Planning for the new year

The new year brings new opportunities for churches, families and individuals. I've always looked forward to the start of the new year because of the opportunities to learn new things, to have new experiences and to see how God will work in my life and the lives of my family. At the same time, I do not believe in merely sitting back and waiting to see what God will do. I'm convinced we have a part to play in this as well. Each of us needs to have some plan, a vision, for what we want to see happen in the new year.

For a number of years I set several goals I would work on in the coming year. Some of these would be short-term that would be achieved before the year ended. Some would be longer term that would need several years to see fulfilled. These would include goals for my family, my ministry, my finances, my own self-care and any other thing that I felt was important. I used a goal-tracking program to ensure I was making regular progress on each goal. One of the things I learned was that setting these goals allowed me to accomplish much more than if I had just sat back hoping that something good would happen that year.

Every goal was not fully achieved. Once I set a work goal of reaching a certain number of people I would serve in an area of my ministry. I came up about 10 people short of that goal. When our Executive Minister asked why I thought I didn't reach the goal, I explained that I knew that goal would stretch me, but I had still achieved more pursuing that goal than I would have without the goal. Occasionally, I would realize that a particular goal I had set was not for this time in my life, and I would stop working on it. Sometimes, God would lead me in a different direction for a certain goal. It's often been said if you want to make God laugh just tell Him your plans. I've made God laugh a few times, and He has led me in a different direction than I thought I would take.

What goals have you set for 2024? Without goals you run the risk of coming to December 2024 and look back to see that you really didn't accomplish very much, you didn't grow very much, and everything looks much like it did at the end of 2023. No one should be satisfied with that. 

Set goals and find ways to hold yourself accountable to achieve them. If you have goals for the most important things in your life you will find yourself more in control of what's happening rather than drifting around wondering what's happening.

Hulk Hogan and Jesus Christ

 Several months ago Kat Von D moved into a community in the next county from me. She is a tattoo artist who had her own TV show starting in 2007 and running for four years. After moving into the commumity she began attending a small Baptist church, a church in which I had preached numerous times as it's judicatory minister. A few weeks ago it was announced that she received Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and was baptized in that church. While many Christians applauded her conversion to Christ, some were critical questioning whether this was all a publicity stunt or some other sham. Her responses to that criticism has convinced me that her acceptance of Christ was real. I welcome my sister-in-Christ into the family!

A few days ago I read that Hulk Hogan, the well-known professional wrestler, also was recently baptized. For years, I followed professional wrestling starting with Dick the Bruiser in Indianapolis and up to more modern times that included the Attitude Era. Judge me if you want! I'm sure that critics will show up questioning Hulk's baptism. I would suggest it's not for you to judge! This is between Hulk Hogan and God, and God alone is able to judge what is in Hulk Hogan's heart.

Rather than criticizing, perhaps we need to be asking if God is doing a new thing. Prior to her baptism, Kat von D destroyed her witchcraft books saying they no longer reflected who she wanted to be. Hogan and his wife were baptized together, and he says it was the greatest day of his life. 

I am accepting that both of these events are true examples of what God is doing, and I celebrate with both individuals. One of the things this tells us is that God wants to reach the up-and-out as well as the down-and-out. Both Kat Von D and Hulk Hogan were at the top of their fields. Both were very successful; both were wealthy, and yet, both realized that there was something, or someone, missing in their lives. This is something our churches need not forget. All people need Jesus Christ.

 

The pastor shortage Part 3

 In recent posts I've been addressing the pastor shortage that is impacting our churches. If you haven't read those, I encourage you to go back and do so. Today, I want to continue this discussion with an additional thought about pastoral leadership and its value to our churches.

In the past post I focused on some things judicatories can do to help their pastors and relieve some of the pressures of pastoral ministry. Another thing our judicatory was able to do when I was serving on our staff was to help relieve some of the financial burdens our pastors felt. We were able to do that due to a very generous grant made available to us through Lilly. We were able to pay off student debt, medical bills, and other debts our pastors had. Can you imagine the impact that had on those pastors and their families? We also sought donations from our churches into a fund to enable us to continue to support our pastors in this way. Since I've been retired for a few years and out of the loop, I don't know if this program still exists or not, but we made a major impact on the finances of our pastors through this opportunity.

Again I am emphasizing the impact a judicatory can have on the health of its pastoral leadership. When pastors feel supported and appreciated by their judicatory leadership, they are less likely to leave the ministry. But, there is another advantage here that judicatories can enjoy. You can attract better pastors to the churches in your region. When pastors see that they are going to be supported by the judicatory they are going to become more interested in serving in that region or district.

No one has influenced me more in the area of leadership than John Maxwell. In his wonderful book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership,  he begins with Law 1, the Law of the Lid. The Law of the Lid says that no organization can rise any higher than the lid of its leadership. If the leader of any organization, including churches, has a leadership lid of a four, it can never rise higher than a 3 in effectiveness. The only way to raise the effectiveness of the organization is to raise the lid of its leadership.

As a lay leader in a church, do you want to improve the effectiveness of your church? The only way to do that is to raise the leadership lid of your pastor and lay leaders. As a judicatory leader, do you want to raise the effectiveness of the churches in your judicatory? The only way to do that is to raise the leadership lid of your pastors and the lay leaders in your churches. In the midst of a pastor shortage, do you want to raise the leadership lid of the pastors in your judicatory? The only way to do that is to attract the best pastors to serve in your judicatory, and the way to do is to become known as a judicatory who best serves its pastors. When you become knows as a judicatory that appreciates and supports its pastors, you will find pastors taking a second look at your open churches. As you attract better pastors and leaders to serve in your judicatory, you will find your judicatory begin to grow. Your churches become healthier, and they begin to grow. You have better leaders to serve in positions within your judicatory. It's a win for everyone!

The pastor shortage Part 2

 Yesterday, I addressed the problem of a shortage of pastors and offered some suggestions that might help. I want to continue that conversation today.

I have a lot of respect for denominational leaders. Like pastors, they have a lot of people wanting to advise and influence them. In many denominations, they spend much of their time trying to satisfy the different interests within their denomination. I have spent my ministry in the ABC-USA, the most diverse of any denomination. I know my denominational leaders walk a tightrope trying to keep all the special interest groups satisfied. While I have great respect for the diversity found in our denomination, I can sometimes get frustrated when our leadership doesn't take a stand I think they should take. At the same time, I understand why they don't. Having said all that, there is much they could probably do to help address the clergy shortage that exists within our denomination, but I have little hope they will. That brings me to our judicatories.

When I retired as an Regional Resource Minister in our region I was serving 133 churches. One of the things I tried to do was serve as an advocate for the pastor. When pastors were unfairly terminated by a church I fought for a fair severance package of at least six month salary and benefits. I didn't always win, but I usually got something for the pastor. Usually, it didn't hurt my relationship with the church, and when it did, it was normally with a very unhealthy church so I didn't really care. They had greater issues than being angry with me. I encouraged churches to be very generous with their salary and benefit packages reminding them what it will cost if they have to seek new pastoral leadership. I argued for sabbaticals after seven years for their pastors. 

I challenged every church to give their pastors four weeks vacation every year. Most wanted to offer two weeks when the pastor started, but I would remind them of how little it actually cost them to give their pastor the extra two weeks. Most of those churches paid $150.00-200.00 for a supply pastor, so that extra two weeks would cost them at the most $400.00. I then explained how much those two weeks would mean to the pastor and his or her family, and that would only cost the church $400.00. I worked very hard to make sure that the pastors and their families knew I supported them and would do anything I could to make their ministry more enjoyable. Pastors need to know their judicatory leaders support them, and, from emails I've received over the years, many do not.

I'm also convinced the best continuing education for pastors will come through their judicatories. They know their pastors and what they need. They know their churches and their needs. Parachurch ministries, and even denominations, do not know the churches and pastors as well as the judicatories. More of these training events need to be scheduled at the judicatory level. When I was serving on regional staff we offered a three-year continuing education opportunity we called "Church Alive" which was designed to bring renewal to our churches. I think we had mixed success, but at least in some churches we did see some renewal come as a result of that program.

In short, I believe that our judicatories can do much to help our pastors, and by extension, our churches, enjoy fruitful ministry. That enjoyment will result in fewer pastors wanting to leave the ministry which leads to many positive things in our churches.

The pastor shortage

When I began serving as a Regional Resource Minister in 2001 it wasn't uncommon for me to be able to give Pastor Search Teams 30-40 pastor profiles that seemed to fit their search requirements. Understand, I didn't give them that many all at once. But, that many would come back when I entered their information into our denominational profile system. That soon began to change, and by the time I retired from that position in 2019 I was fortunate to provide 5-6 profiles that might meet at least some of their requirements.

Since retiring I have served two churches, good, strong churches, as their Transitional Pastor. One took two years to find a pastor, and the other church took 2 1/2 years. I am now serving a third church in this position, and they have been without a pastor for nearly three years. I am their second Transitional Pastor. It is becoming increasingly more difficult to find a pastor for the traditional church. To find a bivocational pastor is even more difficult.

