What will the church look like in 10 years?

I am not a prophet nor the son of a prophet. I have no crystal ball that enables me to predict the future. However, I can see some things that are happening, and I can read what others are saying about the future church. What I have listed here is a combination of my own thoughts and those of others.

We do know that much has changed in ministry in the past 10 years, and it is likely that more change is coming. We can ignore these changes at our own peril or we can begin to discuss how we can address them in ways that will enhance our ministries. These are the kinds of things church leaders need to be discussing now or face the danger of trying to do ministry in the future in a world that no longer exists.

Here are 12 trends that I believe will impact the church in the next 10 years.

1. In 10 years from now the Builder Generation will be gone from our churches. This will impact churches financially and in its ability to find volunteers to serve.
2. Denominational loyalty will be even less than it is today. As people move from denomination to denomination they will bring old beliefs with them which can cause conflict in the church.
3. Fewer people will have a home church. They will attend various churches to satisfy different needs in their lives.
4. Senior adult ministry will change as Boomers will be more interested in going on mission trips than riding the church bus to some activity.
5. The churches that grow will have excellent discipleship ministries.
6. Churches will be forced to maximize the use of their buildings.
7. The Great Commission will remain the primary mission of the church and will be accomplished more through the building of relationships with unchurched people.
8. Pastoral leadership will be more transformational as pastors take seriously the mandate of Ephesians 4 to train others to do the work of ministry.
9. Homogeneous churches will not effectively reach their communities as most communities will include growing numbers of minorities and immigrants.
10. Mid-size churches will experience a squeeze as more church members will require more from their churches and will begin to leave for larger churches that will meet those requirements.
11. Churches will face challenges unknown to previous generations of churches especially in the areas of sexuality, political divisions and the postmodern mindset.
12. Many churches will struggle to find pastoral leadership.

It's safe to say that churches that try to do business as usual over the next 10 years will find themselves struggling to effectively minister. The history of the church is to always be a few years, sometimes decades, behind the changes that take place in our culture. That's why I suggest that church leaders begin to discuss these church trends now so we can try to be ahead of the changes that are occurring.

One thing we must remember is that none of these trends caught God by surprise. We might be surprised by what is happening in the church, but He is not. We also need to remember that this is His church, and He promised the gates of hell could not stand against it. Let's not be timid in the face of the changes we are facing but let us boldly seek wisdom from God how each of our churches can best respond to the coming changes.

Pastors and politics

I did not watch the Democrat convention last week, and I am not watching the Republican convention this week. It's not because I don't care for politics or have strong political beliefs. It's because of the divisiveness of the two parties. I know what each is going to claim at their conventions so why bother watching them? While I will vote in the upcoming election, neither candidate is especially appealing to me. It bothers me a great deal that this nation cannot produce better candidates than what we've had the past few elections.

As a minister for the past 40 years I have tried very hard to stay out of partisan politics. Several years ago my Dad ran for a local office and asked to put a campaign sign in my yard. I refused. I explained to him that I would support him and vote for him, but as a pastor I would not endorse a candidate for either party. He was not happy with me at the time, but a few years later I think he understood why I took the stand I did.

After I resigned my pastorate the church called an interim who took a very strong political stand for one political party. My father had spent his life voting for and working for the other party. A few months into that interim period Dad called me shortly after lunch one Sunday. He explained that during the sermon he got up and walked out of the church. He had listened to that minister extol the current president and rail against the other party for as long as he could take. Dad said he sat in his car in the parking lot shaking so bad he couldn't drive away for several minutes. He said he went to church to hear about God, not for the minister to promote his political views. Dad never returned to that church but began attending another church more interested in preaching the gospel than it was in promoting partisan politics.

I think about Dad's experience often when I read some of the posts by pastors, Christian authors and other Christian leaders. Some of these people I once held in high esteem, but I have to admit that has been lessened by their political posts. Some are strong Trump haters, and their posts on social media reflect that hatred. Others are strongly critical of Democrats and speak very ugly about them and their leadership. While it is one thing to address policies it is another thing to attack personalities, especially with the venom I often read. During the last election I had to unfriend some people because of the ugliness of their political posts. As this election draws closer I fear I will have to do the same this time. 

We need to remember that half of our congregations will hold to similar political views we have while the other half will support the views of the opposing party. As pastors we must address moral and ethical issues, but we do that without dragging in our political views. 

Should Christians be involved in politics? Absolutely! I would love to see more Christians run for political office and pastors to speak to the moral issues that affect our nation. I have not failed to vote in any election since becoming eligible to vote, and this year I will vote for the candidates I believe best reflect my values and beliefs. At the same time, I do not believe that Christian leaders, such as pastors, should engage in partisan politics. My fear is that the more we talk about politics the more we dilute the Gospel message we are called to proclaim. And we cause people like my Dad to be unable to hear the Gospel for the campaign slogans we are proclaiming from our pulpits and our social media sites.

Toxic lay leaders in the church

After yesterday's post on the dangers of toxic pastors to the church I had some ask about writing a similar post about toxic lay leaders. Actually, I have written several posts over the years about such leaders. Some of my books also contain sections that address toxic lay leaders. I usually refer to such people as controllers, and they are extremely damaging to a church. One reason they are so damaging is that no one wants to stand up to them so they are allowed to continue their bad behavior.

Controllers, or toxic lay leaders, care nothing about the church. They care only for their own position in the church. They seek to control the pastor, the finances and everything else that goes on in the church. They will attack anything that seems to be a threat to their power or position with no concern about who it might hurt or how it might harm the church. As I've written elsewhere, these people are cancers to the church. They are unhealthy cells attacking the healthy cells in the body of Christ, and if they are not stopped they will kill a church.

