I frequently write about the need for bivocational ministers, and all Christians, to develop their minds through reading, attending continuing education (CE) opportunities, listening to podcasts in the car rather than the mindless drivel many listen to while driving, and other ways by which we can improve our knowledge. We must do this is we are to develop a sound Christian worldview and be able to defend our faith and values in a world that has largely rejected both.
Education is not inexpensive. Attending college and seminary can lead to huge student loans if one is not careful. Many CE opportunities are fairly inexpensive, but for the bivocational minister many of them will require missing work to attend those held during the day. Podcasts, for the most part, cost nothing to download, and over the years I've found that books can be expensive or rather inexpensive depending on where you buy them and if they are used or new.
However, there is one free way to get some great education, and that is through the Internet. YouTube offers a huge collection of educational courses that are free for the taking. Last week I started a six session course on YouTube on logical reasoning taught by an instructor at the University of Oxford. Obviously, this is not a full course that covers everything that would be taught if I were a student at Oxford, but I am also not paying the $12,000 Oxford would charge for the course if I were a student there. And, I can watch a session any time I want, stop it if I need to and come back to it later.
Every day we are bombarded with arguments on everything from politics to religion to business and every other area of our lives. People put their own private spin to convince us their argument is right. How can we best determine if their arguments are valid or invalid? Perhaps even more important, how can we determine whether their arguments fit into our Christian worldview, especially if we don't have a particularly Christian worldview or can't defend it?
As Christian leaders we have a responsibility to not only have a personal Christian worldview, we have an obligation to help others develop one as well. The sad fact is that many Christians have allowed themselves to be more influenced by our culture than by biblical teaching. Many sitting in our churches cannot explain their Christian worldview, cannot defend it to others, and many couldn't even explain what a Christian worldview is.
Jesus told the Scribe that the greatest commandment was "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind...and the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" Not only are our hearts and souls to be dedicated to God but also our minds. To me, that says that it is imperative that we continue to grow intellectually. And part of loving our neighbor well is being able to give him or her a reasonable defense of our faith.
There are so many ways to grow in our understanding of our faith and our culture. As Christian leaders we need to take advantage of as many of them as possible.
Showing posts with label Continuing education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Continuing education. Show all posts
Thursday, April 25, 2019
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Send your pastor to class
"The only thing worse than training someone and losing them is not training them and keeping them." I had the privilege of hearing Zig Ziglar speak at several motivational conferences, and in every one of them he made this statement. It impressed me so much I made a copy of it and posted it in the office of a small business I owned. Any of my employees could attend almost any continuing education event that would benefit the company, and the company would pay for it and pay them their wages while attending.
In addition to allowing them to attend such events they wanted, there were several I sent them to. One person had to have a certain number of hours each year to maintain a license we needed to work in Kentucky. Our primary vendor offered classes each year to inform us of new products and new ways of doing business which I attended along with some of our other employees. Yes, we trained a few people only to see them leave for other companies, but we also benefited from the training those people received who stayed with us.
A couple of days ago in this blog I posted an article encouraging ministers to attend continuing education (CE) events. One pastor asked if I could write another article encouraging congregations to see the value in their pastors attending such events. Consider this that post.
Some churches, especially smaller ones, seem to be anti-education. As regular readers of this blog know, when I began as the pastor of the church I served for 20 years I had only a high school education. One of the people on the search committee even commented that some of their best pastors had never attended seminary. Only one person in the congregation, a school teacher, had a college degree. While no one applauded ignorance, there was little interest in the church in me pursuing an education or seeking any kind of training.
After about 18 months I decided some ministerial training might be a good idea! I enrolled in a Bible school about an hour from our community, and for the next four years attended classes there. After graduation I decided to enroll in college and earn a bachelor's degree. Sometime in that time period I asked the church to provide me with money in the budget for continuing education and to give me two weeks to attend such events. Evidently, they had seen some improvement in me because they agreed to both requests with no problem. The budget provided me with $200.00 I could spend on CE events, and the church allowed me two weeks to attend those events.
I hope your church provides something similar for their pastor, and if not you need to seriously ask why not. Most ministerial CE events are very reasonably priced, and $200.00 will allow for 2-3 such events each year unless one needs to stay overnight at one. The two weeks allowed to attend such events are unlikely to be fully used. Most of the ones I attended were one day events held during the week so I didn't even miss a Sunday attending them, but that time was provided if I did need it.
BTW - That time granted for CE is not vacation. Every pastor should be given four weeks vacation annually plus at least two weeks for CE. I know many churches only give two weeks vacation. Shame on them! You will never know the difference two extra weeks of vacation will make on your pastor and his or her family until you begin giving that to them. You will have a new pastor.
I would encourage the church leadership to sit down with the pastor to discuss his or her CE plans for the upcoming year. The pastor may or may not have identified some events that sound promising, but have that conversation anyway. The church should let the pastor know they expect him or her to attend one or two events during the year, and this will be one of the things that will be included in the annual evaluation. If the pastor does have specific plans to attend an upcoming CE event, and it costs a little more than is in the budget, add the money to make it possible. What your pastor learns is going to benefit your church.
About now someone is asking "But what if we spend all that money and the pastor leaves for another church?" So what? You are investing in the Kingdom of God, not just in your church. Perhaps your new pastor will have attended even more CE events and brought some new skills to your church that it needs. Besides, it's not ALL that money. We're talking about a few hundred dollars a year, and if that is a problem then your church has even bigger problems than finances.
I encourage pastors who do not have CE funds available to talk to their churches about this. Give them a copy of this post. If you're not comfortable talking to them about this ask your district or regional leader to have this conversation with them. If that's not possible, ask them to have me come talk to them or contact me. I feel very strongly that every pastor needs regular times of training to stay fresh in the ministry, and I feel just as strongly that churches should provide the finances and time away to make this possible. I have no problem talking to any church about this.
In addition to allowing them to attend such events they wanted, there were several I sent them to. One person had to have a certain number of hours each year to maintain a license we needed to work in Kentucky. Our primary vendor offered classes each year to inform us of new products and new ways of doing business which I attended along with some of our other employees. Yes, we trained a few people only to see them leave for other companies, but we also benefited from the training those people received who stayed with us.
A couple of days ago in this blog I posted an article encouraging ministers to attend continuing education (CE) events. One pastor asked if I could write another article encouraging congregations to see the value in their pastors attending such events. Consider this that post.
Some churches, especially smaller ones, seem to be anti-education. As regular readers of this blog know, when I began as the pastor of the church I served for 20 years I had only a high school education. One of the people on the search committee even commented that some of their best pastors had never attended seminary. Only one person in the congregation, a school teacher, had a college degree. While no one applauded ignorance, there was little interest in the church in me pursuing an education or seeking any kind of training.
After about 18 months I decided some ministerial training might be a good idea! I enrolled in a Bible school about an hour from our community, and for the next four years attended classes there. After graduation I decided to enroll in college and earn a bachelor's degree. Sometime in that time period I asked the church to provide me with money in the budget for continuing education and to give me two weeks to attend such events. Evidently, they had seen some improvement in me because they agreed to both requests with no problem. The budget provided me with $200.00 I could spend on CE events, and the church allowed me two weeks to attend those events.
I hope your church provides something similar for their pastor, and if not you need to seriously ask why not. Most ministerial CE events are very reasonably priced, and $200.00 will allow for 2-3 such events each year unless one needs to stay overnight at one. The two weeks allowed to attend such events are unlikely to be fully used. Most of the ones I attended were one day events held during the week so I didn't even miss a Sunday attending them, but that time was provided if I did need it.
BTW - That time granted for CE is not vacation. Every pastor should be given four weeks vacation annually plus at least two weeks for CE. I know many churches only give two weeks vacation. Shame on them! You will never know the difference two extra weeks of vacation will make on your pastor and his or her family until you begin giving that to them. You will have a new pastor.
I would encourage the church leadership to sit down with the pastor to discuss his or her CE plans for the upcoming year. The pastor may or may not have identified some events that sound promising, but have that conversation anyway. The church should let the pastor know they expect him or her to attend one or two events during the year, and this will be one of the things that will be included in the annual evaluation. If the pastor does have specific plans to attend an upcoming CE event, and it costs a little more than is in the budget, add the money to make it possible. What your pastor learns is going to benefit your church.
