise, they cannot afford to support those who want to lead churches but refuse any training to help them lead those churches grow and become healthier.
Here are some hard, cold facts. Denominations and judicatories continue to shrink in size. As an example, when I began as a judicatory minister in 2001 I think we had 14 people on Executive Staff. When I retired in 2015 there were 3-4, and only two of them worked in the field. Some part time people were brought in to serve some of the churches. Other Regions in our denomination had cut back even more. Some judicatories in other denominations were closing and merging with nearby judicatories. All of this is due to declining finances.
At the same time, we are a nation of small churches. I believe the median size church now is 75 people. Many of these churches are struggling to survive, and many of them will not make it. Last Sunday a small church in an adjoining county to me held its last service. Approximately 100 churches a week, 5000 a year, close their doors in the United States.
Many of the smaller churches that remain open struggle to find pastoral leadership. I've written about this numerous times in this blog, and many other writers have addressed the issue as well over the past few years. No one sees any improvement in the near future. If these churches are to survive, and hopefully, enjoy many more years of effective ministry, they must have quality, healthy leadership.
I strongly believe in the smaller church. I've seen what can happen when such churches enjoy healthy pastoral leadership, and I've seen what happens when they are led by someone who doesn't know if he's pitching or catching. I've seen struggling churches flourish under good leadership, and I've seen healthy churches become very unhealthy under poor leadership.
Two things need to happen. Denominations and judicatories need to quit ignoring their smaller churches and begin to focus some much needed attention on them and their pastors, and smaller churches need to stop thinking they don't need their denominations and judicatories. Both need each other. These are the cold, hard facts. Now, what needs to happen.
As I said above, denominations and judicatories need to focus some much needed attention on these churches and their pastors. They need to become very intentional about finding persons called to bivocational ministry and become very intentional about training these individuals. They need to determine how they can help these churches become healthy and vibrant places of worship, and I truly believe this begins with proper training of the pastoral leadership.
Smaller churches need to accept the assistance of their denominational and judicatory leaders, especially when it comes to pastoral placement. Perhaps, in some cases, they might consider allowing the judicatory to name the individual who will serve as pastor. Right now some churches are saying that will never happen; that they are a congregational church who will decide for themselves who they will call as pastor. Let me ask you the Dr. Phil question: "How is that working for you?" Now, I'll answer it for some of you: "IT'S NOT WORKING! IT HASN'T WORKED IN YEARS! THAT'S WHY YOU ARE IN THE MESS YOU'RE IN!" And, if something isn't working then you need to try something else.
If the denomination or judicatory has done its job of identifying good people who can serve in a bivocational role, and if they have developed a quality training program for these individuals, what should they do with those churches and individuals who will not use the people and the training they've developed? In light of the ongoing shrinkage that is occuring in denominational and judicatories the only thing they can do is wish the churches and their pastors well and focus on the churches that do want their help.
At that point, there is no sense in assisting the church with any future placement needs because the church has shown it's not interested in getting quality pastors from the denomination or judicatory. There's also no sense in assisting pastors who aren't willing to be trained in finding new churches. There is no sense in sacrificing good pastors on the altars of dysfunctional churches, and there is no sense in sending unqualified persons who have never had a healthy ministry into good churches to ruin them.
Cold, hard facts are never easy to talk about or read, but they are real. Denominations and judicatories can no longer afford to support their churches that refuse legitimate offers to help them become healthy with quality, trained leadership. Likewise, they cannot afford to support those who want to lead churches but refuse any training to help them lead those churches grow and become healthier.
Thursday, April 11, 2019
Bivocational ministers need training
There were some interesting responses to an article posted a couple of days ago about the need to identify bivocational ministers for the growing numbers of churches who need them. These responses came to my Facebook page so you may not have seen them. One of the comments addressed the problem that many persons entering bivocational ministry lack any kind of training for the ministry.
I agreed with the individual who made the comment and said that one of the biggest problems I encountered as a judicatory minister was the small church who would call the first person as their pastor who came down the road wearing a cross around his neck. These churches could not stand the idea that they did not have a pastor and would call the first person who showed any interest in serving in that position regardless of whether he was qualified and had any type of ministerial training. When the inevitable train wreck occurred they wanted me to somehow fix it.
For those who do not know my story I need to share some important aspects of my beginning as a bivocational minister. I began my ministry with no experience and no education beyond high school. I had served as a deacon in our church, a Sunday school teacher and had done some supply preaching, but I had zero training as a minister.