You can't stop a cancer in the body by pretending it doesn't exist or by covering it with a band-aid. It often requires aggressive action to stop a cancer from spreading, and often the treatment is difficult, but unless the cancer is treated properly it will kill the body.

Too often, the church is not willing to challenge a controller. They make excuses for the bad behavior of their toxic leaders. They allow controllers to run off pastor after pastor and member after member because of their refusal to take action against the controller. They stand there and watch their church grow smaller and more unhealthy each year and do nothing. As one departing pastor told me once, "We have too many nice people in our church who won't stand up to the ones who aren't so nice." This good pastor grew weary of fighting the small thinking of a handful of controllers and left after a very successful ministry in that church. Years later, that church has not recovered from his leaving.

When I was serving in a judicatory role a church board contacted me about an ongoing problem they were having. They struggled keeping pastors, and while new members joined their church, they often left within a few months. The board pointed to two families who were mostly responsible for the turmoil and loss of new people. I asked the board what they were going to do about it, and they said there wasn't anything they could do. I looked at them and said, "Then learn to live with it," and started to leave. They asked, "What can we do?" I explained that as leaders of that church they were the ones to decide who stays and who goes. If you have two families who are causing dissension in the church and driving people away you need to address their bad behavior and explain that it will not be tolerated. Within a few weeks the board did address the problem, and both of the toxic families left the church. They called a new pastor who has been there for several years now and the church has more than doubled in size.

When a church has someone causing dissension in the church, constantly creating problems and preventing the church from moving forward the lay leaders must address the problem. The pastor cannot do this by himself or herself. The offending individual needs to be addressed by the entire group of lay leaders, the offensive behavior pointed out, and it needs to be made clear that future behavior of that type will not be tolerated. When confronted by the group the offender knows the church means business. At this point, the next step is up to the offender. He or she can either adjust their behavior or leave the church. If the person decides to do neither the church will need to take appropriate action.

Is any of this easy? No, but it's no more difficult that watching good people leave the church because of the bad behavior of a toxic lay leader.

Toxic leadership can destroy a church

 In yesterday's post I stressed the importance of strong pastoral leadership in the church. However, it is possible for such leadership to become toxic and do great damage to a church.

The first church I worked with in its search for a new pastor was a small, rural church who had experienced a succession of toxic pastors. According to the congregation, when the previous pastor began his ministry he told some people they would no longer teach their Sunday school class and assigned a different teacher to teach those classes. He removed people from various boards and placed others in those positions. He ran the church as his personal fiefdom. By the time he left, the church was much smaller and those who remained were shell-shocked. Unfortunately, that was not the only church I found like that in my years of serving as a Resource Minister to our region.

Pastoral leadership must always be servant leadership. Some think that servant leadership cannot be strong leadership, but such people evidently never consider the ministry of Jesus. He was both a servant and a strong leader, and He should be the example every pastor should want to emulate.

Toxic leaders see themselves as CEOs of a church. They take a "My way or the highway" approach to every situation. No one dares question them. Their favorite Bible verse is "Touch not God's anointed." They tear into the congregation Sunday after Sunday and bully anyone who stands up against them. Too often churches allow them to get away with such behavior uncertain how to respond.

A church will never be healthy with toxic leadership. When a pastor exhibits some of the behavior described above the church leadership needs to address it immediately. The longer it continues the more damage it will cause. It's important that the leadership addresses it as a group. I watched as lay leaders one by one left a good church due to the unhealthy behavior of the pastor. Individually they would challenge him and then leave when he attacked them as troublemakers. I encouraged these leaders to talk to the pastor as a group, but they did not until a significant number of people had left the church. Only when the remaining leaders addressed the situation did the pastor leave. To date, the church has not recovered from the experience.

Sometimes a good pastor will allow some toxicity to enter his or her ministry. There are some signs a self-aware pastor can watch for to see if he or she is starting to become toxic. One is if the sermons begin to take on a hostile tone week after week. If all your sermons are doing is tearing people down, you cannot be building them up. A second sign is if the pastor begins to think that he or she is the only one in the church who can hear from God. A third sign is when the pastor must be right all the time. A healthy pastor will recognize that sometimes he or she is wrong. In such times the pastor must be willing to admit it and apologize if necessary. A fourth sign is when you find you are pushing your people rather than leading them. Some pastors feel they must force people to do what they want rather than lead them in the direction God wants to take them. A fifth sign is if the pastor begins to believe this is his or her church and the members exist to do the bidding of the pastor. We must never forget the church belongs to God. He has called us to shepherd His people, to serve them, to lead them and to love them.

Toxic pastors can be transformed into servant leaders if they are willing to address their problem. If they are unwilling, they will leave a trail of broken churches behind them until they are unable to find another church in which to minister. This is why it is so important that a church does its due diligence when seeking another pastor. Check as many references as possible including from previous churches in which the person ministered. A church can flourish with a strong servant leader, but it will suffer under the leadership of a toxic pastor.

Pastoral leadership is needed in many churches

 Studies consistently find that growing churches are almost always led by strong pastoral leadership. Unfortunately, too many pastors are not leaders. They have been trained to manage the existing system, not to lead the church into new ministries and new ways of serving. This lack of pastoral leadership is responsible for preventing churches from reaching their ministry potential. If pastoral leadership is so important, why do more pastors not provide that leadership? The reasons are many. Here are some.