About now someone is asking "But what if we spend all that money and the pastor leaves for another church?" So what? You are investing in the Kingdom of God, not just in your church. Perhaps your new pastor will have attended even more CE events and brought some new skills to your church that it needs. Besides, it's not ALL that money. We're talking about a few hundred dollars a year, and if that is a problem then your church has even bigger problems than finances.
I encourage pastors who do not have CE funds available to talk to their churches about this. Give them a copy of this post. If you're not comfortable talking to them about this ask your district or regional leader to have this conversation with them. If that's not possible, ask them to have me come talk to them or contact me. I feel very strongly that every pastor needs regular times of training to stay fresh in the ministry, and I feel just as strongly that churches should provide the finances and time away to make this possible. I have no problem talking to any church about this.
Monday, March 25, 2019
Continuing education for ministers
This past weekend I had to fulfill my 16 hours of continuing education (CE) required before I can renew my auctioneer's license. Most states, perhaps all, that require a license for auctioneers have some CE requirement. When I owned a heating and air conditioning business we had to have someone with an HVAC license to work in Kentucky. That license also required a certain number of hours of CE before it could be renewed. I've often wondered why we don't require CE for ministers.
There are numerous reasons why CE for many licensed professions are needed. Laws for many professions change, and people need to be brought up to date on those changes. New products and services are developed which people need to know. People need to be reminded of things they may have forgotten. These classes also give people an opportunity to interact and learn from one another. While people may not want to give away their trade secrets, there are always people attending these events that talk about experiences they've had and how those were resolved. It's always better to learn from the mistakes and experiences of others than having to go through them yourself.
The same reasons could be given for requiring ministers to undergo regular continuing education. The laws surrounding churches and ministry do change. One state now requires churches to charge sales tax for charitable events it hosts. This applies to everything from bingo cards people purchase to benefit golf tournaments. I wonder how long it will be before a church in that state gets into trouble because they didn't know the new law.
Ministry has changed over the years since many graduated from seminary. I'm not sure what the half-life is for a seminary education but I doubt that it's very long. However, some ministers are still operating like they were taught in 1975, and they and their churches can't understand why it's not working.
Many pastors operate as lone rangers. Attending a CE event gives the minister an opportunity to interact with other ministers and learn from their stories. Even if the event doesn't provide a lot of helpful information, that interaction probably will.
As a judicatory minister I worked with many churches seeking new pastoral leadership. Our denomination used a standard form in place of a resume for our ministers seeking placement. This form had a place to list CE events the minister had attended. When I met with the search teams I told them if that did not include any CE events it should send up a yellow flag that meant if they interviewed the person they should ask why there was nothing there. Maybe that information had not been submitted leaving that space blank, or maybe the minister saw no need to attend such events. If it was the latter, I told the search team that would turn that yellow flag into a red one for me. Why would any church want a minister who saw no value in improving his or her ministry knowledge and skills?
Ministers should seek out CE events on their own. I suggest a minimum of one or two a year. If they don't, the church they serve should insist on it. The Personnel Team or others in leadership should discuss this with their ministers and part of their annual evaluation should include CE events they've attended. Denominations and judicatories could also begin to insist their ministers attend CE events and have some method of enforcing that.
I'm sure some ministers will say no one has the right to require this of them. Auctioneer commissions, HVAC boards, nursing boards, and a host of other professional organizations require their people to have CE before they can renew their licenses. As ministers, we are responsible for the eternal souls of those whom we serve. This is much more important that knowing how to unstop a toilet or call a bid. We should be held to even higher standards than others, and requiring regular CE is just one way to ensure that we in the ministry stay at the top of our calling.
There are numerous reasons why CE for many licensed professions are needed. Laws for many professions change, and people need to be brought up to date on those changes. New products and services are developed which people need to know. People need to be reminded of things they may have forgotten. These classes also give people an opportunity to interact and learn from one another. While people may not want to give away their trade secrets, there are always people attending these events that talk about experiences they've had and how those were resolved. It's always better to learn from the mistakes and experiences of others than having to go through them yourself.
The same reasons could be given for requiring ministers to undergo regular continuing education. The laws surrounding churches and ministry do change. One state now requires churches to charge sales tax for charitable events it hosts. This applies to everything from bingo cards people purchase to benefit golf tournaments. I wonder how long it will be before a church in that state gets into trouble because they didn't know the new law.
Ministry has changed over the years since many graduated from seminary. I'm not sure what the half-life is for a seminary education but I doubt that it's very long. However, some ministers are still operating like they were taught in 1975, and they and their churches can't understand why it's not working.
Many pastors operate as lone rangers. Attending a CE event gives the minister an opportunity to interact with other ministers and learn from their stories. Even if the event doesn't provide a lot of helpful information, that interaction probably will.
As a judicatory minister I worked with many churches seeking new pastoral leadership. Our denomination used a standard form in place of a resume for our ministers seeking placement. This form had a place to list CE events the minister had attended. When I met with the search teams I told them if that did not include any CE events it should send up a yellow flag that meant if they interviewed the person they should ask why there was nothing there. Maybe that information had not been submitted leaving that space blank, or maybe the minister saw no need to attend such events. If it was the latter, I told the search team that would turn that yellow flag into a red one for me. Why would any church want a minister who saw no value in improving his or her ministry knowledge and skills?
Ministers should seek out CE events on their own. I suggest a minimum of one or two a year. If they don't, the church they serve should insist on it. The Personnel Team or others in leadership should discuss this with their ministers and part of their annual evaluation should include CE events they've attended. Denominations and judicatories could also begin to insist their ministers attend CE events and have some method of enforcing that.
I'm sure some ministers will say no one has the right to require this of them. Auctioneer commissions, HVAC boards, nursing boards, and a host of other professional organizations require their people to have CE before they can renew their licenses. As ministers, we are responsible for the eternal souls of those whom we serve. This is much more important that knowing how to unstop a toilet or call a bid. We should be held to even higher standards than others, and requiring regular CE is just one way to ensure that we in the ministry stay at the top of our calling.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Are you a confident leader?
This past Sunday I visited a church whose pastor preached a message on being an authentic Christian. One of his points was that we should be confident people but not arrogant. We have all known both in our lives. While there may be a fine line between confidence and arrogance, most of us enjoy being around confident people but we try to avoid those who come across as arrogant.
Because I write and think a lot about leaders I couldn't help but think about the many pastors I've encountered in my life as I thought about the pastor's words. I've known pastors who came across as lacking confidence; I've known some who were confident in their ministries and lives, and I've known some who came across as very arrogant. Neither the arrogant nor the ones who lack confidence are people I want to spend much time with.
I could write about the qualities of those who lack confidence and those who are arrogant, but I've always heard that it's much better to spend time examining the real thing than it is to spend time studying the false. What are some of the qualities of a confident leader?
Because I write and think a lot about leaders I couldn't help but think about the many pastors I've encountered in my life as I thought about the pastor's words. I've known pastors who came across as lacking confidence; I've known some who were confident in their ministries and lives, and I've known some who came across as very arrogant. Neither the arrogant nor the ones who lack confidence are people I want to spend much time with.
I could write about the qualities of those who lack confidence and those who are arrogant, but I've always heard that it's much better to spend time examining the real thing than it is to spend time studying the false. What are some of the qualities of a confident leader?
- Confident leaders understand the nature of their calling.
- Confident leaders believe in the authority of the Scriptures.
- Confident leaders preach and teach from the Scriptures and not from the latest fad or politically correct viewpoint.
- Confident leaders are not afraid to admit when they don't know the answer to questions they are asked.
- Confident leaders seek advice from spiritually mature Christians.
- Confident leaders are servant leaders, not dictators.
- Confident leaders are not afraid to make mistakes.
- Confident leaders are not afraid to make decisions.
- Confident leaders are not afraid to admit when they are wrong and will seek forgiveness from those they may have harmed.
- Confident leaders are vision casters.
- Confident leaders operate within their core values and bedrock beliefs and will not violate those for temporal gain.
- Confident leaders are not afraid of controllers and church bullies.
- Confident leaders do not seek conflict but are not afraid of it either.
- Confident leaders understand that Christ is the head of the church and they function as under shepherds.
