Finding a good coach

 A few years ago a UMC district asked a number of their experienced pastors to serve as coaches for their bivocational pastors. I was asked to lead a training session to address both coaching and bivocational ministry to these new coaches. I was very impressed with the district's leadership to providing this opportunity to their bivocational pastors and with the coaches willingness to add another responsibility to their busy schedules.

The business world has long known the value of providing coaches to their senior leadership. In fact, some top companies offer coaching as a perk to attract the best leaders to their organizations. The church world has been slower to see the value of coaching for pastors and denominational leaders. This is very unfortunate. I have seen first-hand the value of having a coach.

I had a ministry coach for a year who helped me through a time of confusion in my life and ministry. At the time I was uncertain whether to remain in my current ministry or go in a different direction. I was also considering pursuing my DMin and was uncertain whether this was where God was leading me. Having a wise coach helped add clarity to my choices. I remained in my current ministry and earned my DMin. I am thankful for doing both.

My DMin project and thesis focused on the effect of coaching on bivocational ministers. For the project I coached six bivocational ministers across the US and Canada for three months and wrote about the experience. In my thesis I included statements from each minister about how the coaching experience impacted their lives and ministries. That thesis has been downloaded over 3,300 times. I also wrote a book that detailed that coaching experience titled The Art and Practice of Bivocational Ministry: A Pastor's Guide.

Too many people look at the cost of having a coach rather than the impact it can have on one's life and ministry. It's true that Executive Coaches can cost as much as $750.00 an hour, but ministry coaches charge much less than that. Instead of viewing the cost of having a coach as an expense, it's better to see it as an investment in your future.

If having a coach seems too much, at least allow some experienced pastors mentor you through their books and podcasts. John Maxwell, Charles Swindoll, William Lane Craig, Gary McIntosh and many others have influenced my ministry in many ways through their books and podcasts. Find good people whose books and podcasts speak to you and learn as much as you can from them. Both your personal life and ministry will benefit.

The absence of moral absolutes

 Dallas Willard begins his excellent book, The Divine Conspiracy, by telling about a fighter pilot practicing a high-speed maneuver. She turned the controls for what she thought would be a steep ascent and flew straight into the ground. She did not realize that she had been flying upside down. What a parable that is for many in our world today.

We live in a time where there are no absolute moral standards.  There was a time when the church, the culture, the family and education taught moral values alongside theology and mathematics. Those days are long past. In fact, if the educational system tried to impose any sense of moral values on its students they would likely soon find themselves in court. Much of the church has abandoned sound biblical teaching on moral issues as well and has chosen to tickle the ears of their listeners, Even many families have given up and have decided to let their children decide for themselves concerning moral issues.

There was an episode on the old Andy Griffith show when Opie made friends with a hobo played by Buddy Epsen. The hobo tried to convince Andy that he should let Opie make his own choices in life when Andy replied, "Nah, I'm afraid it don't work that way. You can't let a young 'un decide for himself. He'll grab at the first flashy thing with shiny ribbons on it, then when he finds out there's a hook in it, it's too late. The wrong ideas come packaged with so much glitter, it's hard to convince him that other things might be better in the long run and all a parent can do is say, "Wait. Trust me" and try to keep temptation away." More families need to follow Andy's advice. Children need parents who will teach them the difference between right and wrong.

The educational system is even worse. They may teach courses on philosophy and discuss the issues of good and evil, but they do not dare state that certain actions are evil while others are good. They certainly can't include questions on an exam that asks what behaviors are good and which ones are evil. In our postmodern world, such questions are left up to the individual, and no one has the right to say that any individual's choice is wrong.

Of course, this only leads to chaos. If everyone is permitted to choose for themselves what is right and wrong, chaos is bound to reign supreme. College campuses, especially the Ivy League schools, seen to be a hotbed for anti-Semitic activity today forcing Jewish students to leave school in fear of their lives. According to reports, Columbia University does not want police on campus, but they are also unable to guarantee the safety of their Jewish students.

This is only one example of what happens when there are no standards of right and wrong, but it is certainly a troubling one. We are now a nation of entitled people who believe they are free to live as they choose with no one questioning anything they do while at the same time depending on the government to subsidize their lifestyles.

We need to be in prayer for the nation of Israel and the Jewish people around the world. No nation has ever turned its back on Israel and thrived. We need to pray for peace for the nation of Israel, safety for Jewish people wherever they live, and that our nation will once again discover that God has set standards of right and wrong.

What I enjoy most about bivocational ministry

 Today was a very busy day. We had an online auction conclude Tuesday night. On Wednesday people were coming in to pick up their winnings. Today, we were shipping those items that needed shipment, serving people who didn't pick up their items yesterday and receiving items for our next auction that begins next Tuesday. In between all that, I was taking pictures of some items for our next auction. Then a text came in.

A lady's father died a few months ago, and she is trying to decide what to do with a household of stuff and a ton of memories associated with most of the items. I agreed to meet her at the house and see if I could help her. Unfortunately, what was in the house had little value, not enough to hold an auction. It didn't take too much discussion to see she was feeling completely overwhelmed having to deal with it. I could identify with her stress. Before becoming an auctioneer I was the executor of an estate for a family member and had to deal with the stress of deciding what to do with everything.

I began to explain to her what I felt would be the simplest way to deal with all the material things. I then told her I was the pastor of North Madison Baptist Church here in Madison and asked if I could pray for her. She agreed, and I prayed that God would give her wisdom and insight to handling the estate and that He would surround her with His presence and peace throughout the process.

This is not the first time I've been able to pray for someone dealing with the stress of deciding what to do with a loved one's estate. This is what I enjoy most about being a bivocational minister. I get called into people's lives to help them solve problems, and in the process I'm able to minister to them. Not one time has anyone refused my offer to pray for them. I've been able to direct people to churches in their community that I know will minister to them.

I was 64 when I got my auctioneer's license. People asked why I wanted to do that at my age, and I responded that it was a way to serve people. It would be an extension of my ministry. Auctioneers get called when people have to settle estates and don't know what to do; we get called when people are downsizing or moving into assisted living and they need to dispose of some of the items they've collected over the year; and we get called by those who buy and sell to support their families. In all three examples, I have an opportunity to minister to people at their point of need.

I encourage all bivocational ministers to consider how their other work can also become a ministry. As a bivocational minister, I am a minister 24/7 whether I'm working in a factory, selling cars or conducting an auction. Your ministry doesn't end at the front doors of the church you're serving. God has given you a much larger ministry than that, and that is what I enjoy most about bivocational ministry.

When going through the fire

For several years my wife and I were permanent seat holders at the National Gospel Quartet Convention held in Louisville, KY each year. We attended all six nights of the convention and were blessed by many of the artists and their music. We gave up our seats when the convention moved to Pigeon Forge. 

One of our favorite groups was the Crabbe Family. These young people brought an energy to the stage and to their music that was electrifying. One of their songs was "Through the Fire,." which became one of their many hits. I won't go into the details behind the song, but this family had been through the fire. They knew what it meant to be in difficult circumstances and to be rescued by God. I just watched a video of them performing the song, and many of the members had tears running down their faces as they sang about how God delivers us from the fires of life.

So many in our churches and communities are going through the fire right now. People sit in the pews every Sunday with smiles on their faces and hearts broken by things we know nothing about. Some are struggling with pain that is almost overwhelming and with fears that keep them awake at night. The gospel is a story of hope, of healing and a promise that God can deliver us from the fire. We need to make sure we make that story told.

What's true of people in our churches is equally, if not more, true of those in our communities. A wise church member once told me that we never know what goes on behind the closed doors of those we know. For those who do not know Jesus Christ, their despair is even worse. They do not know the only true source of hope that exists in the world. Again, this gospel story is one they need to hear, and we in the church must find ways to help them hear it.

For those pastors reading this, I know some of you are going through the fire yourselves. Your church may be struggling over low attendance or discord within the congregation. You may even be wondering if you should remain in ministry. A lot of pastors do leave the ministry each year because the fire becomes too intense. Ro. 11: 29 tells us that "The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable." If God has called you into ministry, that calling will never leave you whether you obey it or not. I know what it's like to go through the fire. It's not fun. But, God has delivered me from every fiery trial I've encountered, and He will bring you through as well.

If you are going through a fire and need someone to talk to, please contact me. If you are a pastor struggling with your call, I invite you to contact me as well. I care. 

Advantages for the bivocational minister

 Bivocational ministers face a lot of challenges, the one most often heard expressed is a lack of time to get everything done. Others feel a lack of respect from other pastors and denominational leaders. Some are frustrated they are not serving full time. Some churches expect the ministry of a fully-funded pastor while only paying a salary of a bivocational pastor. The list could go on, but there are also some significant advantages of being a bivocational pastor.