Some churches will not permit the pastor to provide the necessary leadership. They are structured around boards and committees that make the decisions which are often finalized by a congregational vote. While this structure worked well in more settled times, in the twenty-first century things change so rapidly that the church must become more fluid in its decision making. Decisions need to be made quickly or opportunities will be missed. Churches need pastors who can lead their churches to respond quickly to ministry opportunities, and our churches need to be willing to follow their pastor's leadership to meet those needs.

Another reason some pastors don't lead is they are afraid of failing. Many are very risk-averse. They see failure as . . .well, failure. They believe that if they fail too many times the church will replace them. So, the less they lead the less likely it is that they will fail. Of course, that also means there is less chance that they church will succeed in its ministry. Leadership guru John Maxwell writes that entrepreneurs fail an average of 3.8 times before succeeding in business. Another leadership expert, Max Depree, claims that leaders are only right about half of the time. I think pastors afraid of risk need to study the life of the apostles. They refused to play it safe. They didn't always get it right. For instance, Paul and Barnabas got into a big fight over whether or not to take John Mark on a second missionary journey, but in the end it worked out well. Peter got rebuked by both Jesus and Paul for his impulsive behavior, but his ministry was highly effective. We need pastors who are not afraid to take risks and churches willing to allow them to take those risks. Playing it safe in the twenty-first century won't get it done.

A third reason some pastors don't lead is they don't know where they or the church is going. It's hard to lead when you don't know where you are going! Many pastors will admit they have no vision for their ministries. Even more bothersome is after they admit they don't have a vision for ministry, two years later they still don't have one. Vision gives direction and purpose to any group of people including churches. Christian psychologist Gary Collins writes, "If you think you can be a leader without being a visionary, forget it. No one will follow your lead if you don't know where you are going."

A fourth reason some pastors don't lead was alluded to in the first paragraph. They were trained to manage the status quo, not lead the church forward. Churches reward pastors for good management. We are rewarded for keeping the wheels greased and conflict down. Most seminaries train their students to be good managers because that is what most churches want. Unfortunately, that management-style of ministry does not lead to effective outreach and growth in the church. I have read that the typical seminary education will prepare a person to pastor a church of about 120 people. This is why the typical North American church averages about 75 people on Sunday morning and why few single-pastor churches grow beyond 120 in their worship services. If we want to see our churches grow our pastors have to develop their leadership skills.

Tomorrow's blog will address toxic leadership in the church. As important as pastoral leadership is to a church, toxic leadership is deadly to a congregation.

What do teens need from the church?

Last night I read a blog that spoke to me so much that I wanted to share it with my readers. Sara Barratt is a twenty-year-old who has seen too many in her age group walk away from God. She has written a book that I believe would be a great addition to the library of a church youth worker or a youth teacher. I have to be honest and admit I have not read the book so I cannot endorse it, but based on her comments in her blog post I think the book would be beneficial to those who minister to youth. The book is titled Love Riot. If you want to read her post you can find it at https://gcdiscipleship.com/article-feed/six-core-things-teens-need-from-the-church. In the post she says there are six things that teens need from the church.

• Intentional Discipleship - Too many youth ministries focus on fun activities designed to attract young people and keep them coming. While these activities may grow the youth group larger, they do not grow the individuals deeper in their relationship with God.
• Open Conversation About Hard Topics - Teenagers are wrestling with a lot of difficult issues. If the church doesn't address them or offer a safe place to discuss them, teens will seek answers elsewhere. These may not be the best answers. Growth comes when we are free to talk about the hard topics.
• Biblical Literacy - One day our teenagers will leave the safety of their home and church and enter into a world that rejects biblical truth. They need a solid foundation for their faith and helping them learn how to read and study the Bible is essential to helping them acquire that foundation.
• Solid Theology - Anyone who has questions about Christianity is ultimately asking questions about God, and this includes our teens. Our churches need to be places that are not afraid to preach and teach biblical doctrines. Studies have found that when unchurched people begin to search for a church to attend they look for one that believes something and is not afraid to proclaim it. We do not have to water down the Gospel for the unchurched or for our teens.
• Truth-Filled Apologetics - Our society today is quick to challenge almost every Christian belief. Apologetics give us the tools we need to answer those critics and defend our faith. Our teens need to not only know what they believe but why they believe it. If they can't defend their faith, one day they are apt to walk away from it.
• Jesus - Our teenagers need to know that Christianity is not about keeping a list of rules but a relationship with Jesus Christ. As important as it is to know the things listed above, it's even more important to know Christ. We need to do everything we can to encourage them to enter into a relationship with Him.

Of course, it's not just our teens that need these six things from the church. Many of our adults need the same things. I want to encourage every church leader and pastor to become intentional about implementing each of these six things to everyone in their churches.

Who is watching your online services?

Many churches report that the number of people who watch their worship services on social media or online outnumber those who attended services before Covid-19. If this is true in your case, do you know who these people are? Many churches try to capture information on the guests who attend their physical services so why wouldn't we want to know who the people are who attend the services online?

One of the keys to a growing church is developing a connection with people who show an interest in your ministry. That connection cannot happen if you do not know who those individuals are and how to make contact with them. There is a reason they are tuning in to your services, especially if they watch the services regularly. Something about your service speaks to them. This gives your church a window of opportunity to minister to them.