- Confident leaders understand their spiritual gifts and strengths and seek to operate within those areas as much as possible.
- Confident leaders are not afraid to delegate to others.
- Confident leaders seek continuing education opportunities in order to become more effective leaders.
- Confident leaders do not feel they must keep seeking larger places in which to serve in order to prove their worth to the Kingdom of God.
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Evangelistic preaching conference
How does one effectively preach evangelistic messages to the 21st century listener? It can be a challenge, and yet such messages are desperately needed in today's culture. That's why I'm excited to recommend an upcoming evangelistic preaching conference hosted by Campbellsville University and featuring Dr. Robert Smith, Professor of Christian Preaching at Beeson Divinity School. This two-day event will be held May 18-19 at the CU Louisville center and will feature workshops led by various speakers as well as messages from Dr. Smith.
I have heard Dr. Smith preach, and I can assure you he is an excellent communicator. I have registered to attend and would like to invite you to do so as well. I think you will find it to be an excellent investment in your ministry.
You will find more information and a link to register online here.
I have heard Dr. Smith preach, and I can assure you he is an excellent communicator. I have registered to attend and would like to invite you to do so as well. I think you will find it to be an excellent investment in your ministry.
You will find more information and a link to register online here.
Monday, March 9, 2015
Staying current in ministry
Two years ago I got an auctioneer's license. In Indiana every auctioneer's license expires on the same day and must be renewed. Before renewal can occur the auctioneer must have taken 16 hours of continuing education (CE). This is the year for the education so as soon as the new year rolled around I started receiving invitations from various auction schools to take my CE with them.
Since this is the first time I've had to do this I'm not sure what will be covered. I assume we will hear about any changes in the law that affects auctions plus hear about some new things that auctioneers are learning.
When I started receiving these I began thinking about a survey I did of bivocational pastors in 2004. In the survey a large number of bivocational ministers indicated they had not attended a single CE event related to ministry in the previous three years. Many of them had attended such training for their other jobs, but they had done nothing in three years to grow as a minister. That's a shame.
Almost every career requires on-going education as a condition of license renewal. I can't sell a box of tools at auction for more than two years without taking CE, but many ministers believe they can care for the souls of people without doing anything to grow and develop their gifts and skills.
I've been out of pastoral ministry now for 14 years, but a couple of weeks ago I attended a CE event designed for pastors. It wasn't information I needed for my ministry, but because I work with pastors I wanted the information covered in that seminar to share with pastors.
When I was a pastor I constantly received invitations to various seminars and conferences. Even though I was bivocational, I tried to attend 2-3 a year because I wanted to grow. It required an investment of time and money that I didn't always have, but I considered it an essential investment in my own personal development as a minister.
I hope you feel the same way and have already attended such a seminar or are scheduled to attend one or two this year. God calls us to ministry and gives us the tools we need, but it is up to us to keep those tools sharp. Invest in yourself and your ministry.
Since this is the first time I've had to do this I'm not sure what will be covered. I assume we will hear about any changes in the law that affects auctions plus hear about some new things that auctioneers are learning.
When I started receiving these I began thinking about a survey I did of bivocational pastors in 2004. In the survey a large number of bivocational ministers indicated they had not attended a single CE event related to ministry in the previous three years. Many of them had attended such training for their other jobs, but they had done nothing in three years to grow as a minister. That's a shame.
Almost every career requires on-going education as a condition of license renewal. I can't sell a box of tools at auction for more than two years without taking CE, but many ministers believe they can care for the souls of people without doing anything to grow and develop their gifts and skills.
I've been out of pastoral ministry now for 14 years, but a couple of weeks ago I attended a CE event designed for pastors. It wasn't information I needed for my ministry, but because I work with pastors I wanted the information covered in that seminar to share with pastors.
When I was a pastor I constantly received invitations to various seminars and conferences. Even though I was bivocational, I tried to attend 2-3 a year because I wanted to grow. It required an investment of time and money that I didn't always have, but I considered it an essential investment in my own personal development as a minister.
I hope you feel the same way and have already attended such a seminar or are scheduled to attend one or two this year. God calls us to ministry and gives us the tools we need, but it is up to us to keep those tools sharp. Invest in yourself and your ministry.
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
The pastor scholar
I have just finished reading The Pastor as Scholar and the Scholar as Pastor: Reflections on Life and Ministry
by John Piper and D. A. Carson. These two men share their stories about how they have incorporated pastoral ministry and scholarship into their lives and ministries. I found the book interesting and informative.
Too often pastoral ministry and scholarship are seen as two different paths, and in some churches scholarship is viewed as something to be avoided. When I interviewed with the church that I eventually served for twenty years I was asked about my academic preparation for ministry. At that time I had no education beyond high school. One of the individuals on the search committee commented that he felt some of their best pastors couldn't even pronounce a lot of the biblical names right. At that time, that church had only one person with a college education, and few, if any, in that church were concerned about scholarship. They were looking for someone who would love them and provide pastoral ministry.
It wasn't until I had been at the church for about eighteen months that I realized that if I was to continue in ministry I needed more education than I had. That decision led me to enroll in a Bible school and eventually to earning a DMin.
At times my blog posts may have sounded like I am anti-education, but that is far from the truth. My concern is that a lot of seminary education does not prepare one for the realities of ministry in the 21st century and especially not for bivocational ministry. At the same time, I believe that it is critical that one serving as a pastor be trained in how to think, how to read, and how to present the Gospel in ways that are both relevant to the listeners and theologically sound. Persons entering the ministry should be committed to being both pastors and scholars.
Too many Christians today have a shallow faith that cannot sustain them in difficult times. They are unable to share their faith because they do not understand what they believe well enough to explain it to anyone else. I lay much of the blame for this on pastors who preach a message week after week with little substance because they are unwilling to do the difficult work of digging into the text and uncovering the treasures that can be found.
Those who are committed to being pastor scholars must be committed to life-long learning. We must commit ourselves to reading and study while at the same time not neglecting spending valuable time with our congregation. Admittedly, it's not an easy thing to balance, and it will require focus and the setting of priorities for our time. But, this is what we've been called to do. This is what our congregations want and need from us. We must not fail to be both pastors and scholars if we want to see the people in our churches grow and become mature disciples of Jesus Christ.
by John Piper and D. A. Carson. These two men share their stories about how they have incorporated pastoral ministry and scholarship into their lives and ministries. I found the book interesting and informative.Too often pastoral ministry and scholarship are seen as two different paths, and in some churches scholarship is viewed as something to be avoided. When I interviewed with the church that I eventually served for twenty years I was asked about my academic preparation for ministry. At that time I had no education beyond high school. One of the individuals on the search committee commented that he felt some of their best pastors couldn't even pronounce a lot of the biblical names right. At that time, that church had only one person with a college education, and few, if any, in that church were concerned about scholarship. They were looking for someone who would love them and provide pastoral ministry.
It wasn't until I had been at the church for about eighteen months that I realized that if I was to continue in ministry I needed more education than I had. That decision led me to enroll in a Bible school and eventually to earning a DMin.
At times my blog posts may have sounded like I am anti-education, but that is far from the truth. My concern is that a lot of seminary education does not prepare one for the realities of ministry in the 21st century and especially not for bivocational ministry. At the same time, I believe that it is critical that one serving as a pastor be trained in how to think, how to read, and how to present the Gospel in ways that are both relevant to the listeners and theologically sound. Persons entering the ministry should be committed to being both pastors and scholars.
Too many Christians today have a shallow faith that cannot sustain them in difficult times. They are unable to share their faith because they do not understand what they believe well enough to explain it to anyone else. I lay much of the blame for this on pastors who preach a message week after week with little substance because they are unwilling to do the difficult work of digging into the text and uncovering the treasures that can be found.
Those who are committed to being pastor scholars must be committed to life-long learning. We must commit ourselves to reading and study while at the same time not neglecting spending valuable time with our congregation. Admittedly, it's not an easy thing to balance, and it will require focus and the setting of priorities for our time. But, this is what we've been called to do. This is what our congregations want and need from us. We must not fail to be both pastors and scholars if we want to see the people in our churches grow and become mature disciples of Jesus Christ.