There are many reasons for this: fewer people enrolling in seminary, and of those who do enroll, many are not planning on pursuing pastoral ministry when they graduate, the current people serving in ministry are aging and retiring, the stresses of ministry drive many out of ministry into other careers (50% of seminary graduates leave the ministry within five years after graduation), some ministers are focused on serving in newly planted churches rather than in traditional churches, the lack of denominational support that exists in many denominations (this one isn't often mentioned but it bears a study of its own), and a list too long to mention in a blog post. Regardless of the reasons, most denominational leaders will admit that there is a severe shortage of pastors for churches, and this isn't likely to improve soon.

How do we solve this problem? Perhaps the first thing is to address any unrealistic expectations that some churches might have when seeking new pastoral leadership. A church of 30 people do not need a seminary trained, MDiv graduate to serve their church. They need a bivocational pastor who loves God and feels called into the ministry. When I worked in the factory every new job I had I learned through on-the-job-training. When I began as a pastor I had no experience and no education beyond high school. It was on-the-job-training which I later supplemented by attending a Bible school and pursuing more formal education (all while serving in ministry) and eventually earning an MAR and a DMin. 

Secondly, we might look at how we prepare people for ministry. For decades (perhaps longer) seminaries have primarily trained persons preparing for pastoral ministry to be research theologians. When they graduated, they really weren't equipped to do either! You'll notice when I attended seminary it was to earn an MAR which was much better preparation for pastoral ministry than the typical MDiv. (I often get into trouble for saying that, but I'm 75 years old so I don't care!) The MDiv is great preparation for those who plan to eventually earn a PhD, but it's probably an overkill for persons called to pastoral ministry.

We also need to look at what needs to be offered as continuing education. Regardless of what one studies in college and seminary, much of it will be outdated in 10 years. In fact, some of what we are taught in college is proved to be wrong within a few years when further research is done. Churches change, culture changes, and in ten years much of what we have learned in our studies needs to change as well. Just this evening I was looking at my library and realized that I needed to throw out many of my books because they are simply outdated and no longer apply to today's ministry needs. It was not a pleasant realization!

There is much more that could be said, but this is enough for this post. Look for future blog posts for further thoughts.

The growth of non-denominational churches

Thom Rainer is a well-respected Christian author who produces valuable resources for the church. In a recent post of his that I read he addresses the growth of non-denominational churches. He points out that many of our denominations are seeing a significant decline in membership and attendance. For instance, the United Methodist Church has seen their membership decline from 3 million to 2 million with expected further decline as more churches leave the denomination. The Southern Baptist Convention had 16.2 million members in their churches in 2006, and that number fell to 13.2 million in 2022. Furthermore, the SBC saw a nearly 40 percent decline in attendance in those 13 years. These are significant decreases in two of our largest denominations.

At the same time, he notes that 13 percent of American adults now attend non-denominational churches which is more than the SBC and UMC combined. I might add that the national media seldom reports on this growth among non-denominational churches but often reports on the decline experienced by the denominational churches. Rainer offers five thoughts on why he believes the non-denominational churches are growing.

1. They tend to be more evangelistic. In general, they tend to see their purpose to be reaching their communities for Jesus Christ, and their efforts are directed to that end.
2. They invest more money in local evangelism. While most of the churches I served as a judicatory minister said they wanted to grow, their budget was primarily directed toward their current membership. Non-denominational churches tend to budget more money for outreach.
3. They spend less time on conflict issues. When you are focused on doing positive things you have less time to fight over minor details.
4. They have no baggage associated with a denominational label. Like Rainer, I think this has been over-emphasized. While many people today do not choose a church based on its denominational affiliation, I do not believe most reject a church for that same reason. Still, there may be some people who will reject a church due to its denominational affiliation.
5.  It is a proven fact that newer churches tend to grow faster, and many non-denominational churches are newer. I read recently elsewhere that this tends to end when the church reaches eleven years of age. At that point, the church is likely to become more structured and begins to lose its initial emphasis on evangelism. That will be something interesting to study further.

I tend to think there is another reason Rainer doesn't mention, and that is the way these churches are structured. In many denominational churches it can be very difficult to do anything new. Committees and boards often study new proposals for months before presenting them to the congregation for approval only to see them turned down by a handful of people who show up for a business meeting who haven't spent 10 minutes studying the proposal. In the newer, non-denominational churches the structure is often much leaner. They trust their leadership to lead, and these individuals make most of the decisions for the church in much less time.

Denominational churches serious about wanting to grow need to compare their church to what Rainer has identified as elements of growing churches. As I've written many times in this blog, your structure is perfectly designed for the results you are getting.

Recent trip

 Last week my wife and I flew to Austin, Texas to spend time with our son and his youngest son. His other two children are on the east coast and would not be there at the time of our visit. We typically only see him a couple of times a year so we were eager for the visit. I was a little apprehensive because the past two years we've had flight issues due to weather causing delays and cancellations. I'm happy to that was not the case this year. We had zero travel issues and very good flights.

Family is always important, but especially so during holidays. For most of us, holidays such as Christmas are times filled with joy and excitement. That is not always the case for others, especially if they have lost loved ones since the last holiday. For those individuals, the holiday season can be a time of painful memories, and the sense of separation from those loved ones increases. It's very important that we do not forget those individuals and to make sure we give them extra attention during the holiday season.

The holiday season can also be a difficult time for families that are in conflict with one another. Family gatherings can be stressful with everyone walking on eggshells. Life is too short for such conflicts to remain. Jesus taught us to forgive, and this is especially true when there are family issues. As a pastor and an auctioneer I have seen families fight over the most minor things with neither side willing to give. That's a hard way to live. Especially Christians should be quick to forgive. If there are issues within your family, reach out and try to find peace during this Christmas season.

The purpose of the church

 In 1995 Rick Warren's book, The Purpose Driven Church, was released. It immediately became a best-selling book, and it remains one that should be required reading for all pastors and church leaders. The reason is simple: most of our churches are drifting with no real sense of direction and purpose. Warren's book shows us how to turn that around.

We are wrapping up another year. If your church is like most churches, you may look back and wonder what you actually accomplished for the Kingdom of God. You may have had a lot of programs and activities, but at the end of the year, what did they accomplish? One primary reason for the lack of achievement in most churches is that they had no sense of vision and purpose behind the things they did. Until we identify the purpose of our church and begin to have a vision for how we can accomplish that purpose, we will continue to drift and achieve little.

The mission of the church is quite simple: it is to fulfill the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. This mission is the same for every church regardless of location or size. The vision of the church, however, will be different for each church because it will address how a particular church will fulfill that mission. Your community will be different with different needs, and the people in your church will have differing gifts and passions. What will enable one church to fulfill its mission will be different than what will work in another church. Therefore, the vision must be different. But, once your purpose and vision is clear you can then focus on doing the things that will produce results.

The challenge then will be to make the changes necessary in the church that will allow you to focus on that purpose and vision. Nobody likes change except a small baby. Most of our members are not comfortable with change, and in all honesty, neither do many pastors. We like the familiar, the known, the life that doesn't create problems. Once you begin to refocus the direction of the church you will encounter problems.

Church members who view their pastor as the church chaplain won't like it when he or she begins to focus more attention on unchurched people. Years ago I coached my son's Parks Department baseball team. A friend who pastored another church was also a coach in a different league. His church told him they didn't pay him to coach baseball, they paid him to be their pastor. He finished out the season and soon left the church. They could not see the ministry value in him being involved in the community.

What is the purpose of your church? Can your members clearly express that purpose? Does your church budget and calendar reflect that purpose? As we begin a new year, what needs to change to make that purpose a reality in your church?

Dare to think big thoughts

 Perhaps nothing limits us more than spending our lives thinking small thoughts. In his book, Thinking for a Change, John Maxwell writes: Unsuccessful people focus their thinking on survival, Average people focus their thinking on maintenance. Successful people focus their thinking on progress. What he writes about individuals is true of churches, businesses, families, governments and all organizations.

When I served as a regional Resource Minister most of the 133 churches in my area were focused on survival. They had been in decline, some for decades. There was little time spent thinking about growth or addressing new ministry needs in their communities. They only had one thing on their minds: survival. In some cases, they had financial reserves in the six figures but would not consider spending it in an effort to reach more than the 20-30 who normally attended their services. They were afraid they would lose their savings and be unable to survive as a church.

I would argue that they had already ceased being a church. Jesus gave the church the Great Commission which focuses on reaching people for God, not survival as an institution. In fact, as I have mentioned in the numerous pastor conferences I have led, God is not interested in whether or not your church survives. He is interested in whether or not you are doing what He commanded His church to do, and if not He will raise up other churches who will.

Many times I heard from frustrated pastors and church leaders how some churches seemed to be able to reach new people while they struggled to stay open. I heard complaints when we would help start new churches. "Why not give that money to your existing churches instead of starting new churches?' was often their complaint. The answer was simple although it was seldom expressed: These new churches have the potential to reach new people. Your church ceased reaching new people a long time ago.