For too long the church has practiced a front-door ministry. We opened the doors of the church each week and invited people to join us. The problem is that few did. Still, we stuck to the old strategy that worked years ago and saw our numbers continues to shrink. Maybe one good thing that will come out of this pandemic is that churches will begin rethinking how to do ministry. Part of this strategy must include taking the church to the people, which, by the way, is what the Great Commission tells us to do anyway. This is going to require churches to consider how to best do that given their communities and the people in their congregations who are involved in ministry.  This new paradigm of ministry will not feel comfortable for many in the church, but it is a change that, in my opinion, will not be optional.

As many of you know, in addition to being a minister I am an auctioneer. Covid-19 has caused the auction world to change. In many states live auctions are still not permitted due to crowd size and social distancing. In order to survive many of these auction companies have gone to online auctions. This involved a big learning curve and a financial investment. Some have learned that their business has actually improved since making the change. I've been told by some that they will never return to live auctions. Others refuse to make the change for various reasons, but one of the reasons is that they don't want to give up what they've always known. It's too early to make a prediction, but they may not have any choice if they want to survive.

Churches are in the same situation. When this pandemic is over I'm not sure churches will be able to return to their old normal ways of doing things. Now is the time to begin considering what new ways of ministry God might be leading your church into and begin taking the steps to get there. Those churches that are able to make the necessary changes will be the ones God will use to further His kingdom.

Ordaining bivocational ministers

 It has been awhile since I've written about my concerns regarding the ordination of bivocational ministers. For several years we have seen an increase in the number of bivocational ministers serving in churches of most denominations. As church leaders speculate about the changes churches are going to see post-Covid one of the things often discussed is that the number of bivocational ministers will increase even more. Some are saying that in the next few years we will see a tremendous number of ministers leaving the ministry. Many of them will be replaced by bivocational pastors, and yet many denominations and judicatories have not changed their ordination policies in decades. When a denomination tells its bivocational pastors they cannot be ordained because they lack a certain educational degree it is telling them that they are second-class citizens in that denomination. It's little wonder why these pastors and the churches they lead feel little connected to the denomination and why these churches often provide so little support to their denomination.

The denomination in which I serve, like many others, require a Master of Divinity degree before the pastor can be ordained. We do allow local churches to ordain pastors who do not have that degree, but that ordination may or may not be recognized if the pastor changes churches or moves to a different region. This requirement was started, I suppose, to raise the level of education among its clergy. While it did accomplish that goal it also drove a wedge between the denomination and its bivocational clergy. I should note that my own ordination is a local church ordination. At the time my church ordained me I had no education beyond high school. What is ironic is that I now have a bachelor's degree, a Master of Arts in Religion and a Doctor of Ministry degree, but I still do not have that required MDiv degree. I still do not meet the educational standard. I must also point out that after seven years of ministry in our denomination we can request full ordination without that degree. However, I never made that request. Personally, I am honored that the church I served, who knew me better than anyone else, saw fit to ordain me to the Gospel ministry. Their affirmation was enough for me.

Setting aside my own personal experience, my primary concern is the relationship that is going to exist between denominations and the bivocational clergy serving their churches if the denominations continue to send the message that without a particular degree that their clergy is not entitled to ordination recognition. I believe there is still value in churches being part of a denomination. During my 20 year pastorate my church and I benefited a great deal from our relationship with our denomination. We were supported in ways that a small, independent church would not have known. Yet, I know that not all bivocational ministers felt that way towards their denomination, and part of that had to do with the ordination issue.

I don't know how many denominational and judicatory leaders read this blog, but I want to say to those who do that without your bivocational ministers you would not be able to do some of the things you are doing. They are providing valuable ministry to your churches, and they need to be recognized for that. If you haven't reviewed your ordination policies in a while, especially if you do not ordain persons who do not meet your educational standards, I encourage you to conduct such a review. I can almost guarantee you that the number of churches you represent who will seek bivocational leadership in the near future is going to increase. If you do not begin to recognize their efforts and offer them opportunities to be ordained, you are going to see many of these churches pull away from active membership and participation in your denomination. This is already happening, and it's going to increase unless chances are made.

Pastors, if you agree with my concern I suggest you forward this post to your judicatory or denominational leadership. Ask them to review their ordination standards and to provide a path by which bivocational leadership can be ordained.

The Scriptures and Christianity

Ed Stetzer and Elmer Towns wrote a book listing several core doctrines that are essential to Christianity. One of those doctrines is the authority of the Scriptures. They wrote, "Take away the authority of the Bible, or the essential content of the Bible, and you no longer have Christianity." You may have a good organization or a belief system that does many good things, but you have something less than the Christian faith.

In my book The Healthy Community: Moving Your Church Beyond Tunnel Vision I wrote

Without an authoritative Bible, the church will be susceptible to a variety of popular, yet false beliefs. People will pick and choose which ideas to dismiss and which ideas to add until their "Christianity" is unrecognizable as the apostolic faith. Those who create their own version of Christianity in this way have no solid foundation upon which to offer truth because their source is considered unreliable and open to change with cultural trends. We are no longer anchored to truth when we believe one person's theology is just as true as another's no matter how those theologies may disagree. We need Scripture to settle theological disagreements and provide a trustworthy foundation for belief. Some have said the primary belief system in our postmodern world can be summed up in one word: "Whatever." Without an authoritative Bible, the same will be true of the church as well.

The first temptation mankind faced was to question the word of God. God specifically told Adam and Eve to not eat of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Satan comes along and asks "Has God said...?" causing Eve and then Adam to question God's clear word to them. It is a strategy he still uses today when he tries to create doubts in people's minds regarding the validity of the Scriptures. 

