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.

The unsaved church member

Years ago Billy Graham stated his belief that one-half of those attending churches had never trusted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Many were active members and leaders in their churches. Some served as pastors of those churches. I'm sure when he said those words that some doubted the number could be that high. Well, Christian researcher George Barna's team have studied those attending church services and came to the same conclusion. Approximately, one-half of those professing to be Christians have actually given their lives over to Jesus Christ. That is an amazing number, and one that should give pause to churches and their leadership.

How can such a thing be true? From my perspective, it's the result of people not truly understanding what it means to be a Christian. Some think they are Christian because their parents or grandparents were Christians. Others may believe because they attend a church service and even take an active part in those services, that they are Christians. Some may be relying on an event that happened many years ago in which they made a public profession of faith which was followed by a baptism, but in reality their lives never changed nor have they had any recent experience of God working in their lives. What we are talking about here in each of these examples is poor theology and is the direct result of inadequate preaching from the pulpit. In too many churches, the gospel has been watered down so much so that it might not offend anyone that people no longer understand what it means to become a Christian.

Several years ago a pastor shared with me a story about a young member of his church. This individual had once again been arrested for drunk driving and was in jail. After his release the family asked the pastor to visit the young man which he did. During their conversation the pastor asked the individual about his relationship with Jesus Christ. The young man shared that he had attended a church camp as a child. During a chapel service one evening he fell asleep, and when he woke up he noticed a crowd of young people down front. He went down front to see why they were there. These young people had responded to a gospel presentation to give their lives to Christ. This individual was asked his name, and a couple of weeks later his pastor received a letter from the camp stating this individual had made a profession of faith. Without looking into this apparent profession any further, the young man was baptized and became a member of the church. How many people sitting in our churches believe they are right with God because of an inadequate understanding of what it means to be a Christian?

In 2 Corinthians 13:5 Paul encourages us to test ourselves to see if we are truly in the faith. Such an examination should be good for each of us to perform. Let's not trust our church membership or our role in the church as proof of our relationship with God. We should also not trust our Christian upbringing as evidence that we are Christians. God has no grandchildren. Each person must make a personal decision of whether to seek a relationship with God through Jesus Christ in order to be saved.

One final word to church leaders, especially pastors. Let each of us be abundantly clear on what it means to be a Christian. God doesn't need "woke" churches afraid of offending people. He has called each of us to present clearly the gospel and invite people to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. There is no other name under heaven by which people can be saved. Our churches will never impact our communities as they should until this message is shared without apology.