I often heard other complaints from our existing churches. One common question was why new churches in the area seemed to be unable to keep up with their growth while the existing churches were trying to desperately to stay open. I usually responded that the new churches thought differently about ministry than existing churches. Existing churches were often highly structured with boards, committees, monthly business meetings and required church approval from nearly everything from staffing to the color of the toilet paper used in the restrooms. The new churches trusted their leadership to make the vast majority of the decisions. In other words, they thought differently than existing churches which enabled them to respond quickly to ministry opportunities.

For too long, churches have been handicapped by small thinking. We think in terms of what we do not have instead of what God has. We often have a scarcity mentality instead of remembering that God own the cattle on a thousand hills. When we catch God's vision for our church and pursue it, He will bring us the resources we need to see it become a reality. I encourage every pastor, every church leader, to dare to think big thoughts that will advance the Kingdom of God.

What is a soul worth?

While serving as a judicatory minister one of my pastors was being attacked by a group within his church. I attended a business meeting and was pleased that the church's deacons stood up at the start of the meeting and affirmed the pastor's ministry and what the church was doing. The budget and other items were approved with no negative votes. When the meeting ended about two dozen people surrounded me with their complaints. One of the complaints was the amount of money being spent on youth ministry in the church. The spokeswoman for the group said the church had recently spent $800.00 to rent a rock climbing wall for a youth retreat, and they believed that was a poor expenditure of the church's money.

I explained to her that I received the church's newsletter each week, and in almost every edition there was a report of the number of people, including many young people, who were saved in the church during the past week. I then asked her, "What do you believe a soul is worth? Do you think spending $800.00 is too much to reach one person for Jesus Christ? If you do, I have churches that won't spend $800.00 a year on their youth ministry. Maybe you would be happier attending one of them." The group walked away, and many of them left the church over the next couple of weeks. Because of the ministries of the church, it was able to replace them, and more, within a few months.

Many churches would have given in to this group of church critics, but the pastor, the deacons and most of the congregation refused to do so. They understood God was doing a good work in that church, and they were not going to let a group of discontented people hold up that work.

One thing is certain...when a church begins to be effective in reaching people for Jesus Christ, Satan will come in and try to stop it. The weapons he most often uses are people within the congregation. They will point out that things are not being done according to the constitution or Roberts Rules of Order. They will question whether funding was achieved through "proper channels." They will loudly cry out the seven last words of the church: WE NEVER DID IT THAT WAY BEFORE!

For too long churches have caved into to these critics, and our churches are suffering because of it. Men, women and young people are dying and going to hell because we permit critics to limit what we and God want to do in our churches. Tom Bandy wrote in Fragile Hope some words that have affected my ministry since I first read them. He wrote

All you need to ask is: "Do you love controllers more than your own children, parents, neighbors, and work associates?" Is it more important to keep controlling clergy, matriarchs, patriarchs, wealthy trustees, or dominating institutional managers, rather than welcome your own teenagers, parents and immediate loved ones into the community of faith? The choice may be as profound as "Christ or institution," but for most people it is as simple as "Controller or my teenager.? If one must go so the other can belong, what will be your preference?

I'll ask again...what is a soul worth?

Tearing down walls and building bridges

One of my doctoral classes was on church growth taught by Elmer Towns. One day in class he asked each student to tell the class how high the walls were around their churches from 1-10. He explained that every church has built walls, often unintentionally but sometimes on purpose, to keep out the people they do not want in their church. Each student had to give him a number. Most of us gave a number between 3-5. When we finished he told us if we wanted to grow our churches we had to remove those walls and begin to build bridges into our communities. I've never forgot that lesson.

Dr. Towns was right...every church has walls that often keep new people away from the church. Those walls may be the way we treat first-time guests. They may be in the way our church is structured. These walls could be the appearance of the church property that sends the wrong signals to observers. They could be the reputation the church has for the way it treats its pastors or members. The style of worship in the church can be a wall that keeps people out. Our traditions often becomes walls that divide "us" from "them." Frankly, anything can become a wall that excludes people.

One problem with walls is that we are often not aware they exist. We become so comfortable doing church the same way we always have that we don't notice that our traditional ways of doing things tell people they are not welcome. Having served in denominational work for 14 years I visited a lot of churches that did a very poor job welcoming guests. In fact, some were so bad that I developed a workshop on church hospitality that I presented to a number of churches. From the moment a first-time guest enters the church property that person will make a decision within 10 minutes as to whether or not they will return. They make that decision based on the walls they encounter.

It's vital that churches begin to identify any walls that exist in their churches and begin to remove them immediately. Yes, some of those walls may be sacred to some members, but if they are a barrier to people experiencing God in our churches, they need to be removed. In 1995 Bill Easum wrote a great book titled Sacred Cows Make Gourmet Burgers that addresses the need to remove some of the sacred cows found in many of our churches, and he points out how leadership can make this happen.

The cross of Jesus Christ should be the only stumbling block the unchurched should experience in any of our churches (1 Cor. 1: 23). We never compromise the gospel in order to appease others, but we do need to remove our man-made walls that keep people from hearing the good news of Jesus Christ. Instead of building walls, let's build bridges into our communities to help make it easier for others to experience what our church has to offer and the message we have to share.

Replanting a church

 Over the years I've been fortunate to read a number of the histories of various churches. In every case, these churches were formed by people who had a vision for a church that would serve that particular area. I would say that every church that has come into existence did so first because of a vision a group of people had. The vision laid the groundwork, and then the hard work began as people made that vision a reality.

Today most churches are in trouble. They have had declining attendance for years. It is commonly accepted that 80 percent of churches in the US ae plateaued or declining. In every seminar I've led over the years I have pointed out that this number is misleading because a plateau lasts only for a very short time. In reality, the church is either growing or declining. To say it is on a plateau might make the congregation feel better, but the truth is that the church is likely in a state of decline.

In my 14 years as a judicatory leader I worked with many churches seeking new pastoral leadership. In my first meeting with their search team I would ask what they wanted in their new pastor. In almost every case they responded they wanted a pastor who would grow their church. I eventually would follow that response by saying, "So, in other words, you want a pastor who will come in here and change everything you are doing." That usually resulted in an immediate "No!" I would then explain that if they could grow their church by doing what they were already doing, they would already be growing. If they are serious about wanting to grow, they must accept that significant change will be required. Sometimes, these comments resulted in a good conversation; other times I was not invited back to help the search team find a new pastor.

I have come to the conclusion that when a church has been in a significant decline for an extended period of time they need to replant their church. In other words, they need to start from ground zero just like a church that is just starting out and begin to build a new church. In our judicatory we have helped closed churches for a couple of years and started over, but this is not always required if the church is willing to see themselves as a replant.

Replanting a church is not easy. In fact, it may be harder than starting a new church from scratch. In a replant the church has to overcome the traditions that exist in the church. Everything has to be open for change, and this is not easy for an existing church. The key to replanting a church is that EVERYTHING HAS TO BE FOCUSED ON THE CULTURE YOU WANT TO REACH. This is not an easy concept for the current membership. When the church was first established, it was focused on the people it sought to reach. The same must be true in a replant.

Traditional churches like choirs, organs and hymns. Is this the culture you need to reach to grow the church? Probably not, which means that new forms of music needs to be introduced, which the current congregation may not enjoy. Traditional churches like committees, boards, and incremental change. Is this mindset found in the culture you hope to reach? Probably not, which means your church structure may need to change. One of the most helpful rules of thumb I have ever learned is "YOUR STRUCTURE IS PERFECTLY DESIGNED FOR THE RESULTS YOU ARE GETTING! If you want different results, you have to change how your church is structured, and not every church is willing to do that.

Replanting a church is one of the most difficult things a congregation can do. Many will refuse and will eventually find themselves among the approximately 5,000 churches in the US who close their doors every year. Those who begin this journey will find it difficult but one of the most satisfying things they've ever done.

What is a disciple?

The Great Commission commands churches to go into the world reaching people for Jesus Christ and leading them into a life of discipleship. Today, many churches are not reaching many people for Christ and even fewer are successfully developing disciples. Churches are full of baptized persons who have remained baby Christians years after their baptism. As a judicatory minister for 14 years I was involved in numerous church problems, none of which were caused by spiritually mature people.

One of the problems we have with discipleship is few churches have determined exactly what a disciple of Jesus Christ should be like. What is it we are to help produce in people? We often substitute education for discipleship. We offer Sunday school classes, mid-week studies, small groups, men's breakfast Bible studies, etc. thinking that educating people about the Bible will automatically produce a disciple. I remember hearing John Maxwell say once that the average Christian is educated far beyond his level of obedience. 

Perhaps what we need to do is to first identify what a disciple should look like, and then develop a discipleship program that would help produce that in a person's life. How should a disciple treat his or her spouse? How should a disciple raise his or her children? What kind of employee would a Christian disciple look like? What kind of employer? How should a disciple handle his or her finances? What did Jesus teach about morality and ethical behavior?