Because bivocational ministry tends to be geographic the bivocational pastor is likely to serve a church in his or her community. When I sent my resume to my first church I explained that while I did not have experience or even a ministerial education, I did know where the hospital is and the roads and streets the people lived on. I had spent almost my entire life in this community. I graduated from the same schools my children were attending. I didn't have to learn a new community. Because I had another job in the community, it was less likely that I would seek to move. Studies find that bivocational ministers tend to stay at the same church longer than fully-funded pastors.

Bivocational ministers often share some common experiences with members of their churches. The church I served was made up primarily of blue collar workers and farmers. I was raised on dairy farms in the area and worked in a factory when I started my ministry there. I fit in very well with the membership of the church and was able to relate to many of their challenges and concerns.

Speaking of an outside job, I didn't worry nearly as much about church politics as some fully-funded pastors. My first pastor as an adult shared with me that he could not speak on a doctrinal issue because the church would fire him if he did, and he had a wife and children to support. I didn't agree with his reasoning, but I understood it. That is something I never had to worry about as a bivocational pastor. If the church tells me on Sunday to not come back, I'll go into work the next day and bring a paycheck home on Friday. There is tremendous freedom in that.

While this isn't true in every bivocational church, many in these churches understand that the pastor cannot always be available. When our church began to grow our deacons assumed more of the responsibility to providing pastoral care to our members so I could have more time to devote to our visitors and new members. It made the workload much more manageable.

I always say that bivocational ministry isn't better or less than fully-funded ministry. It is simply a different calling God gives some people to meet the needs of a church at that point in its life. While there will always be challenges to bivocational ministry, there are also advantages that can be enjoyed.

Why new churches flourish

 One of the most frequent questions I was asked when I served as an Area Resource Minister was why the newer churches in the community were growing and the traditional churches struggled to remain open. One of the most common complaints I received was why the denomination was starting new churches rather than giving that money to existing churches so they could grow. The answer to both questions was that new churches reach new people. Most existing churches didn't have a money problem; they had a vision problem. Many of them, if they were given $100,000.00, would put it in a savings account to ensure they would remain open years later. Of course, the follow-up question I was often asked is why are the new churches reaching new people?

One reason is they are not limited by tradition. A new church leader isn't going to hear "But, we've never done it that way before," when he or she proposes some new ministry. Tradition isn't always bad, but some traditions are church-killers. When what has become a tradition in the church may have made sense at one time, but its shelf life is way past.

Traditional churches often expect the minister to provide the ministry in the church while the congregation handles the administration. A church business meeting is held every month to consider such important items as the color of the toilet paper for the rest rooms. I once knew a church whose item of new business each month was whether to pay the bills the treasurer had received. In many new churches, the congregation understands they are responsible for ministry, and the church leadership makes the major decisions of the church. This is true even in congregational churches. One very traditional church made a major change in its constitution several years ago. The church now has three business meetings a year, and there are only five things the congregation can vote on. A church council makes all other decisions.

New churches are often organized into teams, not committees. You ask what's the difference: teams get things done, committees talk about doing things. These teams are often ad-hoc. Once their work is done, they are disbanded so the members can return to doing ministry. Just to be clear, serving on a committee isn't ministry, it's administration.

New churches are often formed with a specific target in mind. They do everything they do in order to reach that target group. The music is often more contemporary and appropriate to that target group. I once read that the fastest growing churches in America today were Cowboy churches. I attended one of those churches. The music was all country-western, and the worship service itself was very informal. They were having a major impact on their community. Traditional churches often take the attitude of "We unlocked the doors. You all come." And nobody comes.

New churches spend far more on reaching new people than traditional churches. One pastor who started a new church wrote they spent over $100.00 per person to reach out to new people. Compare that to the evangelism budget of most existing churches.

Traditional churches staff for maintenance; new churches staff for growth. One new church targeted the two wealthiest communities in their city. They were meeting in the gym of a Junior High School. They had 14 ministers on staff and were now seeking a senior pastor. In the two years of their existence they had already grown to over 400 people, and this is without a building and without a senior pastor.

One final thought. New churches are very intentional about everything they do. There is a sense of urgency in what they do. Not so in many traditional churches. They can talk about doing things for months before anything actually happens. New churches are intentional about their target audience, and everything, including their music and discipleship systems, are designed to reach that target. Traditional churches post sign-up sheets hoping that people will volunteer to help out. New churches focus on people whose gifts are a good fit for what needs to be done and specifically asks people to fulfill those tasks.

The power of influence

In my sermon yesterday I talked about the power of influence. My text came from the story of the woman at the well. After her encounter with Jesus she returned to her village a transformed person. She told all who would listen about her encounter with a Jewish man at the well, and how He had changed her life. Many in the village went to see Jesus for themselves, and when they returned to the village many of them were professing Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world.

But what would have happened if the woman had not shared her story with anyone? No doubt, some would notice that she was a changed woman, but they would not know how the change occurred. It was her testimony, her influence, that caused others to believe in Jesus Christ.

You and I have influence over other people. That influence may be negative or positive, but we do influence the ones with whom we come in contact. People watch what we say, they watch what we do, and those words and actions have influence.

Chances are you became a Christian because of someone's influence in your life. It may have been a parent, a spouse, a co-worker, a child or someone with whom you had a casual acquaintance, but there was something they said, something they did or the way they carried themselves that made you think there might be something to Christianity. You began to explore the claims of Christ for yourself until one day you came to believe in Jesus Christ and came to a personal faith.

Now, as Christians, we have an obligation to influence others. Jesus said we are to be the light of the world. The word translated light means a reflected light. We are to let the light of Jesus Christ shine through us so others will be drawn to Him.

Studies show that the average Christian will not lead a single person to faith in Christ in his or her lifetime. We hide our light. We only let it shine in church but not in public. As a result, many will never have the opportunity to trust in Jesus Christ.

It is a sobering thought that of all the methods God could have chosen to spread the Good News about Him, He chose to use imperfect people like you and me. It is also a sobering thought to realize that we may be the only person who can influence someone to explore the claims of Jesus Christ and come to faith in their own lives.

Who are you influencing today?

The tired pastor (Part 2)

 One reason many pastors feel overwhelmed by ministry is self-inflicted. They refuse to delegate anything to anyone. Some, in fact, resent it if someone else does something they believe they should have done.

Several years ago I talked to my Region Resource Minister about how tired and stressed I was. He listened for a few minutes and responded, "The reason you are so tired is that you are the church. You're doing everything yourself. Not only is that making you stressed, it also prevents the church from being the church." I immediately recognized how true his words were. The following Sunday I announced the title of my sermon was "Confessions of a Tired Pastor." I shared my conversation with the congregation and pointed out how God has called ministers to equip the congregation to do the work of ministry (Eph. 4). Not only did I change the course of my ministry, but our church began to grow as more people became involved in ministry.

Why is it so hard for ministers to delegate? Sometimes, we feel like it's easier if we do it ourselves. It might be, but how do we help others grow as disciples if we are trying to do everything? Maybe they won't do it like we would, but does that matter if it gets done? Or maybe we're afraid someone will mess up and not do something properly. I have to admit that I've messed up more than once. That's how we learn. We're not perfect, and we shouldn't expect perfection from others either.

For some, refusing to delegate is a reflection of what they have learned. Perhaps they grew up in a church where the pastor did everything, so they assume that's expected of them as well. Maybe they learned something in seminary that caused them to believe that some tasks could only be performed by someone ordained.

Unfortunately, some pastors will not delegate because of ego issues. They're afraid someone will do something better than they do. They crave the appreciation that others give them when something good is done, and they don't want someone else to receive that. Any minister who struggles in this area needs  counseling to learn why they feel this way.

Regardless of the reasons for not delegating, trying to do everything is a sure-fire way to feel stress and exhaustion. It is also one reason why congregations fail to grow as disciples. Discipleship is a combination of learning and doing, and if we do not let them do, they will never grow.

The tired pastor

Much has been written in recent years about the exhaustion many pastors feel. The pressures and stresses of ministry has led to many leaving the ministry and seeking other types of employment. There is no question that these pressures and stresses are real. I've experienced them myself, but I've also learned that there are some things I can do to help alleviate them.

One of the simplest is to take control of your schedule. I often joke that people who have nothing to do want to do it with you. Unfortunately, that is not a joke. Unless you control your calendar, someone else will. I recommend that at the start of each month block off times on your calendar for the things you are responsible for doing. If you are responsible for preaching each week, you need preparation time. When are you most effective in your study and sermon preparation? Many find their most productive hours are in the morning. If that is you, block out your mornings to plan and prepare your messages. You can then schedule other demands on your time at other times on your calendar.

When blocking out times on your calendar don't forget to schedule times with your family and for your own self-care. You don't want to schedule a deacon's retreat on your wife's birthday or your anniversary! Block out those days well in advance. Be sure to include time on your calendar for yourself. Remember...self-care is not selfishness, it is stewardship of a very valuable commodity...you. Take your vacations. Take your days off.