To make things even worse, the search committee of the church that called me did not ask me a single question of what I believed or my philosophy of ministry. They were just glad to find someone willing to serve as their pastor. This is the very scenario I am saying is ripe for disaster. Fortunately, in our case the disaster did not happen. After going to that church I did enroll in a Bible school and received some excellent training. I did this while pastoring the church and working a full-time job in a factory.
Unfortunately, not everyone is willing to pursue the education I did. In fact, I have met some bivocational ministers who ridiculed such education. These are often the same ones who leave train wrecks everywhere they go.
As we focus on identifying persons God might be calling to bivocational ministry we also need to identify ways to train them if they have not attended seminary. The Region from which I retired developed a program called the Church Leadership Institute which, although originally designed to train lay leaders, also became a great training opportunity for many of our bivocational ministers. It was never designed to take the place of seminary, but it offered much more training than I had when I began my ministry.
Many denominations and judicatories have such training opportunities, but the challenge is to get their bivocational ministers to take advantage of them. As stated above, some do not see the value in ministerial education. Some argue their schedule makes it impossible to attend the classes. Some have attempted the programs available to them and found the material offered did not meet their needs. For some, it's a problem of finances.
There may be many legitimate reasons why a bivocational minister doesn't take advantage of the training opportunities offered. We must find ways to overcome everyone of them if we want qualified persons leading our smaller churches. To me, this isn't something we need to do if we can find the time or the money. We must find the time and money to offer quality training to the folks who are going to be leading our smaller churches. It is imperative to do so if we want our smaller churches to be healthy places of ministry.
If we have a quality program, and if we have tried to remove as many obstacles as possible that prevent people from enrolling in the program, then we need to do everything in our power to encourage them to do so. I believe the United Methodist Church requires their bivocational ministers to complete the training they offer before they will assign them to a church. At least, this is what I was told by a DS several years ago. For those of us in denominations that do not place pastors we can still let our small churches and potential bivocational pastors know that we expect them to take advantage of the training opportunities we offer them. If they refuse, we should simply also refuse to assist them in further placement needs they might have.
More about this last comment tomorrow.
I agreed with the individual who made the comment and said that one of the biggest problems I encountered as a judicatory minister was the small church who would call the first person as their pastor who came down the road wearing a cross around his neck. These churches could not stand the idea that they did not have a pastor and would call the first person who showed any interest in serving in that position regardless of whether he was qualified and had any type of ministerial training. When the inevitable train wreck occurred they wanted me to somehow fix it.
For those who do not know my story I need to share some important aspects of my beginning as a bivocational minister. I began my ministry with no experience and no education beyond high school. I had served as a deacon in our church, a Sunday school teacher and had done some supply preaching, but I had zero training as a minister.
To make things even worse, the search committee of the church that called me did not ask me a single question of what I believed or my philosophy of ministry. They were just glad to find someone willing to serve as their pastor. This is the very scenario I am saying is ripe for disaster. Fortunately, in our case the disaster did not happen. After going to that church I did enroll in a Bible school and received some excellent training. I did this while pastoring the church and working a full-time job in a factory.
Unfortunately, not everyone is willing to pursue the education I did. In fact, I have met some bivocational ministers who ridiculed such education. These are often the same ones who leave train wrecks everywhere they go.
As we focus on identifying persons God might be calling to bivocational ministry we also need to identify ways to train them if they have not attended seminary. The Region from which I retired developed a program called the Church Leadership Institute which, although originally designed to train lay leaders, also became a great training opportunity for many of our bivocational ministers. It was never designed to take the place of seminary, but it offered much more training than I had when I began my ministry.
Many denominations and judicatories have such training opportunities, but the challenge is to get their bivocational ministers to take advantage of them. As stated above, some do not see the value in ministerial education. Some argue their schedule makes it impossible to attend the classes. Some have attempted the programs available to them and found the material offered did not meet their needs. For some, it's a problem of finances.
There may be many legitimate reasons why a bivocational minister doesn't take advantage of the training opportunities offered. We must find ways to overcome everyone of them if we want qualified persons leading our smaller churches. To me, this isn't something we need to do if we can find the time or the money. We must find the time and money to offer quality training to the folks who are going to be leading our smaller churches. It is imperative to do so if we want our smaller churches to be healthy places of ministry.