I am not advocating legalism with a long list of dos and don'ts. Jesus condemned the Pharisees for their legalism that looked down at those who didn't live like them. I am advocating that churches need to be more intentional about how they go about helping people become disciples of Christ.

Going back to what I said earlier, more education is not the answer. While we need to teach what the Bible says about the issues, and more, that I raised above, we also need to provide opportunities for people to put those teachings into practice. Discipleship = education + action. I learned more about what it meant to be a disciple in a one-week mission trip to Haiti than I would have learned in two years of studying mission work in Haiti. Spending a day with an associational work team preparing a house for winter in eastern Kentucky was a growing experience as well. We need to provide such opportunities to the people in our churches if we want them to develop as disciples.

Let's be intentional about what we are trying to produce when we talk about discipleship and remember the formula: Discipleship = education + action.

Changing how we count what matters in church

 Every year denominations ask their churches to send in an annual report that will show how the church is doing. Questions usually revolve around average church attendance, Sunday school attendance, financial information and other things that are easy to count. The report will also ask for information on the pastor and other staff in the church. One year our church clerk came to me frustrated because there wasn't a place on the report for a bivocational pastor. She asked if she should put down that I was part-time, full-time or just what did I consider myself to be. I responded that I was a full-time bivocational pastor. She said there isn't an option for that on the report so I told her to put down anything she wanted. The fact is, most denominations do not have a good way to know how many bivocational pastors they have.

One of the problems with these reports is that they ask the wrong questions. Counting noses and nickels is not always the best way to identify the health of a church. With that mentality, the more noses and nickels you have to report the better the church is, and that is not always the case. This doesn't mean noses and nickels are not important. The noses represent people for whom Christ died, and more nickels often opens up more ministry opportunities.

What if the questions focused more on the development of people than questions about the institution? What if they asked how God was at work in the church the past year? What if they asked how many people felt like they had grown spiritually in the past year? What if they asked how many people were involved in ministry the past year, not serving on committees and boards, but actually involved in doing ministry in the community? Yes, these types of questions are harder to quantify than the others, but would they not better reflect the ministry of the church? Would they not better reflect the health of the church?

I have to admit that I am not hopeful that many denominations will change their annual reports to reflect these types of questions. It's easier to produce spreadsheets that just reflect numbers than to do the difficult work of interpreting the questions I suggested. But, pastors and church leaders can ask these questions of the churches they serve and make changes in their ministries that will increase the spiritual growth and development of those they serve. I suspect that growth will also result in the church seeing numerical growth as well.

Read through the Bible in 2024

 Although I do not do this every year, part of my devotional reading is often reading through the entire Bible in a year. This is a great discipline, especially if you've never done it before. I have never once read through the entire Bible without learning something new.

When I first recommend this discipline to others I'm often told that they see no way to read through the Bible in a year. They are surprised when I tell them it can be done simply by reading just three chapters a day. Three chapters a day often doesn't take more than 15-20 minutes to read, but think of the difference it could make in your life.

I will admit that there are some rough chapters to read. The books of Numbers and Leviticus are not exciting books to read, but even those books can teach us more about God. Some of the historical books can also get a little boring, but even they contain nuggets of helpful information. You will be surprised at some of the insights God will reveal to you when you commit to reading the Bible in a year.

There's no single right way to do this. What I do when I commit to reading through the Bible that year is to buy a version of the Bible I haven't read before. This helps keep the reading fresh. It also opens up new understandings as I am reading a translation for the first time. I typically read only translations, not paraphrases although one year I chose to read The Message Bible for my devotions. As long as one knows it is a paraphrase and not a translation I see no problem reading it for devotional purposes. 

Regardless of the version you decide to read, make sure it is readable. Some print in Bibles is too small or too faint to be comfortable to read. If it's not comfortable to read you are less likely to read it. Spend a little more to buy a Bible you will enjoy reading. It will be a great investment.

I place my Bible in my study with my other devotional materials. When I get up in the morning I fix a pot of coffee and go to the study. There I can do my devotional reading with no distractions. Once I complete my devotions I'm ready to face the world.

Many times I've invited people to read through the Bible in a year, and many have responded that doing so was one of the best decisions they had ever made. Some did it as a family while most did it individually. Some people struggle with reading due to eyesight issues, and they have downloaded a version that someone read to them. This works well, too. The important thing is to spend time in God's Word to learn more about Him and His will for your life.

One of the most important decisions you will ever make

 This Sunday at North Madison Baptist Church I will be sharing a message about one of the most important decisions you will make in this lifetime. Our entire lives are impacted by this decision, and yet I fear that many people, including Christians, seldom give it much thought. I encourage you to join us for our worship service starting at 10:30 Sunday to hear this important message.

The following week will begin the season of Advent. This is the season on the Christian calendar that leads up to Christmas. Each Sunday during December I will bring a message that points to the birth of Jesus Christ and how His birth affects each person today. I encourage you to plan on joining us for these important messages.

It's time to come home

 The biblical story of the Prodigal Son is one of my favorite Bible stories. Like many of us, this individual decided to try everything the world had to offer, and he found it wasn't enough. It wasn't long until he had spent his entire inheritance, lost all his friends, and found himself in a pigpen. Not a good place for a good Jewish boy. Many of us have found ourselves in life's pigpens because of choices we have made. We thought we were enjoying the good life until we learned the good life promised more than it could deliver. At the end of the day we were in the pigpen of life. We looked in the mirror and didn't like what we saw. We laid down at night trying to sleep, but all we could do was replay the bad decisions over and over again we had made. Some, seeing no way out, sink into deep depression, and a few may even consider taking their lives to make the pain go away. There is a better way.

In the story of the Prodigal Son we read that "he came to himself." He remembered that in his father's house the servants had plenty to eat. Maybe he no longer deserved to be considered his father's son, but perhaps his father would take him back as one of the servants. He began to return home, and when he was close enough for his father to recognize him, the father ran to him, embraced him and welcomed him back as his son.

You can also return home. Maybe you have wandered far from God in the choices you have made, and wonder if God would ever accept you. The answer is yes! Just as the father in our biblical story was looking for his son, God is always looking for anyone who wants to come to Him. Contrary to what some might tell you, God does not hate you for the choices you've made in life. He loves you. He wants you to come to Him, and when you do He will welcome you with open arms. If you will but ask, God will forgive you of all your sins and receive you into His forever family.

For anyone who might be reading my blog for the first time, I recently started as the Transitional Pastor of North Madison Baptist Church in Madison, Indiana. Individuals who are ready to return home to God are exactly the persons we want to reach. We could care less about your past. We are only interested in helping you move into a growing relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We don't care about your background, the choices you made in the past or the struggles you may be facing now. We are interested in you. God loves you just the way you are, but He loves you too much to leave you there. We feel the same way.

If you are ready to come home, but aren't sure how, please contact me through this blog. If you live in the area and want to attend our worship service, it begins at 10:30 on Sunday morning. I would love to know you and answer any questions you might have about how to experience God in a fresh, new way. You are loved, by God and by me.

Pointing the way to Christ

Every year our community hosts a two-day blues festival that brings in both area talent and some national names as well. I've attended many of these events as I enjoy good blues music. I've had the privilege of hearing some of the most respected blues performers over the years at this event. One of my favorites was Guy Davis who was here several years ago. After his performance I purchased the CD he was promoting at the time. One of my favorites on the CD was Can Anyone Tell Me Where the Road Is? I don't know if the song is his personal story, but he sings it in the first-person.

The song tells a number of mistakes he has made in his life, all of which has had a negative impact on his life. The chorus keeps asking the question, "Can anyone tell me where the road is?" He is wanting to a better place in his life, but he's uncertain how to get there.

This song powerfully touches me in a couple of ways. One, it describes my life and the lives of many people I know. I was raised in church and accepted Christ at an early age, but when I entered my teen years I strayed far from the path I had once known. It wasn't until my late-twenties that a situation in my life caused me to want to find my way back home. The positive thing in my life was that I knew where the road was that would lead me back to the place I wanted to be. Because of my childhood in the church I knew that it was only through God I could return to a healthier place. At that point, God brought people into my life to help me find that path.

Today, many in two generations have not been privileged to have been raised in the church. They've not been exposed to biblical teaching nor have they been exposed to the person of Jesus Christ. When they realize that the path they are on is not taking them to a place they want to be, they do not know where to turn. Some will pursue false religions. Others will seek spiritual experiences in New Age thinking, witchcraft, or other religious pursuits that eventually lead to dead ends. For some, these dead ends will convince them that there is no path that will take them where they want to be.

It is here that the song touches me so powerfully. I want to be part of a church that can show them that the path to Jesus Christ is the one that will lead them to the life they are seeking. I want to see the church to recognize that it is meant to be a lighthouse to point struggling people to Christ, a hospital for sinners who can receive healing for their sins through Christ. I hurt for hurting people because I know what it means to hurt. I also know what it means when others care about hurting people and are willing to help them find the healing they need. More than anything else, I want to be part of a church like that. 