A second thing to do to help ease the stresses of ministry is to deal with interpersonal conflicts quickly. There are few things more stressful than knowing that someone is upset at something you've said or done. Address it as soon as you learn someone is unhappy with you. It may be something as simple as a misunderstanding that can easily be cleared up. There may be a legitimate issue that needs addressed. If so, acknowledge your part in that and see what can be done to resolve it.

Unfortunately, personal finances are often a stressor in a minister's life. Few ministers are paid salaries comparable to what others with our education and experience receive. Personal financial management is a course that should be taught in seminary. I would recommend that every minister take the "Financial Peace University" course offered by Dave Ramsey. It will help you get out of debt, avoid debt, build up an emergency fund and plan for retirement.

The final thing I'll address in this post is to set priorities. Some people act as if everything is a priority. If everything is a priority, nothing is. What are the top five things you need to do today? Once you determine that, you can then prioritize each of them. Number them one through five. Begin working on number one and don't stop until it is completed. Then move on to number two. You may not get to number two, and that's OK. That becomes number one tomorrow.

One thing I've learned in ministry is that there will always be one more phone call I could have made, and probably should have. There will always be one more visit I could have made, and probably should have. There will always be unfinished work at the end of every day, and I've had to learn to accept that. I'm not going to save the world today, and I'll burn myself out if I try. If that happens, then I'll be no good to anyone.  

 

The friendliest church in town

As an Area Resource Minister I often helped churches who were seeking new pastoral leadership. One of the questions I would ask in our first meeting was "Why would anyone want to attend your church?" More often than not, the question caught people by surprise. Stop and think about it. Chances are anyone who visited a church for the first time probably drove past several other churches to get to yours. So, why yours? More times than not, the answer was because they were the friendliest church in town. In fact, I've often said that I have yet to meet the second most friendliest church in any town! But, is this true?

An Area Resource Minister is often in a different church almost every week. When I retired from that ministry I was serving 133 churches. Many churches, especially in the early years, did not know me and simply saw me as a visitor. Sadly, I have to admit that many of those churches were not very friendly.

In one church no one was allowed to enter the sanctuary until the Sunday school class that met there finished. I think there were six or less people in that class. The entrance filled up almost wall to wall. My wife and I stood there, obviously people who had never been in that church before, and not a single person spoke to either of us or even acknowledged that we existed. Because I tend to be a little ornery, I was determined to not make the first move. I wanted to see how this congregation treated its first-time guests. They failed the test.

In another church the "greeters" were huddled in a corner talking to themselves when my wife and I entered. I finally approached them and asked a question which they could not answer, but I was directed to a visitor's book "somewhere around here" that I was to find and sign it. They went back to their previous conversation. Before the service started, a gentleman who did know me must have said something to them because they came marching single-file down the aisle, said they were glad I was there, turned around and marched back to the back. Not that friendly.

I could repeat many more stories like these, but what I found in 14 years of visiting different churches is that most churches are friendly to those on the inside but not so much to those on the outside. In fact, it was so bad I developed a "Church Hospitality" seminar that I presented to several churches who requested it.

Success in evangelism and church growth depends on the ability to build relationships with people. In the past, people attended a church and built relationships with the people there. Today, the relationships come first. If people do not have a relationship with someone in your congregation, they probably won't come. And if they come, they will determine with a very few minutes whether or not they will return. That determination will be based on a number of factors, but one of the major factors is the friendliness of the people they meet.

A great cloud of witnesses

This past Sunday the ABW at North Madison Baptist Church installed Linda Tilley into their Hall of Fame. It was a very moving service for all who attended. Linda passed away before I began serving the church so I did not know her, but as I heard about her faithful ministry it was easy to see why she was being recognized. Not only was she a wonderful wife to her husband, Jim, she was a faithful and dedicated worker in the church. She had a passion for missionaries and mission work. I was blessed to sit there and hear some of the things she did in the church. The Bible tells us we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, and Linda is certainly included in that cloud.

Years ago when I was serving in my first church, we took communion to our shut-ins. One day the wife of one couple asked why we did that. I explained that I had read a lot of the old records of the church, and her name seemed to be on every page. That church was there for us now because of people like her and many others who sacrificed and gave of themselves to ensure that it would be. Just because they were not physically able to attend church, we did not want them to think they were forgotten. They were still a part of this congregation, and bringing communion to them was one way to help stay connected. They are also part of that great cloud of witnesses.

Unless you are serving in a new church, there are people like that in your church's history as well. Men and women who sacrificed, who served, who supported, and who ministered in multiple ways. Some of them were out front while others preferred to serve behind the scenes. Some may have taught or led music while others made sure the flower beds were kept clean and the kitchen was clean after a church dinner. Some may have been bold witnesses who led people to Christ, and others were prayer warriors without anyone knowing. Your church exists today because of those faithful saints. They are part of that great cloud of witnesses.

If the church is there for future generations it will be because of the faithfulness of those in the church today. Today's teachers, today's music leaders, today's prayer warriors will ensure that the church is there for our children and grandchildren and generations beyond. Every Christian is called to serve in some capacity and given the necessary gifts to make that service possible. I often tell my congregation that their baptism was their ordination to minister. Each of us are called to be part of that great cloud of witnesses.

 

The changing church

 Anyone who has been involved in ministry for more than a few years knows that the church has undergone some tremendous changes in recent years. It's kind of funny because we usually hear that churches resist change, but at the same time the church has changed a lot since I began my pastoral ministry. Let's look at some of these changes.

There is little denominational loyalty today. My family moved several times when I was growing up. No matter where we moved, we found a Baptist church to attend. Few people today care what denomination the church is related to. They are looking for a church that meets their needs.

In fact, they may decide to participate in several churches. They may attend one church because they enjoy the worship service in that church. They may send their children and youth to another church due to their programs for that age group. This same family may attend a Bible study held at a different church. This involvement in different churches will be a challenge when one of the churches tries to recruit them for a ministry within that church. This cafeteria approach to church attendance will also have an impact on their financial giving. Which church will receive their tithes and offerings?

While speaking of denominations, many churches today find that they receive less support from their denomination than they did in the past. Churches used to look to the denomination for assistance in finding new pastoral leadership, but many denominations are unable to provide much help as they simply do not have the candidates to offer to the churches. Churches in the past received much of their programming material from the denomination. Today, that material either doesn't exist or is not in line with the theological beliefs of the church. Due to financial reasons, many denominations have reduced their staff which means there is less contact with their churches. This can make the church feel they have been abandoned by their denomination.

In the past a church nominating committee would ask people to accept a role in the church for the coming year. That is becoming much more difficult today as many people do not want to make long-term commitments, and they consider a year-long task to be a long-term commitment. This has forced some churches to recruit teachers and other workers for a quarter at a time or they may even only ask for a monthly commitment.

For years I've complained that Sunday school literature had been "dumbed-down" so much that a lot of it wasn't worth using. It was only recently I learned that the problem might actually be that the publishing houses have needed to reduce the preparation time for the teachers. Some publishers have conducted studies and found that the average amount of time teachers prepare for their classes is 15 minutes or less a week. Because of the busy schedules many people have today, that is unlikely to change, but it does mean that the lessons will continue to lack depth.

People's busy schedules impact the church in other ways. When I was a child, our Vacation Bible Schools were two weeks long. Today, most VBS programs last five days. I know one church who had their VBS on Wednesday evenings for four weeks. It was the only way they could get enough workers to hold a VBS. Also, the days are long past when you could count on people in the church to be in attendance every time the doors were opened. Few churches continue to have Sunday evening services, and very few have a mid-week service anymore.

Because many children come from broken homes they often spend every other week with a different parent. This often means that they will only attend your church twice a month, if that often. That makes it difficult to have any kind of continuity in your children's and youth ministry.

I'll just mention one more change. Many Americans struggle with debt. Even those who want to tithe feel they cannot because of their debt and other financial obligations. Many churches today rely on the savings they accumulated when the Builder generation was the primary generation in the church. That generation, and to a large part, the Boomer generation, was consistent with their financial support of the church. As these generations are no longer a part of the church, many churches struggle to meet their budgets. This is unlikely to improve without serious stewardship training in the church.

There are no easy answers to any of these changes. They are the reality of doing ministry in the 21st century, and one reason why so many churches and ministry leaders struggle so much. It is also unlikely that any of these will change. Rather than wishing things would go back to the way they used to be, the best thing we can do is to find ways to minister in the new reality.

Feeding the sheep

As I've shared many times, when I began serving my first church as pastor I had no pastoral experience and no education beyond high school. I only knew that God had called me to minister and that He had called me to that church. I went there with one purpose: to preach the Word of God the best I could.