Thursday, June 5, 2014
That second job
One of the challenges a bivocational minister must face is choosing a career besides his or her ministry. In recent years I've had a number of conversations with fully-funded pastors whose churches were considering asking them to become bivocational due to financial issues. Virtually, all of them were concerned that they were not trained to do anything else. After some discussion we were usually able to find some possible career choices for them based on their interests or their undergrad degrees, but this can be a difficult decision for one to make when he or she has only seen their calling to be church ministry.
Some of us, like my own experience, had other jobs when we entered ministry so this wasn't a big issue. I had a very good factory job when I became a pastor, and I remained there until I was eligible for early retirement.
However, the future challenge for bivocational ministers is how will they remain employable in the secular world. I worked for my employer for 30 years and qualified for early retirement. Those days are virtually over. People entering the work force today do not expect to remain at one job for 30 years and leave with a gold watch. Many young people today think that a year in the same job is an eternity. Even if people do remain with one company, the needs of most companies are rapidly changing, and the skills required to remain current on many jobs are changing just as rapidly. In his fascinating book, Promote Yourself: The New Rules for Career Success
, Dan Schawbel points out that one estimate is that 60 percent of new jobs by 2015 will require skills that only 20 percent of the population currently has.
Several years ago I heard Zig Ziglar warn his audience that there was no longer anything such as job security regardless of your career. He said the challenge was to seek employment security, and the only way to do that was to be a life-long learner. Schawbel makes the same point in his book. To remain employable one must continually be learning new skills and become known as the go-to person in the company.
As a bivocational minister this may seem impossible. How can we serve a church, work a second job, meet the needs of our families, have any kind of life for ourselves, and find the time to continually be learning new skills? It's not impossible, but it's also not easy, but we really have no choice if we believe we are called to bivocational ministry.
Actually, bivocational ministers may find it easier to learn these skills than they think. Many employers now offer classes that will teach those skills in-house. Often, these classes are even taught during working hours. My employer offered numerous courses that almost anyone in the company could attend, and they were all taught during working hours so it didn't require any additional time on our part. I took many of those courses that were related to my work to improve my skill sets, and I took many that were not directly related to what I was doing at the time so I could be better prepared for something else in the future.
Some of those latter courses involved computers. I took some introductory computer classes that began with showing us how to turn them on! Later, I took classes on the various tools found in Microsoft Office and learned how to use them. When I bought my first computer one of the first programs I bought was Office. Not only did I have new skills to use at my work, but I now had new skills that made ministry much easier, and I was able to learn how to use it through classes taught by my secular employer who paid me to attend the classes. It doesn't get much better than that!
Be sure to check with your employer to see if they offer classes or will pay for you to take courses off-site so you can learn the skills needed in the 21st century to remain employable. You'll find that many of those skills will transfer over into your ministry enabling you to do a better job there as well. Being a life-long learner is no longer an option if we want to remain employable in the future, and it's not an option if we want to be faithful to our call to bivocational ministry.
Some of us, like my own experience, had other jobs when we entered ministry so this wasn't a big issue. I had a very good factory job when I became a pastor, and I remained there until I was eligible for early retirement.
However, the future challenge for bivocational ministers is how will they remain employable in the secular world. I worked for my employer for 30 years and qualified for early retirement. Those days are virtually over. People entering the work force today do not expect to remain at one job for 30 years and leave with a gold watch. Many young people today think that a year in the same job is an eternity. Even if people do remain with one company, the needs of most companies are rapidly changing, and the skills required to remain current on many jobs are changing just as rapidly. In his fascinating book, Promote Yourself: The New Rules for Career Success
, Dan Schawbel points out that one estimate is that 60 percent of new jobs by 2015 will require skills that only 20 percent of the population currently has. Several years ago I heard Zig Ziglar warn his audience that there was no longer anything such as job security regardless of your career. He said the challenge was to seek employment security, and the only way to do that was to be a life-long learner. Schawbel makes the same point in his book. To remain employable one must continually be learning new skills and become known as the go-to person in the company.
As a bivocational minister this may seem impossible. How can we serve a church, work a second job, meet the needs of our families, have any kind of life for ourselves, and find the time to continually be learning new skills? It's not impossible, but it's also not easy, but we really have no choice if we believe we are called to bivocational ministry.
Actually, bivocational ministers may find it easier to learn these skills than they think. Many employers now offer classes that will teach those skills in-house. Often, these classes are even taught during working hours. My employer offered numerous courses that almost anyone in the company could attend, and they were all taught during working hours so it didn't require any additional time on our part. I took many of those courses that were related to my work to improve my skill sets, and I took many that were not directly related to what I was doing at the time so I could be better prepared for something else in the future.
Some of those latter courses involved computers. I took some introductory computer classes that began with showing us how to turn them on! Later, I took classes on the various tools found in Microsoft Office and learned how to use them. When I bought my first computer one of the first programs I bought was Office. Not only did I have new skills to use at my work, but I now had new skills that made ministry much easier, and I was able to learn how to use it through classes taught by my secular employer who paid me to attend the classes. It doesn't get much better than that!
Be sure to check with your employer to see if they offer classes or will pay for you to take courses off-site so you can learn the skills needed in the 21st century to remain employable. You'll find that many of those skills will transfer over into your ministry enabling you to do a better job there as well. Being a life-long learner is no longer an option if we want to remain employable in the future, and it's not an option if we want to be faithful to our call to bivocational ministry.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
The growing interest in bivocational ministry
Last week I received a Doctor of Ministry dissertation a student at Talbot School of Theology had written. It had been approved, and he wanted me to have a copy of it since I was one of the people he interviewed as part of his project. The title of the dissertation is Effective Strategies for Bi-Vocational Ministry. I haven't read it yet, but it is on my reading schedule for later this month.
For the past few years I have been interviewed for two or three DMin projects each year that explored aspects of bivocational ministry. This excites me because it demonstrates that people are seeing the valuable contribution bivocational ministers are making to their churches and to the Kingdom of God. Although I have not studied this, I would venture a guess that even ten years ago there were very few doctoral papers being written on bivocational ministry. When my first book on bivocational ministry, Tentmaking Pastor, The: The Joy of Bivocational Ministry, was released in 2000 there were no more than a handful of books written on the subject, and I doubt there were any more doctoral studies on the topic than that either. Today, that is slowly changing as more doctoral students are studying bivocational ministry and writing papers on their learnings.
Along with doctoral papers there are more books and magazine articles being written on the subject as well. In addition to the ones I've written several others have contributed books on the subject. My friend Terry Dorsett wrote one that I think is proving to be very valuable to bivocational ministers entitled Developing Leadership Teams in the Bivocational Church
. I am very thankful for these resources that will help bivocational pastors and the churches they serve.
More denominations and judicatories are scheduling training events for their bivocational and small church leadership. As many of you know, in the past month I've led such events in Boston and in New Hampshire. Both events were very well done, and I applaud the leaders who made these events possible. This again reflects a growing appreciation for what bivocational ministers are doing.
It is also exciting to see universities and seminaries offering programs specially designed for bivocational ministers. A few are offering dual-degree programs that will be quite helpful for those persons who feel specifically called to bivocational ministry, and I know of at least one other school now actively considering such a program. Growing numbers of seminaries are now offering at least some of their degree programs entirely online making them more accessible to bivocational ministers who are already juggling family, work, and church responsibilities. These programs will make it possible for many of these ministers to benefit from a seminary education. Schools like Campbellsville University have certificate programs that have been developed for bivocational ministers who do not have a college education to make it possible for them to receive valuable theological and ministerial education.
When you combine all these new developments together it is easy to see the change in how bivocational ministry is perceived today compared to how many viewed it twenty years ago. There is a growing interest in bivocational ministry because it is obvious that our numbers are growing, and the expectation is that bivocational ministry will increase even more in the future. But, more than just the fact that our numbers are growing is the realization that we are bringing valuable ministry to the churches we serve. We no longer have to try to justify our existence to others; our ministries provides all the justification that is needed.
I encourage my bivocational brothers and sisters to take advantage of the many opportunities available to you. Buy the books that will help your ministry. Attend the workshops that are offered. Take the classes that will help you be a more effective minister. When I began my bivocational pastorate in 1981 none of these things were available to me. You are richly blessed that more and more resources are now available to you, so please use them. Invest in yourself and your ministry.