The life I knew

Last week I published a blog about being thankful. The night the blog came out I came across an old Jackie Gleason/Crazy Guggenheim sketch. I doubt that many people today are familiar with Crazy Guggenheim (played by Frank Fontaine), and it's possible that some may even not be familiar with Jackie Gleason. Both were master comedians when I was growing up in the 1960s, and they were representatives of the many other entertainers of that period. I have to add that I am thankful that I grew up in a time when entertainers didn't feel the need to be vulgar in order to make people laugh. The Jackie Gleason Show, The Honeymooners (actually a 1950s show), The Red Skelton Hour and countless other television programs found audiences and entertained people without nudity or vulgarity.

There were few nights I missed the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. Yes, there could be some blue humor from some of the guests, but no one was ever vulgar. If a four-letter word slipped out it was quickly bleeped by the network. I watched the Carson show because he was a master at what he did, and he had the best guests. Not only was the show funny; it was also often informational. The same thing is true of the Tonight Show when Jay Leno took over the first time. After he retired and then returned when the show began to bomb it wasn't the same. I felt Leno was telephoning his work. There was little entertainment value in the show when he returned, and I realized I was losing a lot of sleep hoping things would return to normal. I finally quit watching the show entirely as I found Jimmy Fallon quite boring.

I'm thankful to have grown up in a time when television programs were truly entertaining without being offensive. Young people growing up today don't know what it's like to watch a comedian who isn't vulgar. I realize in their private lives these individuals could be quite vulgar, but this never carried itself to the television set. They provided wholesome entertainment that the whole family could watch without anyone being offended or without the need to explain to the children what they just saw and/or heard.

My early childhood years were spent in the 1950s, but my teen years were in the 1960s. That was when entertainment began to stretch the boundaries. Comedy and music became a little bluer, Nudity became expected from the movie-going public. Pornography came from behind the counter and began to show up in the public "Adult" section of the bookstores and magazine shops. The language used in movies and by many entertainers became more vulgar. Parents had to review programs on the TV before allowing the family to watch. In the 2020s it has done nothing but get worse.

I'll end this post by just saying I'm thankful for growing up when I did. I'm thankful for cutting my comedy teeth on Jackie Gleason, Red Skelton, Dick van Dike, and others of that era. I'm thankful for a childhood of watching the old westerns that had a moral story behind the action. I'm thankful for learning to be entertained without being embarrassed. 

Thanksgiving

Since we are approaching the Thanksgiving season I felt it was appropriate to preach this Sunday on Thanksgiving. Many people move straight from Halloween to Christmas and give little thought to Thanksgiving except for the turkey and watching football games. This mindset comes from an entitlement mentality. Since we are entitled to everything we have we feel no reason to be thankful for anything.

Growing up my parents hammered into my mind that "Society doesn't owe you anything." I must have heard it a hundred times, and I didn't want to hear it even once. Of course society owed me many things since, after all, the world revolved around me. That kind of thinking is bad enough in a child, but it's a horrible way to live as an adult. Yet, many do. Just this week I read about the pain felt by Gen-Z college graduates who struggle with the demands of working a 40-hour week. Several years ago I owned a business and was trying to hire a high school graduate for the summer to help answer the phone and do some filing. She expressed a concern about having to work every day because she really wanted to spend time at the pool with her friends. I told her to go swimming and I'd hire someone else.

Every single day I spend time giving God thanks for the blessings I enjoy in life. I thank Him for my wife of 56 years, our children and grandchildren. I thank Him for our good health when so many of my high school classmates have passed away or struggle with major health issues. I thank Him that my life has purpose and meaning. I thank Him for the success of our auction business. I thank Him for the church He has recently called me to serve. I thank Him for the financial security we enjoy. No, we're not rich, but it wasn't that long ago we struggled to pay our bills. I thank Him that He allows me to have a clear mind that is able to read and absorb information. I thank Him that there is not a moment in my life where He is not present and watching over me. And, yes, I thank Him for the tough times we've had that drew me closer to Him.

I want to live my life grateful for all that God has done in my life and continues to do. I also want to be grateful for the people God has brought into my life who have encouraged me and blessed me. Zig Ziglar used to say that if you see a turtle on a fencepost you can be sure he didn't get there by himself. Believe me when I say that I could not have accomplished anything worthwhile without the people God brought into my life at the right time. I couldn't begin to list them all.

There's nothing wrong with family dinners this holiday season, and there's nothing wrong with watching the football games. But, I do hope you'll take a few minutes, at least, and think about the things for which you are are thankful. And, if you need help in living a thankful life, I invite you to our worship service at North Madison Baptist Church this Sunday. Our service begins at 10:30, and we will have a place for you. 

The gray zone

A few years ago I was leading a seminar for Church of the Nazarene pastors in Michigan. When I finished my presentation I opened the floor for questions. One young pastor asked what I thought the future of the church might look like. I admitted that I didn't know because we are going through a time of transition in the church today. There is no doubt that God is doing a new thing in the church, but no one really knows all this might entail right now. After sharing some of the new things happening in the church I admitted to this young pastor that I envied him and his age group because they would see what the church would look like on the other side of the transition. I probably would not.

A book I'm currently re-reading is A Non-Anxious Presence by Mark Sayers. He describes this time of transition as living in the gray zone. He writes, "Gray zones exist in the overlap between the passing era and the era to come. One can be fooled that the old era is still dominant." While the gray zone contains the influence of more than one era, the fact is that the new era will eventually break through the gray zone. The old era is gradually losing ground even if we don't see it right away.

The pandemic was a good example of this. Everything changed overnight. Suddenly, churches were closed, businesses shut down, we were asked to stay in place and not travel. Masks were required if one did venture out. Stores controlled the number of people allowed in the store at one time. One of the constant questions often heard was when would everything get back to normal. While some things may have returned to some sense of normalcy, the truth is that we will never return exactly to the way things were before the pandemic. We know now that much of what we were being told during the pandemic simply was not true. Whether that was intentional or because we truly didn't know enough about Covid-19 and how to respond to it is beside the point. Distrust of governmental agencies and those in authority is part of the new normal after the pandemic.

Many, especially our older members, have not returned to church services since the pandemic and are unlikely to do so. During the pandemic many pastors became televangelists overnight! Churches scrambled to broadcast their services online through Facebook or YouTube. Others hurried to get a website to keep their members connected with one another and to provide a means for people to contribute financially. It will be important for churches to maintain their Internet connection to their members and to use it to reach out to unchurched people. I am convinced that connection will be vital to churches as we continue through the gray zone.

For several years we have seen an upsurge in the number of new churches. We are likely to see even more in the future. The reason for this is simple: new churches reach new people. Many, if not most, of our traditional churches are stagnant and/or dying. The population is growing much faster than these churches are reaching people. God is in the business of transforming lives, and if the current churches are not engaged in that, He will raise up new churches who will be. According to Lifeway, in 2019 3,000 new churches were started while 4,500 existing churches closed. I think it's safe to predict that we will see even more new churches in the future.

Many other changes will be seen on the other side of the gray zone. Some will not like many of them, and some churches will resist them. Such churches are not likely to survive. When God is doing a new thing it is not wise to resist Him. 

What can existing churches do during this gray zone? There are really only two choices. They can keep doing the same thing they've always done until the last person turns off the lights or they can open themselves up to what God is doing. This will require a new vision, a lot of courage, and a willingness to replant themselves as a new church for a new era.

The Power of a dream

 Martin Luther King, Jr. touched the soul of America with his "I have a dream" speech in which he talked about a time when racial differences would be set aside, and all people could come together. We are a long away from seeing that dream fulfilled, but as a nation we have come a long way since Dr. King shared his dream.

Dreams have power to touch people's hearts. They can show us the ways things could be, the way things ought to be. They give us a vision of a preferred future. Although dreams by themselves cannot change anything, nothing much worthwhile happens without a dream.

How long has it been since you had a dream? I'm not talking about the dreams that cause you to wake up at night. I'm referring to the kind of dreams that point toward a different future, a better future. Isn't it funny that as children we spent a lot of time dreaming. We dreamed about what we wanted to do when we were grown up, the kind of work we would do, the person we would marry, where we would live and many more dreams. For some reason, as adults we quit dreaming. We settle. We accept mediocrity. We lose the ability to dream which also means we lose the ability to grow.

This can be true of our careers. I think of the Dolly Parton movie "Nine to Five." Most of the workers settled to live mundane lives committed to mundane careers. Not Dolly and her friends. They had a dream. They were determined to advance their careers, and through a series of comedic events they did just that.

It can be true of marriage. I've never known a young couple getting married who were excited about settling down for a boring life together. Yet, it happens all too often. A marriage filled with dreams about the future often falls into a rut and ends with two people sharing an address but not a life.

Finally, it can be true of a church. Every church began because someone or a group of people had a dream for a church in their community. Over time, the original dreams are forgotten and everyone settles in to become part of an organization. They keep the rules. They follow the church constitution. They refer to the past years of the church as "the good old days" when the building was full and people's lives were being changed, but they do nothing to recapture that excitement. If they do try to do something, quite often they simply repeat what worked back them rather than seeking God's dreams for the church today.