A funny thing began to happen. Some people from the church I attended before I began preaching started coming to the church I now served. The pastor's theology in that church was suspect, and they wanted to go where the Bible was being preached without compromise. Despite the fact that I had not contacted anyone or asked any of these folks to begin attending my church, several families made the change and moved their membership. It wasn't long before someone accused me of "sheep stealing." 

I am the first to admit that I am not always the most tactful person on the earth. My response to the person who accused me of steeling sheep certainly reflects this! I explained that I had not stolen any sheep. It was not my fault if there was a hole in the fence, some sheep wandered over into my pasture and was fed so well that they couldn't get back through the hole.

We will always have church-hoppers. If they show up at your church you can be confident that within a short time they will leave for one reason or another. But, there are legitimate reasons for some people seeking a new place to worship.

There are churches today that have abandoned biblical teaching. Entire denominations have abandoned the clear teaching of Scripture on various issues. Anyone holding to an inerrant, infallible view of Scripture should leave such churches and find one that preaches sound doctrine. I had to leave one such church. Some of the pastor's messages were not biblically sound. I explained to him that my wife and I did not want our children exposed to such teaching so we had no option but to leave. The word later went out that we left because the choir got new robes!

No one should sit under false doctrine being taught. No one should remain in a church in which the congregation is assaulted week after week by the pastor. When I served as a Region resource minister one church member, who I knew very well, asked me to visit their church. She said the pastor's sermons beat up the members every week. I did visit and nearly walked out half way through the message. For 45 minutes he beat on the congregation. The problem was that I knew nearly everyone in that church and knew that they were a great congregation. They had done much more for a church their size than most until this pastor came. Even a work mule will quit working if it's beaten enough, and this church had been beaten enough. Several good members later left that church.

A third reason people will leave a church is that there is no reason for them to stay. There are committed Christian people who want to use their spiritual gifts to serve, and if the church has nothing for them to do, they will find a church who can use their gifts. There are people who want to grow in their faith, and if the church does not provide opportunities for them to do so, they will find a church that will. So many smaller churches complain about people leaving their church for larger ones, but if they do not offer people an opportunity to use their spiritual gifts they should not be surprised if people leave.

Jesus made it very clear that church leaders are to feed the sheep. If we are doing our job, we will lose very few people to other churches. Feed them the Word of God. Feed them with opportunities to use their spiritual gifts in service to others. Not only will you keep your sheep, you may find hungry sheep heading in your direction.

The long-term pastor

 One of the best statements about pastoral ministry I've heard or read came from H. B. London, Jr. He wrote that if you are serving in a good, strong church it's because someone stayed there and made the church that way. If you are serving in a church that is not so good or strong, perhaps God is calling you "for such a time as this." He has you there that you might build it into a better church. I believe there is much wisdom in those words.

I served my first church for 20 years before accepting a call to our Region staff. Before I went to the church, the average pastoral tenure over several years was 12 months. That was the average! The church was not healthy when I went there. I was told later than the church had considered closing but decided to try one more pastor. Perhaps if I had known that before I went I would have reconsidered going there, but I'm glad I didn't because those 20 years were some of the best years of my life.

Virtually every study done on strong churches find that they have had long-term pastoral leadership. The pastor had planted roots in the church and community. People came to trust his leadership. He or she had built relationships with members of the congregation. The pastor and congregation truly loved one another, shared a common vision and worked together to fulfill that vision.

This does not happen in churches with revolving-door pastorates. When a church has pastors who leave every 2-3 years they begin to wonder what's wrong with them. A low self-esteem can begin which limits what the church believes it can do. It doesn't take long before a new pastor picks up on that belief causing him or her to begin searching for another church. Nothing changes until a pastor decides to stay and move the church out of the negative rut they are in. It will be a slow process, and many pastors will decide it's not worth the trouble. But, those who stay and begin to rebuild the church will find that all the trouble and pain was well worth it.

Some pastors will retire after a 40 year ministry, but when they look back they will find they didn't have a 40 year ministry; they had 10 four year ministries and never really accomplished very much. How much better it might be if they had invested those 40 years in just one or two churches. 

Easter Sunday

 I want to invite everyone who does not have a church home to join us at North Madison Baptist Church, 1906 Orchard Street, Madison, IN for our Easter service. Our worship service begins at 10:30. The Bible is clear that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of the Christian faith. It is no surprise that Satan has done everything possible to cause people to doubt that Jesus rose from the grave. In my message I will prove why it is reasonable to believe in His resurrection and why it matters. We would love to see you.

Dealing with unrealistic expectations in ministry

 The first of the Four Spiritual Laws reads that "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life." Someone has changed that to read, "God loves you and everybody has a wonderful plan for your life." This is especially true for those us serving in ministry. Your church may have a job description for the pastor, but if you are serving in a church of 100 people there are 100 different job descriptions you are expected to meet. We seldom get into trouble for not meeting the official job description, but many pastors have got into trouble by not meeting the other 100.

In yesterday's post I addressed the need for pastors to find balance in their ministries and their personal lives. But, how does one do that with so many expectations that people have for their pastor? When some of these expectations are unrealistic it makes it even more difficult.

As a young pastor I struggled to tell anyone no. That got me in a lot of trouble. I was soon like a stray dog at a whistler's convention. I didn't know where to go or what to do next. Eventually, I became better at telling people no. I couldn't attend every event people wanted me to attend. I couldn't make every visit someone thought I should make. Some requests made no sense. Our small, rural church had a Sunday morning and evening service. About 55 attended the morning service, around 12-15 came on Sunday night. A lady asked about starting a Wednesday night service, and I told her we would not do that until the evening service attendance matched the morning attendance. She responded that we would probably never have a Wednesday night service, and I told her she was probably right.

Some readers might think that serving a church of 55 people shouldn't have been that much of a deal, but at the time I was bivocational working full-time in a factory and working on my college degree. It was a big deal if I wanted to maintain any sense of balance in my life.

Where do these unofficial job descriptions come from? Somewhere in these person's lives a minister met those expectations, and it was assumed that all ministers would in the future. Dr. Phil says that we teach people how to treat us. I believe it's true. When we agree to something that is outside the boundaries of what we should be doing we are creating expectations, not only for our future but also for the future pastors who will serve there. 

Every pastor will have people come with ideas for new ministries. They usually want the pastor to lead these ministries. What many pastors now do is to affirm the idea and suggest that since God has given them the idea for this ministry they are the best person to lead it. Our role is to equip and resource you (Eph. 4). Then ask, how can I help you get this started. You will often find that these folks will really run with this, and your church will have a new ministry that is being led by someone else.

Our challenge in many traditional churches is that the members were brought up at a time when the pastor did lead everything in the church. We have to begin to correct this wrong concept of ministry. Our role is to equip and resource, not lead everything. Our members will never become disciples if they are only expected to sit and give. We have to teach them that God has called them to do ministry, and our role is to help them in that endeavor. If we do this well, we will change the expectations that people have for the pastor and help prepare the church for a more healthy future.

Balancing the work of ministry

I sometimes like to tell people that pastors are invisible six days a week and incomprehensible on the seventh. It usually gets a laugh, but it does point out something very real about pastoral ministry. Many people do not know what we do, and this makes it very easy for a pastor to fall into two errors.

One is pastors can become rather lazy. As a resource minister with our judicatory I once had a pastor who played golf 4-5 days a week. He couldn't understand why people in the church had a problem with that. I finally told him one day that he needed to decide if God had called him into ministry or if he should get his PGA pro card. He left that church in less than a year and took a position as an associate pastor in another church. At a seminar one day his senior pastor confided to me that he could not get that young man to do anything without being told. I told him his associate was like an old Harley-Davidson. You had to kick start him to get him going.

This young man is an extreme example, but it is easy to let pastoral duties slide. Most of the time people do not know where you are or what you are doing. They assume you are ministering somewhere to someone, but nobody really knows. This can be true for those of us who have been in ministry for some time. The old sermon barrel can look pretty comforting even though those old sermons may not really be applicable today for your church. Some of those old messages can be repeated, and some of them probably shouldn't have been preached in the first place, but using them saves a lot of time in preparing a new message.

The other extreme are those pastors who work too much. A fully-funded pastor can easily work 50-60 hours a week, and some work more than that. Once you exceed that 50 hour mark you are probably sacrificing time that should be spent elsewhere...like maybe with your family. I realize that some weeks may require more hours than that. There are unexpected events such as hospitalizations and funerals that can take more time in a given week, but when pastors regularly schedule too many hours on their calendar, there is a problem.

When I served as a pastor I scheduled family time on my calendar. A date night with my wife was a weekly occurrence, and it was written on my calendar. If someone wanted me to do something during that time I told them I already had an appointment for then. There was never a problem. If a true emergency came up, then we would reschedule the date, but this seldom happened. I had set times for reading and sermon preparation, and I tried to protect those times from those who just wanted to see the pastor for a few minutes. (Have you ever noticed that people who have nothing to do want to do it with you?)