The apostle Paul cautioned young Timothy that there would come a time when people would not want to hear sound doctrine but would gather around them false teachers who would tickle their ears with pleasant messages (2 Timothy 4: 3-4). We are living in that time. In too many seminaries young people preparing for the ministry graduate doubting the truths found in the Scriptures. They are taught to trust more in science and philosophy than in the teaching of the Bible. As they assume pastoral ministries they began to teach these false doctrines to their congregations. The result is that many Christians struggle to believe basic biblical teaching. According to one study 21 percent of born-again Christians believe that the Bible teaches principles that should not be followed. Only 40 percent of these individuals believe that Satan is a real force, and only 62 percent believe that Jesus lived a sinless life on earth. In another survey conducted of clergy in mainline Protestant churches 67 percent lacked confidence in at least some aspects of the Scriptures.

Individual Christians will never live the life God has prepared for them if they do not accept biblical teaching as relevant and authoritative to their lives. We cannot pick and choose which Bible doctrines we want to accept and which ones we want to ignore.

Likewise, churches will never impact their communities for the Kingdom of God without a firm belief in the authority and infallibility of the Bible. Without such an understanding of Scriptures we have no firm foundation for our teaching, our practices or our ministries.

Signs of a healthy church

In my book The Healthy Small Church: Diagnosis and Treatment for the Big Issues I listed some of the signs of a healthy church. These include

• They have a positive self-image. They don't equate church size with church significance.
• The church shares a common vision that gives it a sense of purpose and unity.
• Although family ties are important, those who visit the church are warmly welcomed and affirmed.
• Church members understand the importance of faithful stewardship and financially support the ministry of the church.
• Ministry is understood to be the responsibility of all the members, not just the pastor and staff.
• People are encouraged to serve according to their spiritual gifts, not by their seniority in the church.

The reason I wrote that book is because I have seen unhealthy churches become healthy again, and I wanted to give churches and their leaders the tools to become healthier. Transforming an unhealthy church into a healthy one is never easy, but it's always worth the effort. It also doesn't happen quickly. As I've told many church leaders, your church did not become unhealthy overnight, and it won't become healthy overnight. Church health, like physical health, isn't permanent. If a person ignores symptoms of disease in the body they can become physically unhealthy very quickly. Likewise, if a church ignores symptoms  of disease it too can become unhealthy. The book was written to help churches diagnose various components of its ministry and structure to see if unhealthy habits were creeping in.

A healthy church will be a growing church. An unhealthy church can sometimes grow as well, but it will grow to become even more unhealthy. When an unhealthy church grows it becomes a hindrance to the Kingdom of God and can bring great harm to its members and to the community around it.

Church health is the responsibility of all the members of a church but especially that of its leaders. These leaders must be willing to ask the hard questions that determine just how healthy a church is and must be intentional about taking the necessary steps to bring healing to the church. Restoring health to a church often requires making significant changes to its structure and ministries, and these changes are seldom easy to make. It will require disciplined, intentional effort from the leaders to make these changes. As difficult as they might be to implement, it will be well worth it.

How would your church be different if all the qualities of a healthy church listed above were evident in your church? Does that sound like a church you would want to attend?

Staying connected during a pandemic

For several months the Covid pandemic closed down almost all businesses, schools and other large gatherings including churches. Many churches scrambled to get the technology and know-how to offer their services on social media or on their websites. Some churches went beyond just offering worship services online and also provided children's ministries, Sunday school classes and even secular activities to their viewers. In many parts of the country churches are now opening up and holding in-person worship services. However, many members of their congregations are still not comfortable in a large setting even if social distancing is practiced. To serve these individuals a lot of churches continue to offer online services. While this is important it's not enough. Churches must find ways to  remain connected with their members who choose to stay home.

This can be done in a number of ways. Certainly, the telephone remains a viable option as does texting and connecting through social media. While some people believe older people are not tech savvy and may not use social media or texting, they may be surprised to find out that many older persons are quite active on social media and more tech savvy than they realize.

A few years ago I was preaching a revival in a church. One night I was encouraging the church to begin using social media if they were serious about reaching younger people. I explained that I had a web site (which I've since canceled), a blog and was on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and probably sent more texts than phone calls. After the service a college student approached and asked if I was really that active on social media. When I said I was she responded, "I didn't think old people did that." Well, we do, and it's a great way to stay in contact with persons who are concerned about being out in public.

Porch visits are another way to stay in contact with members of your congregation. Most people would be comfortable with a personal visit if you didn't enter their home. Such visits would by necessity be brief, but the contact is likely to be remembered for a long time.

Sending cards is another way to staying connected. When I was in the Navy during the late 1960s I received an envelope once or twice a month from the church I was attending when I enlisted. Often, the envelope contained nothing but one or two church bulletins. Sometimes people would write little notes in the margins, sometimes they didn't. Occasionally, there would be a letter from the church. These always reminded me that little church had not forgotten me while I was away. One other thing to consider when sending cards: Have the younger children draw some cards to send to your senior saints. I can almost guarantee they will love receiving those cards.

Not only is it important that the church stays connected to their members, it's important that the church provides a way for the members to stay connected with the church. One way to do that which is often overlooked is by making it easy for members who can't attend the services in person to be able to give financially. An excellent way to do that is to offer online giving. While it may not be difficult to write a check and put it in the mail, it's a lot easier for someone to give electronically through the church's web site. BTW - The younger generation that most churches say they want to reach pays almost all their payments online. It's foreign to many of them to write a check or pay by cash. Setting up an online giving system is not difficult and allows your members who are unable to attend services in person to easily contribute to the church.