I encourage you to begin to dream. Dream about what your marriage could be like. Dream about what your career could look like. Dream about what your church could become once again. Then, begin to put together a plan for how to make that dream a reality.

My first Sunday

 Yesterday was my first Sunday as the Transitional Pastor of North Madison Baptist Church, and it felt so good being back in the pulpit. After all, it had been a whole 4 months or so since I had preached! It just felt good sharing God's Word with the people and having the opportunity to speak an encouraging word to them. I found out I picked a busy week to start...we are the host church for the American Baptist Men's meeting tonight and there is a leadership meeting on Tuesday. Nothing like hitting ground running.

At the American Baptist Men's meeting I am going to share a video and the story of a pilot who was scheduled to fly the plane that was flown into the Pentagon building on 9/11. He was bumped off that flight the morning of 9/11 by a more senior pilot. It is a powerful and moving story. I heard this pilot speak at a meeting I attended while on vacation in Florida. I had to buy his DVD and will be showing that tonight. I encourage all men living in the Madison, Indiana area to attend this meeting. It will be at 7:00 at North Madison Baptist Church starting at 7:00. There will be pie and coffee after the meeting, and you do not have to be an American Baptist to attend. I would love to have every man in the Madison community to come and hear this story.

Secrets and church health

While serving as a regional minister in our judicatory one of my churches had a series of pastoral changes in a short period of time. I found out from the second pastor that the leadership had fired him but told him to announce he was resigning, and they would provide him with a severance package. I heard the story and called the pastor to confirm it. He admitted it was true but begged me to not say anything because he and his family were able to live in the parsonage while he sought another church. I had previously heard similar stories about this church and its board.

To protect this pastor I waited until he moved to another church and left the parsonage before calling the head of the lay leadership. I asked if what I had been told was true, and he admitted it was. I then said that I felt this church had a lot of secrets that were being kept from the membership. After a long pause he admitted this was also true. He had just assumed his leadership position and assured me he was going to address it.

One of the problems in keeping secrets is that they really do not remain secrets for very long. People know when things are not right. I retired soon after this event occurred in this church and do not know how the church is doing today, but at the time they had lost over half of their congregation. I told that lay leader something I've told many congregations: A CHURCH IS ONLY AS HEALTHY AS THE SECRETS IT KEEPS.

How many churches have covered up pastoral affairs "for the sake of the ministry?" How many have covered up financial irregularities for the same supposed reason? How many church boards have fired the pastor and bribed him or her with financial incentives to announce to the congregation that they felt "led by the Lord to take another church?"

I repeat that a church will only be as healthy as the secrets it keeps. Some churches have a lot of bodies buried, and I'm not referring to the graveyard that surrounds the church. Board meetings are filled with anger, tension and fear that people will learn the secrets that are being maintained. 

When I was first saved I was a member of a church where the leaders wanted the pastor out. It was not uncommon to see the deacons and the pastor go into a room after a Sunday morning service for a meeting. After a few months, the pastor left. Sometime later I was chosen to be a deacon in that church and was elected secretary. When I received the secretary's record book I thought I would finally find out what went on in those meetings. However, when I opened the book I found that all the pages from that time period had been torn out. The church was not a healthy church, and it still wasn't when I left a couple of years later.

An unhealthy church can never be a growing church, and if it did grow, it would grow to be even more unhealthy. When people walk into an unhealthy church, they can feel the tension. While they may not know what's going on, they know something is not right in this church. 

It's never easy to publicly announce misconduct when it occurs, but it's necessary. Like a doctor telling patient he or she has cancer, it's not easy for the doctor but the patient must know there's a problem, and there's a treatment plan. As painful as it might be for a congregation to hear there's a problem, it's far better to announce it and offer a plan to address it. I will repeat: A church is only as healthy as the secrets it keeps. 

Back in the pulpit

 Last week I announced that I was asked to serve as the Transitional Pastor of North Madison Baptist Church. I just want to remind everyone that my first Sunday in the pulpit will be this Sunday, November, 5. If you do not have a church home and live in the Madison, IN area we would love to have you join us for worship. The service begins at 10:30.

The message for this Sunday is entitled "The Waymaker." So often we find ourselves in a place where we think we are stuck, all alone with no way out. We feel hopeless and fearful. I've been there, and it's not a good feeling. The good news is God can make a way when we can't see a way. I believe you will find this message to be an encouragement.

Some have asked me what it means to be a Transitional Pastor. The church is seeking a pastor, and in Baptist life the person who served the church during their time of seeking new pastoral leadership was usually referred to as an interim pastor. I prefer the term Transitional Pastor. For me, the word interim suggests you are just killing time, holding ground until the church finds a new pastor. During this time many churches seem to go into neutral, merely coasting along until a new pastor arrives. I see no reason, and certainly no biblical reason, this should be the case.

The word transition suggests that things are moving. The church is moving from one stage of its life to the next stage, but in the process it remains actively involved in ministering to one another and to the community. During this transition time it seeks a fresh vision from God and begins to live into that vision. This is my third church to serve as the Transitional Pastor since my "retirement." I admit that I am excited to begin.

Someone asked if I was ever going to actually retire. The way I look at it is that God has blessed me with good health, He called me 44 years ago to serve Him as a minister, and so far, He hasn't told me I'm done. Rather than retire I prefer to re-fire, and I am fired up and ready to begin a new challenge.

Again, if you do not currently have a church home and would like to be part of this challenge, I encourage you to join us this Sunday at 10:30.

Changes in life

When you've lived 75 years you have seen a lot of changes. Just in technology alone the changes I've seen are remarkable. My first cell phone was a bag phone. It probably weighed 5-6 pounds, not exactly something you would carry on your hip or in your pocket. My first Internet provider used dial-up with all the screeches and bongs when you called in. I think they only had a couple of lines at first, and when the kids got home from school you couldn't get on again until about 10:00 PM. When they added 7-8 new phone numbers you kept trying until you finally got through on one. At least it was free! When I began my pastoral ministry I used an Underwood typewriter to type out the bulletins and sermon outlines. I used a lot of White-Out those days. A few years later I bought a word processor and thought things couldn't get any better.

I still remember my first computer. When I decided to add Microsoft Office it came on (I think) 12 floppy disks. The computer tried all day to download it until it finally ran out of memory. I had to have more memory added to the computer before I could even download the program! My first computer class was on DOS, and I'm glad I don't have to remember how to use that.

Life is much easier with high speed Internet, software programs you can just download off the Internet, cell phones with more options and memory than the earlier computers. Change is often a good thing that makes life a lot better. But, not all change is positive.

During these same 75 years I've seen many changes that are not for the better. Much of society today does not know how to relate to one another. We no longer discuss differences; we shout at one another, take up weapons and fight. People are easily offended today and demand their rights even if those rights trample on the rights of others. We used to have statesmen and women elected to political offices; now we have people who are totally unqualified to hold any office making decisions that have negative impacts on the well-being of our country. Our national debt continues to skyrocket, and our politicians can't seem to spend money fast enough. Evil runs rampant in the world, and many can't even agree on what evil is or if it even exists. 

When I was a child the church was often the center of activity especially in the smaller communities in which I lived. Stores were closed on Sundays. Schools didn't schedule activities on Sundays or even Wednesday nights. Even non-Christians knew much about what the Bible taught. None of this is true today. It seems every religion is welcomed except for Christianity. Christian values and beliefs are ridiculed in almost every arena of life today. The church is looked upon as a relic of the past, and the Bible is viewed as a book of myths by many.

No, not all change is good. Unless and until we can see Christian values and beliefs become accepted once again in America we will continue to see our society decline. Nearly 20 years ago Robert Bork wrote a book called Slouching toward Gomorrah which issued a warning about the direction our nation was heading. I'm afraid we are no long slouching our way to Gomorrah; we are running full-speed towards it. The only way we can reverse this is to see revival break out in our churches.

 

Time away

 This past week my wife and I went to Panama City Beach. Our daughter stays in a condo there for a couple of months in the fall, and we often go down around our anniversary to spend time with her and to enjoy the ocean. The weather was perfect with mid-80s all week and no rain. That allowed us to spend a couple of days on the beach and a day at the pool as well as enjoying some other activities. On Sunday we enjoyed going to the church they attend while they are down there. It's a great church with incredible worship and a very solid ministry. The pastor announced they had seen 179 decisions for Christ in the previous two weeks! Many accepted Christ the Sunday we were there. Last night the church had their Trunk-and-Treat and had 7,000 people visit for treats. This is a church that is doing a lot of good things! However, in this post I want to speak to taking time away.

When I speak to pastor groups I urge them to take their vacations. When I speak to churches I urge them to insist their pastors take their vacations. In fact, I encourage them to go one step further and pass a motion in a business meeting that they will dock the pastor one week's pay for each week of vacation he or she doesn't take that year! That's how important I believe time away is.