For the past few years I have been interviewed for two or three DMin projects each year that explored aspects of bivocational ministry. This excites me because it demonstrates that people are seeing the valuable contribution bivocational ministers are making to their churches and to the Kingdom of God. Although I have not studied this, I would venture a guess that even ten years ago there were very few doctoral papers being written on bivocational ministry. When my first book on bivocational ministry, Tentmaking Pastor, The: The Joy of Bivocational Ministry, was released in 2000 there were no more than a handful of books written on the subject, and I doubt there were any more doctoral studies on the topic than that either. Today, that is slowly changing as more doctoral students are studying bivocational ministry and writing papers on their learnings.
Along with doctoral papers there are more books and magazine articles being written on the subject as well. In addition to the ones I've written several others have contributed books on the subject. My friend Terry Dorsett wrote one that I think is proving to be very valuable to bivocational ministers entitled Developing Leadership Teams in the Bivocational Church
. I am very thankful for these resources that will help bivocational pastors and the churches they serve.More denominations and judicatories are scheduling training events for their bivocational and small church leadership. As many of you know, in the past month I've led such events in Boston and in New Hampshire. Both events were very well done, and I applaud the leaders who made these events possible. This again reflects a growing appreciation for what bivocational ministers are doing.
It is also exciting to see universities and seminaries offering programs specially designed for bivocational ministers. A few are offering dual-degree programs that will be quite helpful for those persons who feel specifically called to bivocational ministry, and I know of at least one other school now actively considering such a program. Growing numbers of seminaries are now offering at least some of their degree programs entirely online making them more accessible to bivocational ministers who are already juggling family, work, and church responsibilities. These programs will make it possible for many of these ministers to benefit from a seminary education. Schools like Campbellsville University have certificate programs that have been developed for bivocational ministers who do not have a college education to make it possible for them to receive valuable theological and ministerial education.
When you combine all these new developments together it is easy to see the change in how bivocational ministry is perceived today compared to how many viewed it twenty years ago. There is a growing interest in bivocational ministry because it is obvious that our numbers are growing, and the expectation is that bivocational ministry will increase even more in the future. But, more than just the fact that our numbers are growing is the realization that we are bringing valuable ministry to the churches we serve. We no longer have to try to justify our existence to others; our ministries provides all the justification that is needed.
I encourage my bivocational brothers and sisters to take advantage of the many opportunities available to you. Buy the books that will help your ministry. Attend the workshops that are offered. Take the classes that will help you be a more effective minister. When I began my bivocational pastorate in 1981 none of these things were available to me. You are richly blessed that more and more resources are now available to you, so please use them. Invest in yourself and your ministry.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Investing in yourself
One of my core values is to be a life-long learner. That is the reason I pursued a master's and doctoral degree at an age when many people are thinking about retirement. It is also the reason I try to read so many books and blogs. I cannot understand why so many high school and college graduates never read a book once they graduate from school and why so many people are not interested in personal growth. We have been told for years that the average person uses only about 10 percent of his or her abilities. What could change in a person's life if he or she decided to tap into some of that remaining 90 percent? Most of us will go to great lengths to plan a one-week vacation and yet many will spend virtually no time developing a plan for personal growth.
Investing in ourselves is the one investment that can not be taken from us. Financial investments can be lost overnight if the market changes or if someone cheats us through some fraudulent act. We can spend years at a job only to see it moved to another country or eliminated because of technology or a takeover from another company. Virtually everything that people try to accumulate can be gone in moments, but the one thing that can never be taken from us is any investment we've made in ourselves.
If you are a minister reading this post there are so many things that one can learn about ministry. I would love to have the opportunity to relive the twenty years I spent as the pastor at Hebron Baptist Church with the knowledge I have now about ministry that I did not have back when I was the pastor there. My ministry would look so much different, and I know it would have a positive impact on the life and ministry of the church. If you are a leader in any organization, there is so much new information on leadership that if you are not growing personally your organization is operating far short of its capacity. Even if you are not currently a leader, an investment in yourself is the way that you can create and enjoy a better life for yourself and your family.
In my opinion, one of the most important books John Maxwell has written recently is The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential. Again, this is only my opinion, but I believe out of all the books he has written (and I have most of them) this is his second most important book only behind The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You (10th Anniversary Edition). The reason I feel so strongly about his book on the 15 laws of growth is because he describes so clearly what one must do in order to grow as an individual.
One of the laws he discusses is the Law of the Rubber Band. He notes that rubber bands are useful only when they are stretched. Pursuing personal growth will always stretch us, but it is only when we are stretched that we become useful. Too many of us are satisfied with the status quo. We are satisfied with being average. In the chapter Maxwell provides a description of average, and one of the items in that description says, ""Average is the top of the bottom, the best of the worst, the bottom of the top, the worst of the best. Which of these are you?" Looking at it this way, average doesn't seem so great after all, does it?
Yet, we shy away from being stretched. Our churches claim they want to grow, but they don't want to be stretched. Businesses talk about wanting to grow, but they are often averse to doing anything that might stretch them and take them away from their comfort zone. As leaders, we should want to be growing if we want to lead growing organizations, but many of us avoid anything that would stretch us. We won't take a class or read a book or meet with a mentor or do anything that might be uncomfortable even if it would promote personal growth.
This is the second time I've read this book, and I found new insights that I had missed in my first reading. I made several new highlights in the book during my second reading. For any leader serious about wanting to grow I think this is a must read. At the very least it will give you some specific areas in which each of us should grow and some direction for how growth can occur in those areas. As leaders, we must invest in ourselves if we want to effectively lead our churches and other organizations.
Investing in ourselves is the one investment that can not be taken from us. Financial investments can be lost overnight if the market changes or if someone cheats us through some fraudulent act. We can spend years at a job only to see it moved to another country or eliminated because of technology or a takeover from another company. Virtually everything that people try to accumulate can be gone in moments, but the one thing that can never be taken from us is any investment we've made in ourselves.
If you are a minister reading this post there are so many things that one can learn about ministry. I would love to have the opportunity to relive the twenty years I spent as the pastor at Hebron Baptist Church with the knowledge I have now about ministry that I did not have back when I was the pastor there. My ministry would look so much different, and I know it would have a positive impact on the life and ministry of the church. If you are a leader in any organization, there is so much new information on leadership that if you are not growing personally your organization is operating far short of its capacity. Even if you are not currently a leader, an investment in yourself is the way that you can create and enjoy a better life for yourself and your family.
In my opinion, one of the most important books John Maxwell has written recently is The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential. Again, this is only my opinion, but I believe out of all the books he has written (and I have most of them) this is his second most important book only behind The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You (10th Anniversary Edition). The reason I feel so strongly about his book on the 15 laws of growth is because he describes so clearly what one must do in order to grow as an individual.
One of the laws he discusses is the Law of the Rubber Band. He notes that rubber bands are useful only when they are stretched. Pursuing personal growth will always stretch us, but it is only when we are stretched that we become useful. Too many of us are satisfied with the status quo. We are satisfied with being average. In the chapter Maxwell provides a description of average, and one of the items in that description says, ""Average is the top of the bottom, the best of the worst, the bottom of the top, the worst of the best. Which of these are you?" Looking at it this way, average doesn't seem so great after all, does it?
Yet, we shy away from being stretched. Our churches claim they want to grow, but they don't want to be stretched. Businesses talk about wanting to grow, but they are often averse to doing anything that might stretch them and take them away from their comfort zone. As leaders, we should want to be growing if we want to lead growing organizations, but many of us avoid anything that would stretch us. We won't take a class or read a book or meet with a mentor or do anything that might be uncomfortable even if it would promote personal growth.
This is the second time I've read this book, and I found new insights that I had missed in my first reading. I made several new highlights in the book during my second reading. For any leader serious about wanting to grow I think this is a must read. At the very least it will give you some specific areas in which each of us should grow and some direction for how growth can occur in those areas. As leaders, we must invest in ourselves if we want to effectively lead our churches and other organizations.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Prepare yourself for what God has in store
A couple of years before I took early retirement from the company I worked for I was selected for a new job. For 28 years I had worked in the shop, belonged to our company union, but now I was chosen for a very unusual position. Several things made it unusual. One, because our company was unionized all shop jobs were given based on seniority; this job would not be based on seniority. Two, the union was responsible for selecting the person for this job. Third, there were only about five people working this job throughout this world-wide company. Fourth, I would continue to be a shop employee but would work from an office and would report directly to the quality manager and the plant manager. Finally, I was the contact person for every customer for every product our plant produced. I would receive all complaints from every customer we had around the world, and it would be my role to find out why there was a problem and how it would be corrected. Needless to say, it was a very interesting job.