If we have a quality program, and if we have tried to remove as many obstacles as possible that prevent people from enrolling in the program, then we need to do everything in our power to encourage them to do so. I believe the United Methodist Church requires their bivocational ministers to complete the training they offer before they will assign them to a church. At least, this is what I was told by a DS several years ago. For those of us in denominations that do not place pastors we can still let our small churches and potential bivocational pastors know that we expect them to take advantage of the training opportunities we offer them. If they refuse, we should simply also refuse to assist them in further placement needs they might have.
More about this last comment tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Avoid the very appearance of evil
1 Thessalonians 5: 22 reads, "Abstain from all appearance of evil." (KJV) Elsewhere in the Scriptures it explains that by doing this, and living lives pleasing to God, that no one will be able to accuse us of evil. More than one pastor has been accused of wrong behavior who may or may not have been guilty, but he had placed himself in a position where he could not defend himself or prove his innocence. It APPEARED he had done wrong, and to his accusers he was automatically guilty.
We live in a time today in which a mere accusation is enough to convict you in the court of public opinion. We saw this clearly in the confirmation hearing of Judge Kavanaugh when various charges of misconduct were made against him. Although not a legal trial, we saw the doctrine of innocent until proven guilty turned upside down. Unsubstantiated charges nearly cost him a seat on the Supreme Court, and more importantly, did great harm to his reputation and had to have been very hurtful to his family. The media, Hollywood, and most Democrats all pronounced him guilty simply because he had been accused.
One of the interesting things about that situation is that some of the same people who were quick to condemn Kavanaugh earlier made fun of Vice-President Pence for his policy of not dining with a woman alone who is not his wife. The VP was following the teaching of Scripture presented above to ensure that no one could ever accuse him of misconduct.
Another interesting thing about all this is now complaints of misconduct are being made against Joe Biden as he plans to announce his candidacy for president. Many of those who were certain of Kavanaugh's guilt because claims were made against him are now defending Biden against his accusers. To his credit, Biden has issued an apology for not respecting people's personal space, but some say that isn't enough. Because he has been accused he is not a suitable candidate in the eyes of some. Personally, despite his frequent gaffes, I hope he does run. At this point he would be the only adult on the Democrat side running for president and the only one who could work both sides of the aisle.
As a pastor I had the policy of never being alone with a woman who was not my wife. In time I included never being alone with children without other adults present. This was not because I did not trust myself but because I know how some people sometimes think. Billy Graham had the same policy throughout his ministry for the same reason. The policy never created any difficulties in my ability to minister to women or children, and it protected me and them from any gossip or false accusations.
There's a reason we have the "Baptist side-hug," but that may not be good enough in the 21st century. After Biden's apology Nancy Pelosi said he needed to join the "straight-arm club" and change his behavior.
Pastor, what policies do you have in place to protect yourself against false claims of misconduct? Have you discussed these with your leadership? As a pastor, I not only talked about these policies with our leaders, I shared them with our congregation. I made sure they not only knew what my policies were but also why I had them.
We live in a time today in which a mere accusation is enough to convict you in the court of public opinion. We saw this clearly in the confirmation hearing of Judge Kavanaugh when various charges of misconduct were made against him. Although not a legal trial, we saw the doctrine of innocent until proven guilty turned upside down. Unsubstantiated charges nearly cost him a seat on the Supreme Court, and more importantly, did great harm to his reputation and had to have been very hurtful to his family. The media, Hollywood, and most Democrats all pronounced him guilty simply because he had been accused.
One of the interesting things about that situation is that some of the same people who were quick to condemn Kavanaugh earlier made fun of Vice-President Pence for his policy of not dining with a woman alone who is not his wife. The VP was following the teaching of Scripture presented above to ensure that no one could ever accuse him of misconduct.
Another interesting thing about all this is now complaints of misconduct are being made against Joe Biden as he plans to announce his candidacy for president. Many of those who were certain of Kavanaugh's guilt because claims were made against him are now defending Biden against his accusers. To his credit, Biden has issued an apology for not respecting people's personal space, but some say that isn't enough. Because he has been accused he is not a suitable candidate in the eyes of some. Personally, despite his frequent gaffes, I hope he does run. At this point he would be the only adult on the Democrat side running for president and the only one who could work both sides of the aisle.
As a pastor I had the policy of never being alone with a woman who was not my wife. In time I included never being alone with children without other adults present. This was not because I did not trust myself but because I know how some people sometimes think. Billy Graham had the same policy throughout his ministry for the same reason. The policy never created any difficulties in my ability to minister to women or children, and it protected me and them from any gossip or false accusations.