Every pastor needs to find a balance in his or her ministry. We have been called by God to an exciting, fulfilling task, but it is not a task that should consume our every waking minute. Even Jesus took time to go off by Himself and rest and pray. Many pastors could have avoided burnout if they had just created more balance in their lives and ministries.

Leading change in a small church

I told our congregation recently that no one likes change except a wet baby. They all laughed because it's a funny line and because it's true. Congregations do not like change, and neither does the pastor for that matter. Change is often hard and always challenging. It's easier to keep doing what makes everyone comfortable, but this seldom leads to growth. People do not grow by doing what they've always done and neither do churches. When pastors serve a church that is change-resistant or has not experienced any change in a long time, what is the best way to proceed?  S-l-o-w-l-y.

This a challenge for me. Patience is not one of my spiritual gifts, but I have learned that anything important that needs to change in a church will take much longer than I think it should. Some pastors get too far ahead of their congregations which can lead to an early exit.

One important thing to remember when leading change is to start small and let the church get some wins under their belt. When that small change is accomplished, celebrate before moving on to the next challenge.

In my first church we needed to do something that would cost the church about $1,600.00. The church did not have that much money so we began raising the funds for the project. It took us a year to raise $1,600.00, but we were able to do the project. The congregation felt good about their success so we were ready to move on to the next project that needed done. Guess what, that one would also cost &1,600.00. We were able to raise it in about 9 months. Now we had two small victories that we could build on which we did. More changes were introduced into the church, most of which were successful leading to a more positive image the church had of itself.

Notice I said most changes were successful. Some of the ones we attempted failed, but because we had more victories than losses, those losses did not have a negative impact on the church. We were able to look at it as an effort to change something that didn't work without feeling defeated.

The second thing to remember when introducing change is to create a sense of urgency. Failing to create a sense of urgency is one of the major reasons most change efforts fail. There must be a reason for the change, and the more urgent the reason the more likely the church will support it. If there is no urgency, it becomes easier to put it on the back burner for another time.

Change does not have to have an negative impact on a church. When properly presented pastors often find their people are not as change-resistant as they might have thought.

 

The permission giving church

For too long there has been a disconnect in many churches regarding ministry. It has long been thought that the ordained minister in the church is the minister. Every ministry was done by the trained professional while the congregation watched, took notes and made sure the minister knew when he or she had failed. However, that is not the biblical understanding of ministry. Ephesians 4 makes it clear that the congregation is called to do ministry, and the ministerial staff's role is to equip them to do ministry. For this to occur, the congregation must be given permission to do ministry.

Here is how this would work in the ideal church. A member of the church would feel that a specific ministry was needed. Perhaps it would be a ministry to unwed mothers, or single mothers or to those caught up in addictions. In a permission giving church, this member would discuss this with the pastor or staff who would then help that member begin such a ministry. Maybe this specific ministry has never been done in the church before, but that doesn't matter. If the person presenting the ministry has the spiritual gifts and the passion for the ministry, then he or she must be given permission to begin that ministry. The pastor's role then, according to Eph. 4, is to equip and resource this individual.

Think of the impact this mindset could have on the church. New ministries could begin in the church that are lay-led by people who feel a passion for the ministry. How might this impact the growth of the church? More importantly, how might this impact the growth of the Kingdom of God?

One of our responsibilities as pastors is to help people identify their spiritual giftedness. Many believers cannot tell you how God has gifted them for ministry. There are many resources that can be used to help them identify their gifts. Once those gifts have been identified, the next question has to do with their passions. What would they like to do in ministry? What gets them excited? When the giftedness and passion match needs in the community, they can be encouraged to begin their ministries.

Some pastors will feel threatened by this. Having been trained in seminary that they are the minister, some pastors will not want to give up ministry to untrained lay-people. Perhaps they will make mistakes. So what? I don't know any pastor who has done everything perfectly in his or her ministry, so why not give permission to our laypeople to make mistakes as well. My guess is that they will make fewer mistakes if we are faithful in our equipping roles.

I encourage every pastor reading this post to begin challenging your people to pray about how they can best serve God. I like to remind people that their baptism was their ordination to ministry. Let's quit simply asking people to serve on various committees in the church and begin asking them to consider how God has gifted them for ministry and what they feel passionate about. Let's encourage them to work in those areas of giftedness and passion. 

The pastor's family

When I began my pastoral ministry in 1981 I met with an older pastor in our association. He was telling me about some of his experiences in ministry. One that he struggled with was his relationship with his family. He said his children seldom came to see him because he had ignored them so much while doing ministry. He further admitted that his wife nearly had a nervous breakdown, and he wasn't even aware of it until later. His pastoral work took precedence over his family.

Sometime later I was sitting before an ordination council. This pastor was on that council. A question was asked about my ministry/family priorities, and I explained that my family would come first. He challenged that comment which was confusing to me. He had admitted several months earlier the decisions he had made concerning his family and the negative impact they had on his relationship with his family, and now he is suggesting I should make the same decisions!

Years ago pastors were often told by denominational leaders and others to focus on your ministry, and God would take care of your family. IMHO, that is one of the dumbest things I ever heard. Scripture is clear that if one does not provide for his family he is worse than an infidel. Nothing in that passage says anything about pastors being excluded.

Your church has probably had many pastors before you, and if the Lord tarries, it will likely have many pastors after you. But, you are the only husband or wife your spouse has. You are the only father or mother your children have. You have an obligation before God to meet the needs of your family. One statement I have often made to pastor groups and to churches is that I will not sacrifice my family on the altar of ministerial success.

Part of this is that I have never placed expectations on members of my family because I was a minister. When my kids were growing up I told them that they did not have behave a certain way because I was a pastor; they should do the right thing because it was the right thing. When one church commented that my wife would be the head of the church's mission circle, I told them she would not. My wife prefers to not be in leadership roles, and part of my responsibility is to protect her from the expectations of others. She is free to serve, or not to serve, in any area of church life she wants.

Churches can place unrealistic expectations on the families of their pastors. We cannot allow that to happen. When beginning a new ministry, the minister needs to make it very clear to the church the roles his or her family will play in the church. 

Contrasting worship

 Back in the mid-1980s I went to Haiti for a mission work trip with a group from our Region. The first several days we worked to rebuild a youth center that had been burned. For a couple of days we toured some of the mission efforts our denomination supported: a hospital, a seminary, an agricultural center and others. Each of them had an impact on me and others in our group. But, for me, the greatest impact came from two worship services I attended.

The first was a 7:00 AM service held in Creole in one of the churches we sponsor. When we arrived, the building was already full. They were in the process of building on to the back of the building and only had the rafters and roof over that area. People were sitting in the rafters! People were seated on the platform around the pulpit, not in chairs but on the floor. People were moved from the front pew so their mission guests would have a place to sit. The singing was lively. When the offering was received, those who were tithing were asked to come forward and place their tithes in the baskets. (Try that in your church!) When they finished, the ushers were around to receive the financial gifts from others. The service last about 1 1/2 hours. As we were leaving, people for the 10:00 service were already arriving, many carrying chairs from home to ensure they would have a seat.

The second service I attended was that evening at the missionary compound. It was done in English and was similar in many ways to what I was used to. What struck me was the prayer right before the message. The person prayed for the church in America. He prayed that the church's eyes would be opened, that people would be moved from their apathy, that the churches would have a burden for those who were lost and hurting. As he prayed, I was deeply ashamed. These men and women had sacrificed so much to fulfill the work to which God has called them. They were doing incredible things with very limited resources while our churches were doing very little with abundant resources. 

It is my understanding that due to the current political climate in Haiti our missionaries have relocated to the Dominican Republic and working with Haitian refugees who have fled there to escape the turmoil in their country. They continue to work long, difficult hours with still limited resources. I ask you to pray for them, and for all missionaries around the world.

I also want to ask you to consider what your church is doing to address the spiritual emptiness felt in many lives in your community. If your congregation committed to seeking and saving those who are lost? Is it externally focused or internally focused? Do you do ministry from a mindset of abundance or from a scarcity mindset? I have worked with hundreds of churches over the years, and I've heard all the excuses why they can't do more. Reflecting back this evening on my time in Haiti I'm reminded once again that they are just that, excuses. Unfortunately, I have to confess that I've made the same excuses in the past.

Scripture tells us that God gives seed to the sower. He does not give seed to the hoarder. If we are on mission with Him, He will give us all we need to accomplish the work we've been given to do. When we are on mission with Him, then we will be free to worship in spirit and in truth as I experienced in Haiti.

The mission field around your church

 Approximately 100 churches in North America close their doors each week. Many of these are smaller churches. For years, they have watched their congregations grow smaller and grayer. Income dropped as the attendance decreased. It became increasingly more difficult to find pastoral leadership. Often, savings accumulated over the years was depleted in an effort to keep the doors open as long as possible. Eventually, the lights were turned off for the last time.