Out of all the persons in our plant who could have been chosen, why did our union rep select me? I believe one reason was that about five years earlier I had began working on my bachelor's degree and was nearing graduation. To my knowledge, I was the only shop person in our plant with a college education. I also think it was because I had been a pastor for a number of years, and our rep knew that I could work with people. He also knew I would represent our company well and treat our customers with integrity and courtesy.
I did not enroll in college with the hopes of being qualified to get this job. In fact, these positions did not exist in the company until about three years after I enrolled. I was completely surprised when our union rep told me he wanted to submit my name for the position. However, I don't think it caught God by surprise. Scripture teaches us that he has a path prepared for each of us even before we were born. Whether we follow that path or not depends on us and the choices we make. In this particular situation, I had made a choice to pursue an education later in life than most that turned out to prepare me for a new position in the company I was working for. Not surprisingly, that choice has also prepared me for several other opportunities I may not have been given otherwise.
Mark Miller has written a wonderful book, The Heart of Leadership: Becoming a Leader People Want to Follow
, in which he writes, "Others control many of our opportunities, so that shouldn't be our concern. We control our readiness." Too many people want to be in positions of leadership but have done nothing to be ready if and when their time comes. They are by-passed over and over and wonder why, and the reason is that others can tell they are not ready to lead. The same thing happens for those of us in ministry leadership as well.
I think of the time when Samuel was to select the person who would follow Saul as king of Israel. God kept rejecting the ones Samuel chose. God explained that while mankind often chooses people based on their outward appearance, he looks at the heart. Only David was prepared to become the next king, and he was the one Samuel (and God) anointed.
How have you prepared yourself for whatever God has in mind for you? I'm not talking just about educational achievements, either. As Miller writes about in his book, a leader's character is more important than his or her skills or knowledge. What are you doing to grow your leadership character? Are you consistently trustworthy in your words and actions? Do you put others first? How well do you listen? Do you accept responsibility for your failures, or do you blame others? Miller discusses all of these, and more, in his book. I've had the opportunity to do things I would never have supposed possible because I was prepared when the time came. At the same time, I sometimes wonder how many other opportunities were never presented to me because I wasn't prepared.
You never know what God may have in mind for you. Look for ways to develop your skillset and your leadership character so you'll be ready when God opens up a new door of opportunity for you. I think Miller's book will help you do that. You'll find it to be an enjoyable and a quick read. I read it in two days because I found it so helpful.
Out of all the persons in our plant who could have been chosen, why did our union rep select me? I believe one reason was that about five years earlier I had began working on my bachelor's degree and was nearing graduation. To my knowledge, I was the only shop person in our plant with a college education. I also think it was because I had been a pastor for a number of years, and our rep knew that I could work with people. He also knew I would represent our company well and treat our customers with integrity and courtesy.
I did not enroll in college with the hopes of being qualified to get this job. In fact, these positions did not exist in the company until about three years after I enrolled. I was completely surprised when our union rep told me he wanted to submit my name for the position. However, I don't think it caught God by surprise. Scripture teaches us that he has a path prepared for each of us even before we were born. Whether we follow that path or not depends on us and the choices we make. In this particular situation, I had made a choice to pursue an education later in life than most that turned out to prepare me for a new position in the company I was working for. Not surprisingly, that choice has also prepared me for several other opportunities I may not have been given otherwise.
Mark Miller has written a wonderful book, The Heart of Leadership: Becoming a Leader People Want to Follow
, in which he writes, "Others control many of our opportunities, so that shouldn't be our concern. We control our readiness." Too many people want to be in positions of leadership but have done nothing to be ready if and when their time comes. They are by-passed over and over and wonder why, and the reason is that others can tell they are not ready to lead. The same thing happens for those of us in ministry leadership as well. I think of the time when Samuel was to select the person who would follow Saul as king of Israel. God kept rejecting the ones Samuel chose. God explained that while mankind often chooses people based on their outward appearance, he looks at the heart. Only David was prepared to become the next king, and he was the one Samuel (and God) anointed.
How have you prepared yourself for whatever God has in mind for you? I'm not talking just about educational achievements, either. As Miller writes about in his book, a leader's character is more important than his or her skills or knowledge. What are you doing to grow your leadership character? Are you consistently trustworthy in your words and actions? Do you put others first? How well do you listen? Do you accept responsibility for your failures, or do you blame others? Miller discusses all of these, and more, in his book. I've had the opportunity to do things I would never have supposed possible because I was prepared when the time came. At the same time, I sometimes wonder how many other opportunities were never presented to me because I wasn't prepared.
You never know what God may have in mind for you. Look for ways to develop your skillset and your leadership character so you'll be ready when God opens up a new door of opportunity for you. I think Miller's book will help you do that. You'll find it to be an enjoyable and a quick read. I read it in two days because I found it so helpful.
Friday, November 8, 2013
The bivocational entrepreneur
I am occasionally asked why I post articles on ministry related articles and articles that address small business and entrepreneurialism. Some people think that because I write a blog for bivocational ministers and smaller churches that I would only post ministry related articles on my social media accounts. Actually, there are several reasons why I also post business related articles.
The first reason is because some bivocational ministers are involved in small businesses. Based on a survey I did in 2004 and numerous conversations I've had over the years with bivocational ministers I know that their other careers run the gamut. Certainly, not every bivocational minister owns or works for a small business, but some do. I want to believe the articles I post will help them operate their businesses better.
A second reason is that I am convinced that many leadership principles and activities from the business community are transferrable to ministry. Just as it's important for a small business to properly market itself it is important for a small church (and larger ones) to market themselves if they want their communities to know they exist. A bivocational pastor needs to understand sound marketing techniques. A minster also needs to understand budgeting, how to best develop a team, the importance of vision and how to pursue one, how to effectively communicate to the various groups he or she will come in contact with each day, how to more effectively manage time, how to make the best use of his or her strengths, how to manage conflict, how to introduce and manage change, and numerous other tasks. The business community can tell us much about how leaders should go about these various tasks, and we should take advantage of what they can teach us. I try to pull out some of the best advice from the various sources I read and share that advice with my readers in the hopes that it will benefit them and their ministries.
A third reason I post leadership and entrepreneurial information from the business community is that most bivocational ministers I know have entrepreneurial mindsets. In fact, I would go so far to say that if one is not entrepreneurial he or she will likely not enjoy a very effective ministry. Bivocational ministers take risks every day and face challenges for which there are no easy answers. We often have to do things that had never been done before in our particular ministry setting especially if we are the first bivocational minister our church has had. It's not that we just color outside the lines; sometimes we don't even have any lines and have to insert them as we go. Personally, I enjoy learning from entrepreneurs regardless if they come from a church background or a business background.
Finally, I post the business articles because I believe ministers today, and certainly those in the future, will have to become even more entrepreneurial. Years ago I heard Zig Ziglar speak at a leadership conference. One of the things he said that day was that there was no such thing as job security. He insisted the best anyone could experience was employment security. I agreed with his comments as soon as he said them. I graduated from high school, got a good job with a local factory, and worked there for thirty years until I qualified for their early retirement. Those jobs and opportunities are not going to be there for future generations. Even blue collar workers like me will have to be continually learning new skills in order to qualify for the jobs of the future. Staying with one company until retirement will soon be unheard of.
The same is true for those of us in ministry. In the past a student graduated from college, went to seminary, and after graduation went to his or her first church. It was expected that the seminary trained minister would remain in full-time ministry until he or she retired. That is not a safe assumption to make today. Increasingly, I find myself talking to fully-funded ministers who are convinced that they will soon have to become bivocational if they wish to remain at their current church. They often tell me that they don't mind going bivocational, but their fear is that they are not trained to do anything but ministry. They literally do not know what they could do apart from ministry to provide for their families.