There's a reason we have the "Baptist side-hug," but that may not be good enough in the 21st century. After Biden's apology Nancy Pelosi said he needed to join the "straight-arm club" and change his behavior.
Pastor, what policies do you have in place to protect yourself against false claims of misconduct? Have you discussed these with your leadership? As a pastor, I not only talked about these policies with our leaders, I shared them with our congregation. I made sure they not only knew what my policies were but also why I had them.
Monday, April 8, 2019
Where are the bivocational ministers?
This past week I was talking shop with a judicatory leader. When I asked how things were going he responded they weren't going very well. He had a number of smaller churches needing pastors and had no idea where he was going to find them. It was a serious problem before I retired from that position, and it seems to continue to worsen.
One thing I've always known: this need for bivocational ministers did not catch God by surprise. I've always been convinced that He has called people to serve in those positions. The real challenges are for church and denominational leaders to identify these people and for the individuals themselves to recognize that call on their lives.
Virtually every minister I've met had someone in his or her life who invited them to consider that God might be calling them into the ministry. I certainly had that person in my life. His talk with me about that possibility confirmed something I had felt for some time. Now, someone else saw in me what I had been feeling. That gave me the confidence to live into that calling.
Back when I began as a bivocational minister it was not looked upon very favorably by a lot of people. I met more than a few pastors in my earlier years who looked down on me serving in a bivocational role. I had to rely very strongly on what I knew to be my calling to continue in that role. I was also fortunate to serve in a Region that had leadership who were more acceptable of bivocational ministry. They supported me throughout my pastoral ministry and eventually invited me to serve with them in a regional role. Today, bivocational ministry is more widely accepted.
Having said that however, we still seem to be unable to know how to identify persons God may have called to such ministry. As one judicatory leader told me several years ago, "They seem to find us before we find them." That means there are probably a lot of people out there who do not receive the encouragement to enter into this ministry God has for them.
Denominations and judicatories must find ways to help people consider that God might be calling them into bivocational ministry. Perhaps district meetings with this as the topic might be one way to invite persons who might be wrestling with this call. Certainly, pastors and other leaders need to talk with persons who seem to have gifts that would be needed in bivocational ministry.
We cannot call anyone into ministry. Only God can do that. But, we do have a responsibility to help people work through a possible call. During my 14 years as a judicatory minister I talked with several persons about the possibility God might be calling them into bivocational ministry, and some of them confirmed they had been considering such a call themselves. Some of them did become bivocational ministers and had very successful ministries.
Pastors, look around your congregation and see if there might be persons who might have such a call on their lives. Talk to them and tell them why you feel God might have something special for them. Denominational leaders, spend some time thinking about how you can present bivocational ministry to people in your churches. Let's stop talking about the difficulty of finding bivocational ministers and begin to do something constructive about identifying them.
One thing I've always known: this need for bivocational ministers did not catch God by surprise. I've always been convinced that He has called people to serve in those positions. The real challenges are for church and denominational leaders to identify these people and for the individuals themselves to recognize that call on their lives.
Virtually every minister I've met had someone in his or her life who invited them to consider that God might be calling them into the ministry. I certainly had that person in my life. His talk with me about that possibility confirmed something I had felt for some time. Now, someone else saw in me what I had been feeling. That gave me the confidence to live into that calling.
Back when I began as a bivocational minister it was not looked upon very favorably by a lot of people. I met more than a few pastors in my earlier years who looked down on me serving in a bivocational role. I had to rely very strongly on what I knew to be my calling to continue in that role. I was also fortunate to serve in a Region that had leadership who were more acceptable of bivocational ministry. They supported me throughout my pastoral ministry and eventually invited me to serve with them in a regional role. Today, bivocational ministry is more widely accepted.
Having said that however, we still seem to be unable to know how to identify persons God may have called to such ministry. As one judicatory leader told me several years ago, "They seem to find us before we find them." That means there are probably a lot of people out there who do not receive the encouragement to enter into this ministry God has for them.
Denominations and judicatories must find ways to help people consider that God might be calling them into bivocational ministry. Perhaps district meetings with this as the topic might be one way to invite persons who might be wrestling with this call. Certainly, pastors and other leaders need to talk with persons who seem to have gifts that would be needed in bivocational ministry.
We cannot call anyone into ministry. Only God can do that. But, we do have a responsibility to help people work through a possible call. During my 14 years as a judicatory minister I talked with several persons about the possibility God might be calling them into bivocational ministry, and some of them confirmed they had been considering such a call themselves. Some of them did become bivocational ministers and had very successful ministries.