When I began my pastoral ministry the church gave me two weeks vacation, and I never took both weeks. My stupidity cost me when I became clinically depressed and spent a year on medication and counseling. We need that time away for our own mental health not to mention the well-being of our families. After I recovered the church increased that to four weeks vacation, and you can be sure I took it.

As a judicatory minister I worked with many churches in their pastoral searches. Many of the smaller ones offered two weeks vacation to the new pastor, and if he stayed long enough they might add another week or two. I always encouraged them to start the new pastor with four weeks vacation. What does this extra two weeks cost the church. If they pay a supply pastor $200.00 it costs the church $400.00 to give the pastor the extra two weeks. If the church can't afford that it needs to close down.

Those two additional weeks sends a message the pastor and family that they are important to the church. The church cares for them. If that message isn't worth $400.00 then I would say that the church really doesn't care for their pastor, and he or she may need to seek a new place to serve that will honor them.

Of course, it doesn't matter how much time away the church allows the pastor if he or she doesn't take it. I have known too many pastors who followed my early example and would not use the vacation time they were given. This is a sign of arrogance on the part of the pastor. This is the mindset of someone who believes that if he or she isn't there, God can't do it. I know because this was my early mindset, and it is pure arrogance. Listen, the cemeteries are full of irreplaceable people! One day you will join them, and it may be sooner than you would like if you do not take time to refresh yourself, and the church will continue on as it did before under new leadership.

If you do not receive four weeks vacation from your church I want to encourage you to advocate for that. You many want to bring in someone from your denominational leadership to do that for you if you are uncomfortable doing so. While you're at it you might as well ask for a 2-3 months sabbatical after seven years. After serving in ministry for the past 40+ I can tell you that you will need it! Without it you are likely to get the 7-year itch and begin to feel that "God is calling you to another place of service." The church will find out it was much less costly to give you that sabbatical than the cost of finding and calling a new pastor.

I love pastors, and I want you to be able to serve for a long, long time. That will not happen if you do not take time for yourself and your family. Taking your vacations and a sabbatical will go a long way to keep you in ministry for the long haul.

Special Announcement

 A couple of weeks ago I mentioned here that I would soon be making a special announcement, and the time is now. I'm pleased to announce that I have accepted a call to be the Transitional Pastor of North Madison Baptist Church here in my hometown. I will begin November 1 with my first Sunday in the pulpit on November 5. This is my third church to serve as Transitional Pastor since I retired (?), and I am very excited to get started.

As a young boy involved in BYF back in the day I always looked forward to our BYF rallies which were held in the churches in our association. North Madison BC was one of those churches. Since we attended a small, rural church NMBC seemed huge to me at the time, and it was one of the churches I most looked forward to going to for our rallies.

Jump forward many years (decades) later, and I am serving as a Resource Minister for the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky. This was one of the churches in my Area. I filled the pulpit there a number of times and worked with the church during some of their transitional times. Having lived in this area most of my life and because of my previous involvement with the church I already know many of the folks who attend there.

The church has been without a pastor for some time now and has been served by a great interim pastor and dear friend of mine who was feeling led to leave. The timing worked out great for me to step into this role, but, of course, God's timing always works great. I believe He has called me to this place for this time, and I look forward to seeing what will happen in the next several months.

There will be challenges as there is in every church. Attendance has not returned to its pre-Covid numbers. There are few youth and children. But, this church has a number of strengths as well. Those who attend are warm and friendly people with great talents. The church has the location and facilities necessary for growth. Some have already shared with me some ideas they have about new ministries they want to start. Although this church began in 1849 and has a marvelous history I firmly believe that the best days of the church are ahead. I'm honored they have invited me to be a part of that future.

If you live in the Madison, Indiana area and do not have a church home, I invite you to come worship with us. Our service begins at 10:30. We would love to have you.

Knowing God

People sit in our churches every week hearing messages about God, singing songs about or to God, and praying to God. But, how many of them really know God? I'm not talking about their salvation. I'm asking how many of them really know God. How many can describe the nature of God to another person? I'm afraid that number might be rather low.

A few weeks ago I began a focused study on the attributes of God. I already have pages of notes I've copied from various books and other resources. It has been a growing experience. The more I learn about God the more I realize there is so much more to learn. No one can ever explore the depths of God's nature, but it's important that we learn as much as we can as Christian people.

Many of the fears and doubts we have are the result of not knowing God as we should. I look back at my own life and some of the worries I've had during times when I've gone through the valleys of life, and I realize that my faith was weak because my knowledge of God wasn't what it should have been. That same lack of knowledge also results in many of us living far below what God wants for us. Jesus said that He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Many Christian people are not living an abundant life but are living lives of defeat and discouragement. Again, it comes from not knowing God as He truly is.

The lack of knowledge about God also impacts our witness to others. The apostle Paul prayed that the Christians in Rome would be filled with joy, peace and hope, and not only filled but filled to overflowing. I've often said that the reason we need to be overflowing with joy, peace and hope is so some of it can splash onto others who need that in their lives. A joyful Christian filled with peace and hope is going to be an effective witness to others who need to know Jesus Christ. Too many times my own life has not been filed with joy, peace and hope, and I believe the same could be said about many believers today.

We in ministry need to do a better job of teaching our congregations about the attributes and character of God. Too many sermons are filled with fluff meant to tickle the ears of our listeners. Many of the ones sitting in our pews need to be fed the meat of the Word. We need to help them grow deeper in their knowledge of God.

Every Christian also needs to take responsibility for their own growth in that area. I would encourage the reader to begin to do some serious study on the person and nature of God. As you learn more about Him you will find yourself growing closer to Him, and your faith will grow even more. 

When churches attack

My doctoral project was to coach six bivocational pastors for three months and write a thesis on how coaching can benefit bivocational ministers. I asked for volunteers who would benefit from the coaching experience and received several responses from interested persons. I'm happy to report that my paper has been downloaded about 3,500 times since it was written. My last book, The Art and Practice of Bivocational Ministry: A Pastor's Guide, details what was included in my thesis in a more readable format. 

One of the pastors I coached was a woman serving a small church in the northern plains. In one of our sessions I asked her what she most wished she could do in ministry. She responded that she would like to minister to people who have been hurt by the church. I laughed at her answer and explained that if she could do that she would not be in a small church very long. She would find that there were likely a large number of people even in her small community who had been hurt by a church at some time in their lives. We spent the remainder of that coaching session discussing what such a ministry might look like.

It is a sad reality that those who claim to follow Jesus Christ who taught us to love one another can be so mean-spirited and hurtful towards others. Only God knows how many have walked away from the church, and sometimes abandoned Him, because of the pain caused by persons within the church. I have heard countless stories during my ministry. I have good friends that left the church for a season because of hurtful things that were said to them from people within their own congregations. One pastor's son admitted he once contemplated suicide because of the way the church was treating his father and their family. I have known churches who had members who saw it as their spiritual gift to point out perceived mistakes others were making in their lives driving these people away from the church and God. This has to end.

Some will argue that sin must be confronted, and I would agree, but not in the manner in which such confrontation often occurs. Too often such confrontation appears to back people into a corner waving a 97-pound Scofield Reference Bible over their heads and screaming, "Turn or burn." Doesn't Jesus model for us a much better way to confront people with their sins? I think of Him speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well or with the woman caught in adultery. I'm reminded of His words to Zacchaeus, and His willingness to eat with this despised tax collector. The only time Jesus spoke harshly to those involved in sin is when He spoke to the religious leaders.

Jesus invites us to come to Him just as we are. Once we do that He will begin the transformation process we need. If you'll stop and think about it, He did the same thing with you. I'm not suggesting that there is never a time when we should challenge people about the choices they are making. Sometimes we need to be very honest with people that some choices do not honor God, but then we will be much better off letting God take over at that point. Let His Spirit begin the convicting work in their lives which will lead to transformation. One last note...don't expect overnight changes. After all, God is still working on you as well.

Bivocational ministry

 I have spent my life serving in bivocational ministries and supporting bivocational ministry. Many of my books focused on bivocational ministry. I served as a bivocational pastor of one church for 20 years. Even as a Regional Minister I also owned and managed a small business and led conferences and seminars for numerous denominations across the US and Canada. I was blessed to have an Executive Minister who supported what I did. I love bivocational ministry and those who serve in such ministries. I can truly say that bivocational ministers are my heroes.

There was a time when bivocational ministry was seen as a "less-than" ministry. After all, if God had called you into ministry that meant that you have to have an MDiv. degree and serve full-time in ministry. Really? In Baptist and Methodist life bivocational ministers were the norm until around the 1950s when ministry became professionalized. For three decades I have been advocating that we will see a major increase in the number of bivocational ministers, and it appears I was right. Many denominations are reporting their numbers of bivocational ministers are growing. Many do not have actual numbers because their church reporting forms do not provide space to identify bivocational leadership, so the reported numbers may not show what is actually happening. However, when you talk to denominational and judicatory leadership you find that those numbers are increasing.