These are just some ways to stay connected with members of the congregation until it's safe for everyone to return to live services. You can probably think of other ways that will work in your setting. However you do it, be sure to not lose contact with people during this time.

Starting a new ministry

As I posted on my FB page yesterday, next Sunday I will begin a new ministry as the Transitional Pastor of Westport Baptist Church in Westport, IN. This is a great church that I have known for a long time, and I feel honored to have been asked to serve them during this time of transition.

Having worked 14 years in a judicatory role I had the opportunity to work with many churches during their search for a new pastor. One of the things I learned was that many of them did not especially value that period of time in their church's life. Many of them wanted to shorten the time they were without their next pastor as much as possible not realizing the value this transitional time could bring to their church.

This is a time when churches can get reacquainted with themselves. Chances are the church and community have changed since they called their last pastor. People have moved in and out bringing different gifts to the church. As the community changed it may have brought new ministry opportunities to the church. This transition time give the church time to recognize these changes and respond to them.

It's also a time for healing. If the previous pastor had served the church for a number of years there is a sense of loss when he or she leaves. Sometimes the pastor leaves under less than ideal conditions, and there may be some anger felt in the congregation towards those they believe caused the pastor to leave. There is often some confusion about why God called the pastor away at this time. Regardless of why a former pastor leaves a church, some healing will need to take place before the next pastor is called. This interim period is the right time for this healing to occur. It's important that the church not call its next pastor until that healing happens or some of the anger and mistrust may be transferred to the new pastor which isn't fair.

Few churches have a sense of vision for what God wants them to be and do. This transitional time is an excellent opportunity for a church to spend some time discerning what that vision might be. Too many churches want to wait until the new pastor comes who will then, in their minds, tell them what their vision should be. That's a mistake. It's far better for a church to understand God's vision for their ministry before calling a new pastor. It's far more effective to be able to explain that vision to pastoral candidates during the interview process and then ask how they can help lead the church in fulfilling that vision.

If a church is a member of a denomination, this is an excellent time to build upon that relationship. As churches get involved in its various activities it's easy to get separated from the larger body of Christ. Association and denomination involvement can suffer. Most denominations provide a process they can use to help the church identify pastoral candidates. As the church works with their denominational representative it helps renew that relationship. This can be very healthy long-term for the church.

I find this transitional time can also be a great time to explore new ways of doing ministry. Churches can sometimes be willing to try something new when the transitional pastor is leading it because they do not  view it as permanent. When it works out well, it might become permanent, but if it doesn't work out so good at least their regular pastor won't get the blame for it.

It's easy to see why I prefer the term Transitional Pastor rather than interim Pastor. When done right the church isn't sitting around waiting to call a new pastor. The church is active, involved in ministry and transitioning into a new period of ministry. I'm looking forward to my time with this church and excited about this new opportunity God has given me. Please pray for us as we begin our life together. 

Pastors and depression

While driving around yesterday I heard a caller talking to a radio host about her battle with depression and how physical exercise helped her deal with her illness. I picked up the conversation about its half-way point, and it was obvious the host and caller knew each other. The radio host admitted he had dealt with depression for much of his adult life as well and began each day with a cardio workout to help deal with his condition. What struck me was how open and honest they were being about their struggle with depression with tens of thousands of potential listeners to the program and how many people may be helped because of that honesty.

Regular readers of this blog or some of my books know that I experienced depression during the mid 1980s and my own susceptibility to the disease. Many pastors struggle with the same condition, but not all are willing to be as open about their struggle as I have been or these individuals on the radio were. Too many Christians have the mistaken belief that being depressed is a spiritual condition or that it represents a weak faith. Some well-known pastors and church leaders have said as much. I want to say as humbly and kindly as possible that those who say such things have no idea what they are talking about. Depression is a medical condition that has no relation to one's spiritual condition or faith in God. It often is caused by physical conditions such as low levels of neurotransmitters in the brain or other similar conditions, none of which have anything to do with one's relationship with God.

My own depression was due to such conditions brought about by poor self-care at the time. Pushing myself beyond what is healthy caused the neurotransmitters in my brain to become so low it was difficult to function. I recognize now that my body had to shut down in order to heal itself. Medication and weekly meetings with a pastoral counselor helped speed up that process, but the body had to heal itself, and since I wouldn't take better care of myself my body had to intervene itself to heal.

Pastoral ministry is demanding and takes a lot from a person. If we do not practice good self-care we can experience not only depression but a lot of other medical conditions as well. For some reason, too many of us in ministry think we can abuse ourselves and not suffer the consequences for doing so. For too long I believed the foolish idea that I would rather burn out than rust out. Hey...either way you're out! Unfortunately, some pastors still believe in being martyrs so they refuse to take care of themselves and so limit their usefulness to their ministries, their churches, their families, and themselves.

Even when pastors suspect they might be depressed they refuse to admit it or talk about it. This sets them up for even more failure later on in their own lives and prevents them from being able to minister to those in their congregations who might be experiencing depression themselves. Not once have I ever referred to my bout with depression in a church that someone in that church didn't come to me afterwards thanking me for my honestly and asking for prayer for their own battle with the illness.

Please, pastors, take care of yourselves for your sake and that of your family and ministry. Church leaders, if you suspect your pastor might be struggling with depression arrange for a private conversation with him or her about it. Encourage them to seek medical treatment, or at least encourage them to get a professional opinion to determine if your concern is valid or not. 

