Great Roundtable Event

 This past weekend I had the privilege of leading a Roundtable discussion with a group of pastors from the South Central Ohio Nazarene District. Nearly 30 people were in attendance as we looked at two of the issues facing the church as we continue into the 21st century.

The issues we addressed were from my latest book Is Your Church Ready for Ministry in the Coming Decade? During the morning session we discussed how the church can best minister to persons struggling financially. Every church wants to help those seeking assistance, but we must make sure we are actually helping the individual and not creating dependency and other problems for them. After lunch our topic was "The Church and Gender Dysphoria." This is a growing problem in today's culture and likely will continue to be for some time. Many pastors are not familiar with the issue and how to best address it. 

Following the second presentation there were several questions about the topic, and then the questions began to become more general regarding church ministry in the smaller church. It was a great time with some wonderful leaders in the area churches, and I appreciate them inviting me to be with them again.

I think many of us in pastoral ministry would prefer to avoid the issues discussed in the book. They are often messy and create confusion, pain and even misunderstandings within congregations. But if we are to minister to our current age we must be willing to address the issues that people today are dealing with. We cannot hide out in our theological ivory towers and pretend that difficult things do not exist. Christ didn't and neither can we.

The book is available through amazon.com for Kindle devices for $6.95. I would recommend this book for any church leader who wants to be better prepared for doing ministry in today's world.

I want to again thank the South Central Ohio Nazarene District for allowing me to spend the day with them. I especially want to thank their District Superintendent, Trevor Johnston, for inviting back for a second time to be with his pastors. Trevor and his staff and pastors are doing great things for the Kingdom of God in their district, and it's always a pleasure to work with such individuals.

What challenges will your church face in the next 10 years?

 

Is Your Church Ready for Ministry in the Coming Decade? is the title of my latest book. In it I explore some of the challenges the church will face in the next few years. Some of these are not new, but they are issues the church has often ignored or not understood. Others are newer and reflect the culture changes we see happening around us. Just because your church has not faced these challenges yet does not mean that it won't in the future, and it's entirely possible that some of these challenges are before you today in your congregation, and you are not aware of them. This Kindle book can be ordered through Amazon and only costs $6.95.

I've now been involved in pastoral and denominational ministry for 41 years. Currently, I serve as a Transitional Pastor for a church seeking pastoral leadership. I continue to be amazed at the changes that have occurred in ministry over the past four decades. Many of the challenges I discuss in the book were not issues when I began my pastoral ministry. At least, they did not present themselves as they do today.

How can a church minister to a family dealing with chronic poverty issues? Is there a way to help them without making them dependent upon others? How well does the church understand gender dysphoria, and how will you minister to the person and/or the family struggling with this situation? What can the church say to the ongoing racial divisions that exist in this country and within the church as well? Are there people in your congregation dealing with mental illnesses? Are you sure? What about their family members? The same question can be asked about persons suffering from addictions, and these addictions do not have to be to controlled substances. Perhaps they are dealing with addictions to social media or technology. Suicide is a growing problem in many communities. Is your church ready to minister to persons seeking to end their lives or the family members of those who already have?

These are just some of the issues I address in the book. These are the types of challenges that make ministry today so difficult, but they are the challenges people today are facing. If we are to be true to our calling we cannot ignore them.

If this book sounds like it might be helpful to your ministry, I invite you to check it out at Amazon.com. There is a sample preview available to help you decide if it might be a wise investment in your ministry.