These folks better start exercising their entrepreneurial muscles, and I am hopeful the articles I refer them to will help them do that. I refer my readers to articles that address business start-ups, financing, marketing, how to supervise team members, how to overcome obstacles, how to do strategic planning, and virtually everything that a business leader might need to know. With the many changes occurring today in the business and church world, we need to know how to do all these things if we want to remain employable in the future.
I am convinced we will see the numbers of bivocational ministers continue to climb in the foreseeable future. Some of these will be former fully-funded ministers who will begin to serve as bivocational ministers out of necessity. Now is the time for them to begin learning new ways of thinking and to seek out the skills apart from ministry that God has given them so they can be prepared if they find they need to transition into bivocational ministry. I hope that I can help them do that.
The first reason is because some bivocational ministers are involved in small businesses. Based on a survey I did in 2004 and numerous conversations I've had over the years with bivocational ministers I know that their other careers run the gamut. Certainly, not every bivocational minister owns or works for a small business, but some do. I want to believe the articles I post will help them operate their businesses better.
A second reason is that I am convinced that many leadership principles and activities from the business community are transferrable to ministry. Just as it's important for a small business to properly market itself it is important for a small church (and larger ones) to market themselves if they want their communities to know they exist. A bivocational pastor needs to understand sound marketing techniques. A minster also needs to understand budgeting, how to best develop a team, the importance of vision and how to pursue one, how to effectively communicate to the various groups he or she will come in contact with each day, how to more effectively manage time, how to make the best use of his or her strengths, how to manage conflict, how to introduce and manage change, and numerous other tasks. The business community can tell us much about how leaders should go about these various tasks, and we should take advantage of what they can teach us. I try to pull out some of the best advice from the various sources I read and share that advice with my readers in the hopes that it will benefit them and their ministries.
A third reason I post leadership and entrepreneurial information from the business community is that most bivocational ministers I know have entrepreneurial mindsets. In fact, I would go so far to say that if one is not entrepreneurial he or she will likely not enjoy a very effective ministry. Bivocational ministers take risks every day and face challenges for which there are no easy answers. We often have to do things that had never been done before in our particular ministry setting especially if we are the first bivocational minister our church has had. It's not that we just color outside the lines; sometimes we don't even have any lines and have to insert them as we go. Personally, I enjoy learning from entrepreneurs regardless if they come from a church background or a business background.
Finally, I post the business articles because I believe ministers today, and certainly those in the future, will have to become even more entrepreneurial. Years ago I heard Zig Ziglar speak at a leadership conference. One of the things he said that day was that there was no such thing as job security. He insisted the best anyone could experience was employment security. I agreed with his comments as soon as he said them. I graduated from high school, got a good job with a local factory, and worked there for thirty years until I qualified for their early retirement. Those jobs and opportunities are not going to be there for future generations. Even blue collar workers like me will have to be continually learning new skills in order to qualify for the jobs of the future. Staying with one company until retirement will soon be unheard of.
The same is true for those of us in ministry. In the past a student graduated from college, went to seminary, and after graduation went to his or her first church. It was expected that the seminary trained minister would remain in full-time ministry until he or she retired. That is not a safe assumption to make today. Increasingly, I find myself talking to fully-funded ministers who are convinced that they will soon have to become bivocational if they wish to remain at their current church. They often tell me that they don't mind going bivocational, but their fear is that they are not trained to do anything but ministry. They literally do not know what they could do apart from ministry to provide for their families.
These folks better start exercising their entrepreneurial muscles, and I am hopeful the articles I refer them to will help them do that. I refer my readers to articles that address business start-ups, financing, marketing, how to supervise team members, how to overcome obstacles, how to do strategic planning, and virtually everything that a business leader might need to know. With the many changes occurring today in the business and church world, we need to know how to do all these things if we want to remain employable in the future.
I am convinced we will see the numbers of bivocational ministers continue to climb in the foreseeable future. Some of these will be former fully-funded ministers who will begin to serve as bivocational ministers out of necessity. Now is the time for them to begin learning new ways of thinking and to seek out the skills apart from ministry that God has given them so they can be prepared if they find they need to transition into bivocational ministry. I hope that I can help them do that.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Sometimes our critics are right
The other day I was reading an article on how to respond to the critics any leader will encounter. As I was reading I had a thought: sometimes the critics are right. It's easy as a ministerial leader to want to write off our critics as controllers, troublemakers, uninformed, toxic, mean-spirited, etc, but sometimes they are right. Sometimes we do preach too long. Sometimes our ideas are stupid. Sometimes we haven't thought through all the potential ramifications of our suggested change. Sometimes we haven't visited people enough. Sometimes we do ignore the senior saints in our congregations. Sometimes our worship services miss the mark. If we ignore our critics when they are right we do so at our peril
Early in my pastoral ministry a member of our church, who was the only person in our rural church at the time with a college degree, came to me voicing her concern about my poor grammar. This occurred over 30 years ago, but I still remember her comments. She said that the people in our church were not bothered by it, but she was afraid that it could harm my future ministry if I went to another church. It was embarrassing, but I knew she was right. What she did not know was that I had recently enrolled in a Bible school and would be required to take two semesters of English grammar to graduate. What neither of us could have known was that a couple of years after taking those classes I was asked to speak at our local high school graduation. This was our daughter's graduating class, and I did not want to embarrass her. This was also the school from which I graduated, and I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of my former teachers. The message went great, and I believe part of it was because I had finally learned at least some basic rules of proper grammar.
At the time of that conversation neither of us also could not have known that I would write books, and without at least some knowledge about the rules of grammar none of them would have been accepted by any publisher. I must be honest enough to admit that each of them have been edited by the publisher and the grammar fine-tuned to a much higher level than I can do, but at least I can get the basics right!
Neither of us knew that day that I would pursue an education that would include a master's and a doctoral degree requiring numerous papers and a thesis to be written.
Neither of us could have known that day that a time would come when I would lead conferences for various denominational bodies, speak in chapel services at universities, or be the keynote speaker at leadership events. God has opened ministry opportunities that neither of us could have known about that day 30 years ago as we stood in the sanctuary of that small, rural church.
What if I had become angry at her for caring enough to confront me about a problem area in my ministry? What if I had just ignored her believing she just thought she was better than anyone else. What if I had refused to accept her comments as constructive criticism intended to help me become a better minister? If I had not listened and recognized the truth in her comments I doubt that any of the later opportunities would have been available to me.
I recently sent her an e-mail asking if she remembered that conversation. She did, and she said she was quite concerned about approaching me about my poor grammar. I thanked her and listed all the things in this post that I've been able to do because she cared enough about me to point out a weak place in my ministry.
Criticism is never easy to take, but sometimes our critics are right. We'll make a big mistake if we ever forget that. The next time someone criticizes something you've done at least stop for a moment and determine if there is even a grain of truth in what they're saying, and then do something about it.
And...please don't write me pointing out the grammatical mistakes in this post.
Early in my pastoral ministry a member of our church, who was the only person in our rural church at the time with a college degree, came to me voicing her concern about my poor grammar. This occurred over 30 years ago, but I still remember her comments. She said that the people in our church were not bothered by it, but she was afraid that it could harm my future ministry if I went to another church. It was embarrassing, but I knew she was right. What she did not know was that I had recently enrolled in a Bible school and would be required to take two semesters of English grammar to graduate. What neither of us could have known was that a couple of years after taking those classes I was asked to speak at our local high school graduation. This was our daughter's graduating class, and I did not want to embarrass her. This was also the school from which I graduated, and I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of my former teachers. The message went great, and I believe part of it was because I had finally learned at least some basic rules of proper grammar.
At the time of that conversation neither of us also could not have known that I would write books, and without at least some knowledge about the rules of grammar none of them would have been accepted by any publisher. I must be honest enough to admit that each of them have been edited by the publisher and the grammar fine-tuned to a much higher level than I can do, but at least I can get the basics right!
Neither of us knew that day that I would pursue an education that would include a master's and a doctoral degree requiring numerous papers and a thesis to be written.
Neither of us could have known that day that a time would come when I would lead conferences for various denominational bodies, speak in chapel services at universities, or be the keynote speaker at leadership events. God has opened ministry opportunities that neither of us could have known about that day 30 years ago as we stood in the sanctuary of that small, rural church.