The question that must be asked is: why? Why did the church have to close? One report I've read is that a minimum of 50 percent of the people in every county in the United States is unchurched, and in some counties it can be as high as 90 percent. We now know that the United States is the largest English-speaking mission field in the world surpassed only by India and China. Churches do not close due to a lack of work that needs to be done; they close because they have lost their vision for ministry.

When a church's primary focus is on survival and not mission it is well on the road towards closing. God never intended His church to be concerned about surviving. The church is called to mission, and if a church has no mission beyond survival it has ceased being a church. It may be an organization that meets weekly to sing songs, pray and hear a message, but it is no longer a church.

Many struggling churches may not have to go more than a mile from their building to find enough unchurched people to double their membership. The problem is that they do not know the people who live within a mile of the church. The larger problem is that those people do not know that church exists.

Back when I first began serving as a regional minister I was scheduled to meet a pastor search team from one of our churches. The small church was located in a rural area. Other than an initial sign on the highway, there were no signs directing anyone to the church. This was before GPS devices were common. I was hopelessly lost and even stopped at two houses to ask if they could direct me to the church. Neither family was familiar with the church. It was now dark, and I was already a half-hour late for the meeting. I decided to turn around the first place I found and try to find my way back home. The place I found to turn around in was the church parking lot. That church was no more than a mile from either of the houses I had stopped for directions!

Your church is in the midst of a growing mission field, but those individuals are not going to come to you. For too long, we've unlocked the doors of our church buildings on Sunday morning and said, "Y'all come." Nobody came. The Great Commission tells the church that we are to GO into the world and tell people about Jesus. In order to do that, we've got to connect with our mission field, build relationships with them, and earn the right to tell them about our Lord.

How can you best do that in 2024? I encourage you to discuss that in your next leadership meetings.

The challenge of ministry in traditional churches

So much of ministry depends on traditions. Older pastors, like myself, were taught to do ministry a certain way that may have applied to people in previous generations and in previous contexts. I recently blogged about ridding my library of a lot of books. Many of them reflected the thinking of the past and were really outdated for the 21st century. (Some were outdated for the 20th century!) When I told someone I had tossed them into a dumpster I was asked why I didn't give them to a young pastor starting out. I responded that they would be of no value to that young pastor or to the church he or she might lead.

Existing churches struggle to find pastoral leadership, especially smaller and mid-size churches. One reason for this difficulty is that many younger pastors want to serve in more non-traditional settings. They feel led to new church planting to avoid the growth-limiting traditions found in many existing churches. Some are drawn to churches after the planter leaves to start another church. Few desire to go to a 150 year old church with few or no young people. Others are unwilling to deal with the challenges of ministering to three or four generations who have different expectations of their minister. We may not agree with their thinking, but it is the reality that older, existing churches face.

Pipe organs, hymnbooks, liturgies, denominational Sunday school literature still meet a need for some people, but the numbers of those people decrease every year. One church with two services each Sunday, one contemporary and one traditional, see fewer numbers each year in the traditional service. A gentleman I know who attends the traditional service in that church asked me once what they could do to see that service grow in attendance. I responded that no one in that service is having babies, so the only way I knew of was for them to begin inviting their unchurched friends. He was not encouraged because his circle of friendships was growing smaller each year, and the ones who were left all attended churches. I imagine this story could be said of many churches.

I have read one church growth person who suggested that churches should close down after 50 years. I can understand his reasoning, but I don't think it's necessary. What is necessary is that churches, and pastors, may need to reinvent themselves to better reach the younger generations. This will impact how we preach, the music we use in worship, our worship styles, the way we structure the church, its outreach and discipleship ministries, and virtually every system in the church. Traditions that limit our ministry effectiveness need to be abandoned. Other traditions can be used as foundations upon which we can build new ways of doing ministry that will impact people's lives and the Kingdom of God.

The pastor's prayer life

 The Scottish pastor, Robert Murray McCheyne wrote, “What a man is on his knees before God, that he is, and nothing more.” While this is true of all Christians, it is especially true for pastors. Unfortunately, many pastors, myself included, often find it difficult to spend the time in prayer we need.

Young pastors sometimes feel they have been trained and equipped through their education to lead a church. While they may say they are committed to prayer and following God's will for their church, that is not always the case. They may be more committed to following the latest fad they learned from a book or a recently attended conference. Those with a CEO view of ministry may want to focus on management skills they've learned, and these skills can often lead to some success, but they do not necessarily take the church where God is wanting to lead it.

Older pastors may want to depend upon their experiences in ministry. The longer one is in ministry the more one learns, both good and bad. Those experiences can help both the church and the minister, but, again, they may not lead the church to the place God wants it.

It is only when we spend time in prayer seeking God's vision for our churches that we can move in the direction He wants. As I write this I must confess that I struggle here as much as many pastors I've met. Too often my life prayer has been an after thought. I've asked God to bless my plans rather than seeking His will. I've asked Him for guidance, and then went my own way without stopping to listen to His leading. I read about some of the great prayer warriors in ministry and then overload my schedule with things to do without setting aside time to pray and worship.

Anyone who has pursued a doctoral degree knows that there is a lot of reading required. When I was in my doctoral studies I marked time on my calendar for reading. I would set aside an hour or two at least once a week to devote to reading. It was on my schedule. I had an appointment. Why do we not do that with our prayer lives?

I find myself spending more time in prayer these days now that I've gotten older. Life really hasn't slowed down, but I find more time to pray. I'm glad, but I do regret the former years when I didn't pray as much as I should have. I can only imagine the blessings I've missed because of it.

The impact of a long-term pastor

A number of years ago a church went through another major conflict. Denominational people had to be called in to resolve the conflict. When things returned somewhat to normal one of the deacons addressed the congregation and stated, "We can never do this again."

One of the reasons for the problems this church had was they had a series of short-term student pastors from a nearby seminary. These pastors seldom stayed longer than 2-3 years which meant they were never leaders in the church. The real leaders came from the four primary families who made up the majority of that church. A member of each family had to be represented on every board and committee in the church. Unfortunately, these families were often at odds with one another. Sometimes there was turmoil within a family which also spilled out into the church. The pastors were helpless to address any of this and could only watch, and run, when conflicts rose up. To say the church was unhealthy would be an understatement.

The church finally called a pastor who was not a student. He accepted the role of full time pastor of the church. He was able to build relationships with each of the families. The people liked him and trusted him. More importantly, he stayed and eventually became the leader of the church. Each of the families were still actively involved in the church, but with a long-term pastor there was no longer a leadership void to fill. When problems occurred, as they will in any church, they were able to work through them because of the influence of their pastor. He has now served this church for over 30 years, and it is a much healthier church with a good ministry.

George Barna reported years ago that it takes a pastor between 3-11 years to develop an effective ministry in a church. I've stated elsewhere that it took me seven years in my church. It also had a revolving-door of student pastors who stayed for an average of 12 months. There was a huge leadership void in the church which resulted in many problems. After my 7th year as pastor, it began a significant turn-around and begin to enjoy a much more effective ministry. 

Pastors are called to lead churches, but, except in the larger churches, they are not going to be given the authority to lead until the congregation knows they can be trusted. A congregation must first know their pastor loves them, and, secondly, that they can be trusted. Depending on a number of factors, that can happen within a short period of time or a much longer period of time. I can tell you that once a pastor crosses that trust threshold, ministry become much more enjoyable.

The problem is that pastors today stay at a church for an average of only four years. That number can fluctuate a little according to whose studies you read. But, if Barna's findings are correct that means that most pastors never stay long enough to earn the trust they need to lead the church. The pastor moves on, usually to a larger church, and the church is left wondering what is wrong with them that no one wants to stay and lead them.

I can hear someone now saying that some churches won't let a pastor lead, and I agree with that. There are a lot of toxic churches out there that do not deserve a pastor. When I served as a resource minister in our denomination there were a couple of churches in my area that I refused to help find a new pastor. I told them I would work with them to become a healthier church, but I would not sacrifice another good pastor on the altar of their dysfunction. Neither of them took me up on my offer to help them become healthier.

While there are toxic churches out there, there are also a lot of good churches truly seeking someone to come and love them and lead them. Once you earn their trust, you will be amazed at how they will allow you to lead them into the next phase of ministry. Yes, you can go to a larger church that someone else has grown, or you can have the satisfaction of seeing the church you now serve grow to become a larger church.

One of the mantras I've adopted in life is "It's always too soon to quit." I apply this to everything I do. I encourage you to consider this as you consider your next phase of ministry.

 

The local church and world missions

 March is the month that American Baptists receive the America for Christ offering. This money helps our denomination support various ministries in the US and Puerto Rico. A percentage also goes to each ABC region to help support their ministries. It is one of four special mission offerings the denomination receives each year. 