Pastors, look around your congregation and see if there might be persons who might have such a call on their lives. Talk to them and tell them why you feel God might have something special for them. Denominational leaders, spend some time thinking about how you can present bivocational ministry to people in your churches. Let's stop talking about the difficulty of finding bivocational ministers and begin to do something constructive about identifying them.
Friday, April 5, 2019
Ministry education that matters
A few weeks ago a well-known, retired church consultant, author, and coach made some comments on social media about concerns he had that seminary education no longer prepared one for the ministry. As I remember his comments, he felt that the typical seminary education was insufficient preparation for ministry in the real world. As you might expect, his comments were met with numerous responses. Some agreed with him while others strongly disagreed.
Regular readers of this blog will know that I have my own concerns about seminary education. I've made no secret of my belief that the typical MDiv degree is probably more suited for someone considering pursuing a PhD while an MA in some area of ministry might be more suited for one going into pastoral ministry. I should note that I began my pastoral ministry in 1981 and became a judicatory minister in 2001 but did not enroll in seminary until 2003. At that time I earned a MAR with a concentration in leadership. After earning that degree I enrolled in a DMin program completing it in 2010.
No, I can't parse a Greek text,, but the funny thing is in 38 years of ministry no one has ever asked me to. As a pastor I was often called upon to help someone with a marriage issue or a problem child. I was asked how to become a Christian and why life seemed so unfair at times. None of those questions depended upon me having three semesters of Biblical languages.
Some are probably getting real antsy now and wonder how anyone can preach Biblical sermons without that knowledge. If you saw my library you might understand how. I've spent a lot of money on good commentaries and biblical helps. Again, three semesters of Biblical languages does not make one a scholar. I would much rather invest in good material from individuals who have spent a lifetime studying Greek and Hebrew than to trust three semesters of such study.
Do I think it's a bad thing for a seminary student to pursue an MDiv? No, in some cases it makes a lot of sense. But, for some it doesn't. It depends on what one believes God's call on his or her life is and what it will take to fulfill that call. What I am opposed to is that everyone assumes that the MDiv is the ONLY degree that is suitable for ministry and ordination.
I am in favor of everyone in ministry getting all the education they need, but just make sure that what you are getting will prepare you for ministry in the 21st century.
Regular readers of this blog will know that I have my own concerns about seminary education. I've made no secret of my belief that the typical MDiv degree is probably more suited for someone considering pursuing a PhD while an MA in some area of ministry might be more suited for one going into pastoral ministry. I should note that I began my pastoral ministry in 1981 and became a judicatory minister in 2001 but did not enroll in seminary until 2003. At that time I earned a MAR with a concentration in leadership. After earning that degree I enrolled in a DMin program completing it in 2010.
No, I can't parse a Greek text,, but the funny thing is in 38 years of ministry no one has ever asked me to. As a pastor I was often called upon to help someone with a marriage issue or a problem child. I was asked how to become a Christian and why life seemed so unfair at times. None of those questions depended upon me having three semesters of Biblical languages.
Some are probably getting real antsy now and wonder how anyone can preach Biblical sermons without that knowledge. If you saw my library you might understand how. I've spent a lot of money on good commentaries and biblical helps. Again, three semesters of Biblical languages does not make one a scholar. I would much rather invest in good material from individuals who have spent a lifetime studying Greek and Hebrew than to trust three semesters of such study.
Do I think it's a bad thing for a seminary student to pursue an MDiv? No, in some cases it makes a lot of sense. But, for some it doesn't. It depends on what one believes God's call on his or her life is and what it will take to fulfill that call. What I am opposed to is that everyone assumes that the MDiv is the ONLY degree that is suitable for ministry and ordination.
I am in favor of everyone in ministry getting all the education they need, but just make sure that what you are getting will prepare you for ministry in the 21st century.
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Rolling with the punches
This past weekend we traveled to Austin, TX to spend time with our son and his family. We had a great time even though it was cold. Our grandson played three baseball games, and we were never warm at any of them. However, the real problems began when we returned home.
We arrived at the airport early and found that our plane was scheduled to leave on time. Twenty minutes later the flight was canceled. We were caught up in the computer glitch that canceled a bunch of flights and caused many others to be delayed. Fortunately, a different flight was found for us, but it wouldn't leave until two hours after our original flight. That flight was only twenty-some minutes in the air which was good because 19 of those minutes were in the most turbulence I've ever experienced in a flight. (And I don't enjoy flying anyway!)