There is no shame in being depressed. It is no different than being diagnosed with the flu or having a broken leg. There is treatment available so avail yourself of it. Learn what might trigger depression in your life and find ways to avoid those triggers. Take care of yourself, please.

Staying connected during a pandemic

Early in the pandemic most churches stopped meeting in person. Many went to some form of online worship service through social media or their website. Many felt frustrated they could not gather in person but understood it was probably for the best in order to slow the spread of the virus. Pastors were frustrated they could not be with members of their congregation during times of need such as hospitalizations or deaths in the family.

Although many churches have opened, some people are still choosing to not attend services in person due to chronic health conditions or other reasons. Pastors still feel limitations of providing pastoral care to their congregations. Since things are unlikely to return to the previous normal for some time, if ever, we must find ways to stay connected.

I recently preached in a church that was offering communion. Rather than pass out the bread and cups as usual in our tradition, the church purchased the single communion cups with the juice and wafer in one container. These were placed on an outside table and everyone was asked to pick one up when they entered the building. As I began my message I reminded them of the new way, for this church, we were going to observe the Lord's Supper that day. I then addressed those who might be watching the service on social media to get them a drink and a cracker or something and be ready to participate in the Lord's Supper with us when the time came. This was one way they could stay connected to their congregation even if they could not be physically present.

While home and hospital visits may not always be possible, it is possible to offer pastoral care by phone or through emails and texts. While these may not be the best options, for some of us they might be the only options for now. Any contact is better than no contact. It reminds people that the church cares, and it also serves as a reminder that God cares about them during this challenging time.

When I served as a bivocational pastor a deacon and I took communion to the church shut-ins each quarter. One home had an elderly couple who were not able to get out except for doctor visits. One Sunday afternoon she said that they appreciated us bringing Communion to them but wondered why we did it. I responded that when I read the old church records I found their names on just about every page. It was because of people like them that the church was there for us today. Bringing them Communion was one way of saying thank you to them and a way for them to stay connected to the church they served for many years.

At this time, such ministry might not be possible, but we still must find ways to remind people they are still a part of our church family even if they can't attend services in person. These saints are precious in God's sight, and they should be precious in our sights as well. 

We will get through this challenging time. Let's just make sure we all get through it together.

When churches hurt rather than heal

My doctoral project was to determine if coaching would benefit bivocational pastors. I coached six pastors across the US and Canada for three months. My dissertation was a record of the coaching calls and the changes that took place in the lives of those I coached. In addition, each person had to write a two page report on how the coaching impacted his or her life, and that report was included in the dissertation. The dissertation later became The Art and Practice of Bivocational Ministry: A Pastor's Guide published in 2013.

One of my favorite pastors I coached during that project was a woman who pastored a small church in a small community out west. During one of our sessions I asked her what she would most like to do as a pastor. She hesitated to answer at first because she said no one had ever asked her that question. Finally, she said she would like to be able to minister to persons who had been hurt by the church in the past. I laughed and told her if she found a way to successfully do that her little church wouldn't be small for very long because she would find a lot of people who have been hurt by the church. The remainder of that coaching call was spent discussing how she might begin such a ministry.

Unfortunately, it's not difficult to find people who have been hurt by the church. We have a well-earned reputation of shooting our wounded. Too often, the church hurts others rather than offer them healing. In heated meetings we speak hurtful words to one another. We ridicule the ideas or suggestions of others. We let people fall through the cracks to the point that they believe the church doesn't care about them. We try to tell people how to live their lives when we have no idea of the things they are dealing with. In one church a single mother of four young children began attending services. After being there about six months a couple approached her one Sunday after the service and began telling her all the things they thought she was doing wrong in raising her children. She never went back. When someone from the church finally asked why she stopped coming she explained she had enough going on in her life without people telling her she was a bad mother. Sadly, these kind of experiences are not uncommon, and many people have left the church due to the pain the church caused them. I once met a woman who showed me a letter she had received from a member of the church she had attended also complaining about the way she was raising her children. She had received that letter twenty years before and still had it, and as she showed it to me and told me the story I could hear the anger that was still in her voice. Some of the wounds the church causes runs deep.

The church is not made up of perfect people. None of us has it all together. We need to learn to be patient with one another and respect the feelings of others. When I think of the patience God has with me I have no choice but to be patient with others. As I've said in sermons, church is not a hotel for saints but a hospital for sinners. It needs to be place where we all can find healing and instruction for our lives.

None of this is to suggest that we ignore sin in people's lives or that we become door mats that others are allowed to walk over. Certainly, we must stand for what is right, but we don't have to be mean or ugly about it. We don't have to trample over people's feelings.

Life is tough with lots of challenges. The church should be the one place where we can work together to help one another get through those tough times. We should look to heal and not add to the pain and difficulties in the lives of others.

If you are reading this and is someone who has left the church because of the pain it caused you, consider coming back. As I wrote above, the church is not a perfect place. Most of the time when we've hurt someone it wasn't done intentionally. A family left the church I pastored over a hurt caused by a group in the church. I went to visit the family and encouraged them to not let that hurt keep them from church. I suggested if they couldn't return to our church to find another one to attend because we all need a church. They did find another church and attended there for years. I then explained to the group that caused the pain what they had done. They didn't realize the damage their actions would cause, and it never happened again while I was pastor there.

Find you a good church and allow God to bring healing to your hurts. Life is too tough to try to get through it without the support of a church who loves God and will love you.