In recent years there has been an emphasis on churches having a missional mindset. Such a mindset challenges churches to see their community as a mission field. This is appropriate, and I have challenged churches for years to develop this mindset. I encourage members of the congregation to stop seeing themselves as simply members of the church but to see themselves as missionaries gifted by God to impact their community. I also encourage them to stop seeing their church as merely a church, but to begin to see it as a mission station placed in the midst of a rapidly growing pagan culture.

Unfortunately, some churches, trying to adopt that mindset, no longer see the importance of global missions. Some have stopped giving to their denomination's mission work and diverted that money to local missions. I an aware of one church that had been giving approximately $12,000.00 a year to its denomination's mission work until a new pastor, who was not favorable to that denomination, convinced the church to spend that money to reach local youth. While reaching local youth is certainly a worthwhile vision, both could have been done. Local mission work and global mission support are not an either/or endeavor; it is both/and. Not only did the denomination lose the funding for mission work, the last I knew there was no increase in the number of youth attending the church.

I have long advocated that God honors churches that honor mission. The Great Commission not only challenges us to reach those surrounding our church, it also challenges us to reach persons around the world. God calls certain individuals to go to far-off places to share the gospel, but He calls each of us to help support that work financially. Some churches do that by supporting specific missionaries while others do it by giving to their denomination's mission offerings. Either way is acceptable.

American Baptists have four special mission offerings each year. These go towards different ministry objectives of the denomination, and each of them should be supported by ABC churches. Let's not tie the hands of those God has called to serve in a mission field by failing to support them with our prayers and our financial gifts.

The pain of a library purge

 This past Saturday I endured one of the most painful experiences of my life. I began to purge my library. I'm far from complete, but the pain became almost overwhelming, and I had to put off any further removal of books for a later date. I could not bear trying to count the books, but I would estimate I eliminated between 150-200 in this initial effort.

What books did I eliminate? Some were simply outdated, and any attempt to use material from them would have been useless. Some were books from my college and seminary days that no one would ever use in the real world. A few books were purchased when I was doing regional ministry, and they were more appropriate as denominational and regional resources, but they were no longer needed by me. Several were books that sounded good, but when I got them I found out they were not really what I was looking for. That's one of the problems with Christian bookstores such as Lifeway going out of business. I could go in there and check out the books to see if they were something I actually wanted. Now, we order the books from CBD or Amazon based upon someone's recommendation or a review we read, buy it, and only then learn it isn't at all what we wanted.

You may be asking why I started getting rid of some of my books? A couple of reasons. One, I'm double-stacking books on my shelves, and my study is already filled with bookshelves. When you start double-stacking, there's a good chance you'll never see the ones in the back ever again. A second reason is I'm 75 years-old. I've got plenty of books left my wife might have to deal with when I'm gone. There's no sense in her having to deal with books I haven't used in 40 years

My reasons for disposing of books makes sense, but it doesn't make it any less painful for someone who loves books and loves to read. I have more books on Kindle and NOOK, but I seldom buy books for those devices anymore. I like to hold a book in my hands, highlight passages and write in the margins. I enjoy walking into my study and seeing shelves of books surrounding my desk.

My wife walked by a few minutes ago and asked what I was going to do with the empty selves. I responded I guess I'll have to fill them up again. She was not amused!

I'll wait a few days, gather some more boxes and start emptying some more shelves. By then, the pain should have subsided!

The challenge facing Christian conservatives

 Os Guiness points out in The Global Public Square that "In 2010, for the first time, the United States moved into the top sixteen countries of the world where there was a rise in both government restrictions and social hostility toward religion." That is a staggering announcement that shows how far we have come in America as a nation that was founded on Christian values and teaching to where we are today. Conservatives, both political and religious, are under increased attack by many of our political leaders and the "woke" crowd in Hollywood and throughout the nation. The Cancel Culture is doing all it can to silence conservatives in the public square, and the courts often support their efforts.

Maybe this is one reason we see fewer and fewer people attending our worship services. When so many in the media focus on negative happenings in the church world, and so many are arguing against the core values of the Christian faith, and so many are working to promote their progressive agenda and the courts are making legal the very activities the Bible teaches us is wrong, it become easy to understand why people fail to see the importance of faith and the church in their lives.

Recently, I was watching a documentary of Nazi Germany and saw the Jews forced to wear a yellow star on their back so everyone would know they were Jews. At the time, I wondered if the time would come when Christians would be forced to wear a cross on their backs to make it easy to identify them. Perhaps that is far-fetched. Perhaps not. We live in a society that is growing in its dislike for Christianity. I see things happening in our world that I never dreamed would ever happen. So maybe my thoughts are no so far-fetched after all.

We have yielded too much ground to the woke progressive crowd. We have allowed them to have a much louder voice than they deserve, and it's time we answer back. If we are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, then we need to make sure people know that. It's not enough to just proclaim it within our churches to those who already believe what we believe. The public square is as much ours as it is theirs, and it's time we reclaim our part of it.

The importance of worship

 John Maxwell once talked about one of his early Sundays in a new church. As he was preparing to deliver his message, the organist was playing a special. He found it especially sad and felt it set the wrong mood for the message he was about to deliver. As best as I remember the story, he invited the organist to lunch that next week and asked about the song he had played. He learned it was an 18th century funeral dirge. He then asked the organist if it would be possible for him to purge the urge to dirge.

Maxwell understood that worship and music sets the stage for everything else that happens in a worship service. I often define worship as that which allows people to encounter God in a way that is meaningful to them. Assuming that definition is correct, it presents a problem. In many churches there are usually four generations represented, sometimes five. Can each of those generations encounter God in a way that is meaningful to them in one worship service? I sometimes ask the question this way: How many people listen to the same music their grandparents listened to? The grandparents may have enjoyed Lawrence Welk; their grandchildren are asking Lawrence Who? Another question I often ask is how many people today are downloading pipe organ music from their Apple account?

Every Baptist church I know of in the area where I live have hymn books in their pew racks. They may not use them and instead project the words on a screen behind the pulpit, but it's the same songs that are found in the hymn books. Songs written in the 18th and 19th century filled with King James English, often with archaic words that have little meaning to postmodern people. For example, how many people know what "here I raise my Ebenezer" means? Yet, we sing it.

I struggle writing these words because I was raised singing the great songs of the faith. These great hymns are filled with sound theological teaching. I enjoy singing some of these great hymns, but I grow weary when they are sung with little to no feeling, when they are sung with no passion, no power. I remember once in a church where I was leading the worship that morning. We were singing "We're Marching to Zion," and the singing was so lackluster that I stopped after the first chorus and told the congregation we would never get to Zion at this pace. I urged the pianist and the congregation to sing with more enthusiasm.

As much as I love the old hymns of the faith, I also recognize that many younger people do not. They do not help that generation encounter God in a meaningful way. Rick Warren was correct when he noted that once we determine our music we will have determined the people our church is going to reach. He is correct. If your church is serious about wanting to reach a younger generation it will not do so by only singing the songs in your hymn book.

What is happening with bivocational ministry?

 A friend recently asked if I had any new thoughts on the direction of bivocational ministry. I'm not sure that I do, but I do believe that the thoughts I've proposed in the past are even more valid today. The need for bivocational ministers is growing across denominations, and many denominations remain unaware of this need or have no idea what to do in light of the need.

In 2008 I took a sabbatical and questioned a number of denominational leaders about what was happening with bivocational ministry in their denomination. One leader confessed that the need was growing, and they didn't know what to do about it. I fear that has not changed. Nor has it changed in the seminaries. Few offer programs specifically designed for bivocational ministers. They continue to crank out graduates prepared to manage mid-size churches ignoring the fact that the median size church in the US has 75 in attendance. Many of these churches are struggling to find pastoral leadership, and few will be able to afford a fully-funded pastor in today's economic climate.

It appears that Lyle Schaller's prediction in his book, Innovations in Ministry, that by 2018 churches averaging under 120 in worship would be served by bivocational ministers or teams was correct.

One of the things that troubles me is that God is not surprised by this situation. I am convinced that He has called people to fill the role of being a bivocational minister in these churches. Why are more people not answering that call? One reason might be that no one is challenging them to consider such a call.

As a new Christian, I had only been a member of a church for a couple of years when our pastor asked me if I had ever felt God was calling me into the ministry. The fact was that I had felt that calling even as a young boy but had never pursued it. The fact that someone challenged me made me rethink that calling. I would suspect that most ministers reading this would affirm that someone challenged them to consider if God might be calling them into the ministry at some time in their lives. About a year went by before I asked the church if they would license me into the ministry which they did.

How often is anyone challenged to consider that God might be calling them into ministry today? We can't call someone into ministry. Only God can do that, but we can encourage people to consider that He might be calling them to do that. What they do with that challenge is up to them. There are a number of persons serving in bivocational ministry today because I challenged them to consider such a calling, and they are doing a great job leading their churches.