It's not just smaller churches that are calling bivocational leadership. Mid-side churches are also calling bivocational pastors and bivocational staff. These churches are less concerned about degrees and more concerned with what individuals can do. Many are being wonderfully served by these bivocational ministers.

Too many churches call a "fully-funded" pastor and expect him or her to do all the ministry the church needs. Members of the congregation become spectators and score keepers making sure the minister makes the appropriate number of visits, attends the important meetings, and grows the church to acceptable numbers. Meanwhile, they sit in the pews waiting to "be fed" never realizing that Scripture is clear that all believers are called to do ministry. Eph. 4 teaches that God provides ministers to the church so they can equip the saints to do the work of ministry. One advantage of bivocational ministry is that people understand that the pastor cannot do it all, and more of the congregation are involved in ministry. When that happens, it's a wonderful thing that produces good results for everyone.

Long pastorates

 About 20 years ago I got to meet one of my heroes, H. B. London, Jr. H. B. had retired from pastoral ministry. He was a brother-in-lay to James Dobson and was serving as the Director of the Pastoral Ministry Department of Focus on the Family. We were both invited to serve as plenary speakers at a leadership conference. He spoke three times that week, and I spoke twice and led three workshops. One day the conference director asked if I would take H. B. to lunch. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with him and learned much from him that week.

All of his books impacted my life, but one thing he wrote in one of them impacted me the most. He said that if you are currently serving as pastor in a strong, healthy church it is because someone stayed there long enough to make it such a church. If you are not serving in such a church, perhaps God has called you there for this time to make it that kind of church. I'll never forget those words.

When I became pastor at Hebron Baptist Church in 1981 they had experienced a revolving-door pastorate. The average pastoral tenure at that time was 12 months. That was the average! Veteran pastors in the association told me I wouldn't last that long. I stayed there 20 years as their bivocational pastor. That small, country church accomplished much during that time, and part of the reason for that was that I simply hung around. You can read some of those accomplishments in some of the books I've written.

While larger churches may accept leadership from a new pastor, that is not usually the case in a smaller church. George Barna writes that the average pastor will see his or her greatest ministries between their third and eleventh year of ministry. I am convinced that in the smaller church that will be greatly impacted by the pastoral tenure of the previous pastors. It takes time to earn the trust of a church to lead it, and the shorter the previous pastoral tenures have been, the longer it will take to earn that trust. In my case, it took seven years. Looking back I realize it was in my seventh year as the pastor of that church that two members of leading families in the church shared with me personal information from their lives. In both cases, after sharing this with me, they told me they had never told another pastor about this. Both came to me in the same week. I realized later that positive things began to happen in the church after that.

Depending on whose figures you read, the average pastoral tenure today in the US is less than four years. If Barna's findings are correct, most pastors never really lead their churches. They don't stay long enough to earn the trust and the right to lead. Maybe the pastor is climbing the pastoral ladder of success, but it is so unfair to the church.

Yes, serving in a smaller church can be a challenge. Many of them have been deeply wounded in the past and may not trust pastoral leadership. It can take years to earn that trust, and these will not always be easy years. But, maybe H. B. London, Jr. was right. Maybe God has called you to this place for such a time as this. May each of us be faithful in the place where God has placed us.

Fine tuning of the universe

For the past three nights we've watched the International Space Station fly past our house. Last night was the best viewing as it lasted for 6 minutes. Since it was a nice evening we went out a little early and was able to watch three satellites pass over as well. I never watch the space station fly over without thinking about how much this is evidence of the existence of God.

Apologists provide several such evidences, but for me the strongest is the fine-tuning of the universe. At any time of the day, scientists can tell where the space station will be, where the various planets and stars will appear in the sky, when an eclipse will occur and how long it will last, and even more. The fact they can so precise with their information is because God created our universe with such precision and order.

Scientists also tell us that everything necessary to sustain life on planet earth is in exact proportion to what is needed. Without going into detail, if any of these elements was off by very little, life could not exist as we know it. Does anyone truly believe that a Big Bang could have created a universe so perfectly ordered? While the fine-tuning of the universe does not provide absolute proof that God exists, it does strongly suggest that this universe is the work of a Divine Creator who most of us know as God. I would think that it would require much more faith to believe that all that exists in our universe was created by chance than by a God.

I recently read an interesting question. If the first travelers to Mars were to arrive and find a house in a bubbled environment perfectly suited to their living needs, would anyone believe that such accommodations simply occurred by accident? Or, would it be more likely that someone had gone before and created a place for them that would be ready for them when they arrived? I think most people would accept the latter explanation. Why, then, are so many people wanting to reject the belief that God created this universe perfectly designed for us?

Change!

 Several years ago when I served as a Resource Minister for our Region I was meeting with a Pastor Search Committee. My first question in the initial meeting was always the same, "What do you want in your new pastor?" I asked the question even though I knew the answer would be one of two responses. They either wanted a pastor who would grow the church or a pastor who would grow their youth group. In the case of this church it was the first response. They wanted a pastor who would grow their church. I had never said this before, but this night I was a little bolder and responded, "So, you are telling me you want a pastor who will come here and change everything you are doing." The chairperson quickly said that was not what they wanted. I then told the committee, "You do know if you could grow your church by doing what you're already doing, you would already be growing. Since you are not growing, something has to change." The chairperson smiled at me and said, "Maybe we need to talk about this some more." I don't remember, but I don't think I was invited back to their future meetings.

Nearly every church wants to grow, but most of them want to do so without changing anything they are already doing. Church growth doesn't happen that way. Another church called me saying they had formed a church growth committee (a creature almost certain to not grow a church), and they wanted me to come and explain how they could grow without upsetting anyone in the church. I actually laughed on the phone and told the caller, "I'll save me a trip and you a meeting: You can't." They asked me to meet with them anyway, and we did have an honest discussion on the cost of growth.

Nobody enjoys change except small babies. Church leaders, including pastors, often dislike change because it disrupts what they are already doing. Change makes many members of the congregation uncomfortable because no one is sure what their role will be in the church system, or if they will even have a role. Others worry about what will change next. Sometimes church members will leave a church because they strongly dislike changes, and no one wants to lose members of the church. In yet a third church that asked me to speak to them about growth I mentioned that changes would have to be made, and one of the costs of change is the possibility that you might lose some people. Later, in a Q&A session, one older member of the church said she didn't know anyone in the church she was willing to give up. Others agreed with her, and nothing changed and the church continues to struggle.

The question is sometimes asked what needs to change. That depends on the church and its situation. It may be attitudes within the church. Perhaps the church needs to shift its focus from inward-looking to outward. The church may need to take steps to become a healthier congregation. It might take new leadership, both pastoral and lay. There are too many variables to say this needs to change and that needs to change. Each church must look at itself and determine what obstacles exist that are keeping people out. You may need to invite your denominational representative or another outside consultant to help you look at your current system. Remember...your system is perfectly designed for the results you are getting.

Starting new groups

 In our late 20s my wife and I gave our lives to Jesus Christ and began attending a church our neighbor attended. I still remember the first time we went into the Young Adult Sunday school class. There were about 40 people in the class, all who had been together for years. We felt like outsiders...because we were. It was an uncomfortable feeling, and it took several months before we felt we fit in.

After a couple of years the pastor asked if I would help him start a new class for that age group. It had stopped growing, and he felt a new class might appeal to new people who would visit the church. For the first quarter he taught the class, and I was his substitute. After that three months I became the teacher. We did not divide the existing class but did let anyone interested in the new class know they could transfer into it. When new young adults attended the church they were invited into the new class. In a very short while we had grown to a couple of dozen people, most of them new to the church. 

We have known for a long time that new churches reach new people. That is why so many denominations seek to plant new churches. What we often fail to consider is that new small groups also attract new people. Go into many smaller churches and you will find the same people sitting in the same classes they have been in for years. Now, consider what it would be like for a new person or couple to begin attending that class. They will feel like my wife and I did when we first attended the Sunday school class. Most small groups do not intentionally try to make new people feel uncomfortable, but they often do. New people are surrounded by conversations being held by people who have known each other for years (decades). It can be very intimidating.

Church growth experts recommend that a new adult Sunday school class should be started every 18 months. This allows new people to connect with other new people. That will be difficult to do in many smaller churches. There may be space limitations, leadership limitations and other issues that make this difficult. But, small groups include more than just Sunday school classes.

A small group might include a church choir, a book study group, a group focused on more in-depth theological study, a sports group, a quilting group, a fishing group, or any other groups that might attract people to the church. Many of these groups would not meet on Sundays and often will not meet at the church. But, they do provide opportunities for people to build relationships with people from the church and to be exposed to the Gospel. People such as Gary McIntosh suggests that one of every five groups in the church should be less than two years old. This provides a comfortable place for new people to become connected to the church.

Many small churches will argue that they are already a small group so they don't need to start one. I suppose that's true if they are only interested in the persons already in their small group, but if they are interested in reaching new people they may find it easier to do in additional small groups.