After landing we found that our next flight had been delayed two more hours. Three gate changes later we finally boarded and enjoyed a very smooth flight home.
I couldn't help but think about how the trip home was so much like ministry. Our tickets had been reserved for weeks. Everything about the trip had been planned to the best of our ability. However, there were so many things beyond our control. Computer problems, bad weather, canceled and delayed flights all came together to mock our carefully made plans. Yes, it was frustrating, but that's what happens in life...and often in ministry.
During my ministry I have encountered a lot of angry pastors, especially when I served in a judicatory role. Their ministries had not turned out like they thought it would when they began. Their churches often did not respond to their leadership the way they assumed. Their churches didn't grow like the ones they heard about in the church growth conferences they attended. People in their congregation sometimes didn't even act like Christians. They acted more like...people. Yes, it can get frustrating. I've been there.
Then I think about Jesus and His ministry here on earth. He handpicked his disciples, and look how much trouble He had with them. They were often carnal. They argued over who would be the greatest. They didn't seem to get even His most basic teachings. On the night He needed them the most they ran away except for one who later denied even knowing Him.
I had to learn pretty early in my ministry to roll with the punches. Sometimes things don't happen the way you think they should. Your plans get derailed. Sometimes your character gets questioned. It's easy to get angry if you allow yourself. Some I've known have given up and either left the calling God placed on their lives or they gave up and are just waiting for retirement. Even in my most frustrating moments neither was an option for me.
Roll with the punches. If you can't get what you want, take what you can and figure out how you might get the rest later. My flight was canceled. I didn't want to wait two hours for another flight, but it was either than or wait until the next day for a flight. We may have gotten home four hours later than the original plan, but we got home and I slept in my bed that night.
I want to see the church do X, but right now they are only willing to do Y. I'll settle for Y and suggest X later. I'm just glad they didn't reject both X and Y and settle for the status quo. When God called you into the ministry He never suggested it would be easy. Learn to relax and roll with the punches. It will make ministry much easier and allow you to accomplish more over time than if you give up.
We arrived at the airport early and found that our plane was scheduled to leave on time. Twenty minutes later the flight was canceled. We were caught up in the computer glitch that canceled a bunch of flights and caused many others to be delayed. Fortunately, a different flight was found for us, but it wouldn't leave until two hours after our original flight. That flight was only twenty-some minutes in the air which was good because 19 of those minutes were in the most turbulence I've ever experienced in a flight. (And I don't enjoy flying anyway!)
After landing we found that our next flight had been delayed two more hours. Three gate changes later we finally boarded and enjoyed a very smooth flight home.
I couldn't help but think about how the trip home was so much like ministry. Our tickets had been reserved for weeks. Everything about the trip had been planned to the best of our ability. However, there were so many things beyond our control. Computer problems, bad weather, canceled and delayed flights all came together to mock our carefully made plans. Yes, it was frustrating, but that's what happens in life...and often in ministry.
During my ministry I have encountered a lot of angry pastors, especially when I served in a judicatory role. Their ministries had not turned out like they thought it would when they began. Their churches often did not respond to their leadership the way they assumed. Their churches didn't grow like the ones they heard about in the church growth conferences they attended. People in their congregation sometimes didn't even act like Christians. They acted more like...people. Yes, it can get frustrating. I've been there.
Then I think about Jesus and His ministry here on earth. He handpicked his disciples, and look how much trouble He had with them. They were often carnal. They argued over who would be the greatest. They didn't seem to get even His most basic teachings. On the night He needed them the most they ran away except for one who later denied even knowing Him.
I had to learn pretty early in my ministry to roll with the punches. Sometimes things don't happen the way you think they should. Your plans get derailed. Sometimes your character gets questioned. It's easy to get angry if you allow yourself. Some I've known have given up and either left the calling God placed on their lives or they gave up and are just waiting for retirement. Even in my most frustrating moments neither was an option for me.
Roll with the punches. If you can't get what you want, take what you can and figure out how you might get the rest later. My flight was canceled. I didn't want to wait two hours for another flight, but it was either than or wait until the next day for a flight. We may have gotten home four hours later than the original plan, but we got home and I slept in my bed that night.
I want to see the church do X, but right now they are only willing to do Y. I'll settle for Y and suggest X later. I'm just glad they didn't reject both X and Y and settle for the status quo. When God called you into the ministry He never suggested it would be easy. Learn to relax and roll with the punches. It will make ministry much easier and allow you to accomplish more over time than if you give up.
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