Regional and denominational leaders need to begin talking to their pastors about persons in their churches who might demonstrate gifts fit for ministry and begin talking to them about the possibility that God might be calling them to serve as a bivocational minister. Instead of automatically looking outside the church for a bivocational pastor, why not start the search by seeing if someone already a member of the church might serve that role. Seminaries need to recognize that today's church does not look like it did in 1950 and begin to prepare their pastors accordingly. Churches must take the initiative to seek qualified pastors themselves and not wait for or depend on their denomination to do this for them.

Those reading this post need to ask if you might be one God is calling to this ministry. Pray about it. Talk to your pastor, spouse and other mature Christian leaders. A church right now may be waiting on you to say yes to God's call on your life.

Sermon planning

 When I served as a pastor I began planning my sermons out at least a month in advance. I had a title and a text which I would give our pianist who selected the music for each service. This gave her time to prepare a worship service that complemented the message. I am now serving my third church as the Transitional Pastor, and I have done the same thing in each of these churches. This allows for a better worship service because everything is connected.

Notice I said I have a title and a text. I know where I am going with the message, but I usually don't have the message prepared yet, but I can tell you it's much easier to prepare the actual message when you know what you are going to preach compared to when you get to Saturday night and you still haven't decided on a sermon for the next day. I've preached a few "Saturday night specials," and they aren't fun.

Eventually, I was able to plan out my sermons at least a quarter in advance. Again, this was just with a title and a text, but this helped me be even better prepared. For instance, when I pastored I would preach through a book of the Bible or a major section during the summer months. Knowing in advance which book or section I would cover enabled me to purchase needed commentaries or other Bible helps well in advance. This strategy also gave me an opportunity to explore a section of Scripture in more detail which, in turn, helped the congregation become better informed about what the Bible taught. An additional benefit was that it prevented me from skipping over the "hard" teachings of the Bible. Let's face it, there are some passages many preachers would just as soon avoid, but when you are committed to preaching through a biblical book you can't avoid those passages. (For total transparency, I still have not preached through the Song of Solomon.)

There are still some ministers who insist they never prepare their sermons in advance but depend upon the Holy Spirit to direct their words when they stand to speak. I've heard a few of those sermons, and I would not want to blame the Holy Spirit for them. Listen, He can lead you in preparing your messages a month in advance the same as He can lead you in preparing them on Saturday night or Sunday morning.

While I am a big advocate for planning your preaching in advance, I recognize events may require the minister to change the schedule. For instance, the Sunday after 9/11 I did not preach the message I had planned for that Sunday. Instead, I prepared a new sermon that addressed the events of 9/11 and tried to speak to the fears and concerns many people had at the time. Here is where the Holy Spirit can lead us in a different direction, and it's important that we are sensitive to that leading.

Whether one is a bivocational pastor or a fully-funded pastor, he or she struggles with time constraints. Planning your sermons in advance is a great way to save time in your busy schedule. While it takes time to plan a preaching schedule, you will save much more time by doing so.

Churches just need to say no

 While serving as a Transformational Pastor of a church I did a walk though of the building one day. During this walk through I think I counted about 8 pianos in various rooms, none of which were being used. In countless churches I've seen numerous couches "donated" to the youth ministry. Perhaps the worst thing I witnessed in one church was a Sunday school room with shag carpet that had been donated by a family who had replaced the carpet in their home. Rather than disposing of the carpet, they had "donated" it to the church.

Churches need to say NO to such donations. No, we don't need your piano that you cannot sell. (I do not accept pianos in my auctions because no one will buy them.) No, we don't want our young people to have to sit on your old couch that you have decided to replace because it's broken down and dirty. Let the furniture company take it and dispose of it. No, we definitely don't want your shag carpet! And, no is a complete sentence.

I cannot tell you how many churches I've seen cluttered with "donations" from well-meaning church members. These out-of-date, dirty "donations" make the church look trashy. Can you image what a new guest will think when they walk into their Sunday school class and see orange shag carpet on the floor? There's a good chance you won't see them again.

Many churches need to bring a commercial dumpster on the property and have a major spring cleaning. Toss the pianos, the flannelgraphs, the craft items from 1984 VBS programs, and all the other clutter that has accumulated since the Civil War into the dumpster. And when people come wanting to "donate" their unwanted items to the church, just say no.

You can thank me later. 

Don't quench the Spirit

I recently had an interesting thought the other day. How would most of the churches I know handle an outpouring of the Holy Spirit as the early church did in Acts 2? I would imagine many of them would call an emergency meeting of the pastors and deacons to discuss how to control this unprecedented event in the life of their church. Surely, they would reason, people must understand that God doesn't do things like this any more. This is nothing but pure emotionalism. The age of miracles is over. Speaking in tongues ended when that which is perfect had come. Everything must now be done decently and in order.

I've heard all these arguments all my Christian life. I've heard it from pastors, from denominational leaders, from seminary professors and from lay leaders. I've heard all the proof texts that "prove" this is not the way God works today. What I've not seen is 3,000 people saved in one day as a result of the Holy Spirit moving in a powerful way. I've not seen the church adding daily all those who are being saved. I have not seen a bold church that would not be stopped by the political forces that are determined to stop the spread of the Gospel.

My tribe (Baptists) do not spend a lot of time focusing on the Holy Spirit. I think we're afraid of Him. I think we recognize that He cannot be controlled. He might disrupt the order of our worship service as it's listed in the bulletin. Heaven help us if someone wanted to get saved before the pastor gave an invitation. (I'll help those who might be wondering: that was sarcasm.) 

Actually, that fear is real. The Holy Spirit cannot be controlled. He can be quenched. The Spirit will not come where He is not welcomed. He will not force Himself on anyone. But, once He is invited into our midst He will not be controlled. He is God. We do not tell God what He can and cannot do.

I often pray that the Holy Spirit will have free reign to do whatever He wants to do in our church. I invite Him to move throughout our congregation and address every need anyone might have. I am not afraid of an outpouring of the Holy Ghost in our church. I welcome it. I can preach the Word of God and invite people to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, but the Holy Spirit is the one who truly transforms lives. He is the one who brings people to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. He is the one who brings real transformation.

I want to see lives transformed, and only God can transform lives. How incredible it would be to see 3,000 people saved in a single day, and only God can do that. Come Holy Spirit. Fill my life. Fill our church with your presence. Come in all your power, touching and transforming lives.

Reaching people for Jesus Christ

Across denominations we know baptisms are down. Churches are dying. We are told young people are no longer interested in attending church services, and people in general have little interest in Christianity. This, despite the fact that we are also told that people in the 21st century tend to be more spiritual and are seeking spiritual truth. The problem is they do not believe they will find what they are seeking in the traditional church.

Wait a minute! Churches are actually growing in South America, the Philippines and Africa. In fact, they are growing at an incredible rate. Here is the US there are churches that are experiencing tremendous growth, not by stealing sheep from other churches, but by regularly helping unchurched people find a relationship with Jesus Christ.

A church I sometimes watch on You tube announced at their New Year's Eve celebration that in 2023 they led over 2,200 people to faith in Jesus Christ and baptized 381 individuals. I have attended this church while on vacation and, like I said, I sometimes watch the services online. I am amazed at  the number of young adults and teens in that church. The number of small groups overwhelms me. The energy in their worship services is unlike anything I've experienced before. Why are they able to reach young people, celebrate with joyful worship each week, preach doctrinally sound messages each Sunday and lead so many people to faith in Jesus Christ when we are constantly being told none of this is possible today in America? I've decided the answer is really quite simple: They intentionally plan on doing each of these things.

They recognize their mission is found in the Great Commission. They do evangelism on purpose. Not by knocking on doors or passing out tracts, but by demonstrating Christ in everything they do. Their worship calls people to faith in Christ. In fact, the pastor often invites people to receive Christ as Lord and Savior, not at the end of his sermon, but at the close of the worship time. When many churches are moaning about how it's impossible to reach teens and young adults, they are doing it. When churches go for years without seeing one person come to Christ, this church is seeing over 2,000 people a year come to faith. When some church's baptisteries have cobwebs growing in them, this church is baptizing several hundred people each year. Again, they are intentional is sharing the gospel, and they expect people to respond.

The great pastor Charles Spurgeon was once confronted by one of his students who was concerned about his lack of converts. He admitted to Spurgeon that he had been preaching for months and had not seen a single conversion. Spurgeon asked the young man if he really believed that God was going to save souls every time he opened his mouth. The young man responded, "No sir." Spurgeon then responded that was the reason the young man was not seeing people saved. If he had believed, the Lord would have given the blessing.

Until we believe that people will respond to the Gospel and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior it probably isn't going to happen in our churches. Until we become committed to fulfilling the Great Commission we will continue to lose this current generation. Until we become intentional about sharing our faith with those who do not yet know Christ, we will never see souls saved.