The best change is slow change

We all know how popular change is in most churches. Even churches that know the things they are doing isn't working are reluctant to change what they are doing. They prefer the status quo over doing something different because the status quo is comfortable. In the status quo everyone knows their place, and if something changes their place may change, or even more frightening, they may not have a place. Yet, we know that all things do change. At one time, the status quo we try to hold onto was a new way of doing things in the church. Change is inevitable, so how do we bring about change in a church?

When I speak to pastor gatherings I tell them that change will take much longer than anyone wants, and if they try to rush it the change will not happen. Gary McInstosh is one of the top church consultants today, serves as president of the Church Growth Network and is a professor of Christian ministry and leadership. In his excellent book There's Hope for Your Church: First Steps To Restoring Health And Growth he writes, "Research in the field of church growth shows that it takes an average of seven years to implement significant changes in an urban or suburban church. Bringing about the same changes in a rural setting often takes ten to twelve years, if not longer."

I have read elsewhere that it will take five years from the time a change is introduced to a congregation until it becomes a part of the DNA of the church. From my experience, I think McIntosh's time frame is more accurate, but in either case, bringing about change in a church will take longer than any of us would prefer. Even if a change is implemented quicker than that the desire to return to the status quo will constantly be trying to pull the church back to what it was before. One church made a major change over five years ago in its organizational structure that is working very well, but there are still people in the church advocating to go back to their old structure.

The wise leader will understand that if change needs to occur in a church, and it likely does in most churches, that this will be a lengthy process. Unless the pastor is committed to remaining at the church for a significant time, he or she should not seek to introduce major changes. Even with such a commitment, the pastor may not see those changes fully implemented. As the apostle Paul reminds us, some of us are called to prepare the ground, others to plant the seed, others to water, and some to reap the harvest. Perhaps you are called to till up the hard ground or plant the seed, but others will enjoy the harvest that resulted from your hard work.

One major mistake I have seen pastors make regarding change is that they suddenly spring it upon an unsuspecting congregation. If the pastor has been thinking about this for a few months and decides this change is necessary, he or she should not be surprised to find the majority of the congregation opposes it the first time they hear it. After all, they've just heard this idea you've been working on for months. It's far better to begin sharing it with some trusted leaders in the church to get their input before introducing it to the wider congregation. Doing this might also reveal some new insights as you hear feedback from these leaders that will make the changes you envision even better.

I have found that churches are not nearly as resistant to change as they are to sudden change. If presented right many churches will accept changes, but even then those changes will take time to implement. Be patient and trust God in the process.

Do you prefer healing or excuses?

The story of the man at the Pool of Bethesda in John 5 amazes me. For 38 years he was there hoping to be the first in the water when the angel came to stir it that he might be healed of his affliction. Jesus appeared there one day and asked him a question, "Do you want to be healed?" On the surface it seems like a silly question. Who would not want to be healed? Why did Jesus think he had spent so much time near the pool? But, what is really amazing is that the man never answered the question. Instead, he offered an excuse: He had no one to put him in the pool.

I served 14 years as a judicatory leader in our denomination. When I retired I served over 130 churches. Many of them were unhealthy and some near death. Talking to church leaders I would often hear the same stories about how the church was getting older, young people left when they completed their education, they couldn't get young families to attend the church, their finances were dwindling, it was hard to find a pastor who would stay and numerous other excuses why their church was in the shape it was in. Frankly, in 14 years I found very few of these churches that wanted to be healed. They were more interested in offering excuses than in making the hard decisions to become a healthy, growing church again.

The reason I said that was because virtually none of them were willing to do anything that might help them heal. One pastor, recognizing the situation the church was in, called to tell me he felt the church had maybe 10 years left if it didn't do something. He asked me to speak to the church about a visioning process I could lead them in. I did speak to the church and explained a little about the process I would take them through. During that process they might identify some new things God was wanting to do in their church, but this would require change and change sometimes led people to leave. After the service we had a Q&A time where I tried to answer some questions. One older lady finally spoke up and admitted she had been in favor of what I was proposing until I said the church might lose some people in the process. She said, "As soon as I heard that I looked around and realized there wasn't anyone here I wanted to lose." That ended any further discussion, and the pastor resigned a few months later.

What this lady didn't understand was that she was saying that she was willing to lose entire generations of people in order to maintain the friendships she had in the church. She was willing to see her church die and close down in a few years just so she could visit with some friends once a week. Had Jesus asked her if she wanted to see her church healed, she would have been forced to say no, or like the man in the text, avoid the question and begin offering excuses why their church couldn't be healthy.

Healthy, growing churches look nothing like churches did in the 1950s. If this is the ideal that your church is striving towards, you need to understand that you are forsaking the Great Commission's mandate to take the gospel to the lost in 2020. Every generation is responsible for reaching its generation of unbelievers.

Perhaps you see your church as currently unhealthy. The question needs to be asked: Do you want be made well? If the answer is yes, then you need to identify the things that will help you become healthy and take the necessary stops to achieve that health.

My book The Healthy Small Church: Diagnosis and Treatment for the Big Issues has helped hundreds of smaller churches that wanted to become healthier. Some judicatory ministers have bought copies for every pastor in their region. Churches have bought copies for every family in their church and used it in their mid-week studies. Other churches have bought copies for their leadership and studied it together during their regular meetings. I've been invited to speak at a number of these churches who told me it helped change their church.

Whether you use my book or some other resource, it's vital that every church identify anything that keeps it from being healthy and growing and address it. Millions of unchurched people need us to share the gospel message so that they might experience the forgiveness and salvation of God as we have.