What if I had become angry at her for caring enough to confront me about a problem area in my ministry? What if I had just ignored her believing she just thought she was better than anyone else. What if I had refused to accept her comments as constructive criticism intended to help me become a better minister? If I had not listened and recognized the truth in her comments I doubt that any of the later opportunities would have been available to me.
I recently sent her an e-mail asking if she remembered that conversation. She did, and she said she was quite concerned about approaching me about my poor grammar. I thanked her and listed all the things in this post that I've been able to do because she cared enough about me to point out a weak place in my ministry.
Criticism is never easy to take, but sometimes our critics are right. We'll make a big mistake if we ever forget that. The next time someone criticizes something you've done at least stop for a moment and determine if there is even a grain of truth in what they're saying, and then do something about it.
And...please don't write me pointing out the grammatical mistakes in this post.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
We don't know what we don't know
Last Saturday I taught a class for our Church Leadership Institute. During a break one of my students, a retired gentleman, came to me and said that the more classes he takes the more that he realizes he doesn't know. I laughed and said that was the reason every person should commit to being a life-long learner. None of us knows what we don't know, and an important part of an educational program is to open us up to new areas of knowledge.
In the secular world continuing education is part of the expectation for many jobs. Professionals such as doctors and nurses, accountants, lawyers, educators, and others are required to have a certain number of continuing education hours during a specific time period. Even many blue collar jobs require continuing education. Many states require an air conditioning service tech to be licensed and require continuing education to maintain that license. Before my auctioneer license can be renewed I will have to have completed sixteen hours of continuing education.
It is sad that no such requirement exists for those of us in ministry positions. We are responsible before God for the eternal souls of men and women, and yet there is no requirement that we pursue continuing education as ministers. At least, in the denominations with which I'm more familiar there is no such requirement. I believe there should be.
Too many ministers are still trying to minister as they were taught to do so in the 1980s and wonder why their ministries are no longer successful. Society has changed much since the 1980s, and what was effective then may not be today. Much has been learned about Christian education, worship, effective preaching styles, the importance of hospitality, and other aspects of ministry that persons who have never pursued continuing education may not be aware of. The needs of persons today have changed as have their expectations of church, and if those current needs and expectations are not addressed those persons may well be lost to our churches. Associated with this is the need to understand generational differences and how to address those differences to more effectively communicate the gospel. While referring to the gospel, anyone who thinks he or she understands everything written in the Bible is seriously deluded. Every person can learn much more about the Bible as he or she continues to study it. But, in each of the aspects of ministry mentioned here, we don't know what we don't know, and the only way to learn what we don't know is to avail ourselves of regular continuing education events.
Maybe you've attended some events in the past and went away feeling like you didn't learn much. I've gone to some like that, but I can't think of a single one I didn't come away with something I didn't know before. Every class I've ever taken, every workshop I've ever attended, I've left there with at least one nugget of information I didn't have before or one more tool to add to my ministry toolbox. Sometimes I've left with a bag full of such nuggets. If you went into a gold mine to find gold would you feel like it was a wasted effort if you only found one gold nugget? I doubt it, and my experience has been that even the most disappointing workshops gave me at least one nugget of helpful information.
As you prepared your fall calendar look over the announcements of various workshops that now cross your desk and select one or two that you believe will be helpful to your personal and ministerial growth. If it doesn't, ask your church to set aside money in next year's budget to pay for you to attend two or three continuing education events and to allow you time away to do that. The work of ministry is too important to fail to take advantage of those opportunities to grow and to learn new ways of doing the work God has called you to do.
In the secular world continuing education is part of the expectation for many jobs. Professionals such as doctors and nurses, accountants, lawyers, educators, and others are required to have a certain number of continuing education hours during a specific time period. Even many blue collar jobs require continuing education. Many states require an air conditioning service tech to be licensed and require continuing education to maintain that license. Before my auctioneer license can be renewed I will have to have completed sixteen hours of continuing education.
It is sad that no such requirement exists for those of us in ministry positions. We are responsible before God for the eternal souls of men and women, and yet there is no requirement that we pursue continuing education as ministers. At least, in the denominations with which I'm more familiar there is no such requirement. I believe there should be.
Too many ministers are still trying to minister as they were taught to do so in the 1980s and wonder why their ministries are no longer successful. Society has changed much since the 1980s, and what was effective then may not be today. Much has been learned about Christian education, worship, effective preaching styles, the importance of hospitality, and other aspects of ministry that persons who have never pursued continuing education may not be aware of. The needs of persons today have changed as have their expectations of church, and if those current needs and expectations are not addressed those persons may well be lost to our churches. Associated with this is the need to understand generational differences and how to address those differences to more effectively communicate the gospel. While referring to the gospel, anyone who thinks he or she understands everything written in the Bible is seriously deluded. Every person can learn much more about the Bible as he or she continues to study it. But, in each of the aspects of ministry mentioned here, we don't know what we don't know, and the only way to learn what we don't know is to avail ourselves of regular continuing education events.
Maybe you've attended some events in the past and went away feeling like you didn't learn much. I've gone to some like that, but I can't think of a single one I didn't come away with something I didn't know before. Every class I've ever taken, every workshop I've ever attended, I've left there with at least one nugget of information I didn't have before or one more tool to add to my ministry toolbox. Sometimes I've left with a bag full of such nuggets. If you went into a gold mine to find gold would you feel like it was a wasted effort if you only found one gold nugget? I doubt it, and my experience has been that even the most disappointing workshops gave me at least one nugget of helpful information.
As you prepared your fall calendar look over the announcements of various workshops that now cross your desk and select one or two that you believe will be helpful to your personal and ministerial growth. If it doesn't, ask your church to set aside money in next year's budget to pay for you to attend two or three continuing education events and to allow you time away to do that. The work of ministry is too important to fail to take advantage of those opportunities to grow and to learn new ways of doing the work God has called you to do.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Training men and women for church leadership
Ten years ago the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky launched the Church Leadership Institute (CLI) as a way to train lay leaders in our churches for more effective leadership. We also wanted to provide a way to help equip persons who felt called to bivocational ministry but lacked formal ministerial and theological training. A year prior to the launch a team of people looked at programs other denominations were using. We adapted some elements of their programs and added some we felt were important to our region. Because Franklin College is rather centrally located in our state we asked to use one of their classrooms for our classes, and they very graciously agreed. We decided that if ten students signed up for the first class we would consider that a success. Thirty-two people enrolled in that class, and CLI has never looked back.
This past Saturday a graduation service was held in the Franklin College chapel for six graduates. One of those graduates completed the two year program which earned him a Certificate in Christian Leadership. The other five completed the third year of classes for which they received a Diploma in Pastoral Studies. One of these graduates currently serves as a bivocational pastor in Michigan! He had about a four hour drive each way to attend our Saturday classes, and said during the graduation service that what he received from this program was far more than what it cost him to travel.
Since its inception 217 students have been enrolled in CLI. Fifty-four of them have taken one or more courses for their own personal enrichment in the past two years. They may or may not complete the entire program, but they saw some individual courses they believed would be a benefit to them. We currently have 35 students enrolled in either the two-year or three-year program. Fifty-two students have graduated with either the certificate or the diploma.
A number of our graduates are now serving as bivocational pastors in this region. While CLI was never designed to replace a seminary education, it does provide very practical and theological training for persons who feel called to ministry but will not be able to pursue a formal seminary education. Each of these individuals are enjoying productive ministries in their churches. However, the majority of our graduates are serving in their churches as lay leaders. Through CLI they have been equipped to provide leadership to their churches in a way that they could not before their involvement with CLI.
As exciting as our past ten years have been, we are looking ahead to the future. Last year we added an additional site to make CLI available to more individuals in our region, and this fall we are adding a third site in another part of our state. In addition, we have now opened CLI up to church leaders of all denominations. Previously, we made it available only to persons in the American Baptist churches in our region, but now we are inviting persons from all churches to enroll in CLI.
One of the challenges I continually hear from denominational leaders is how they will train the growing numbers of bivocational ministers in their denomination. Something like CLI is one possibility. Develop a quality program, staff it with excellent instructors, and make it available at a reasonable cost, and it will attract persons who want to grow in their leadership skills. Not only will it attract bivocational ministers, but it will attract lay leaders from your churches who will take back to their churches the things they have learned. This can have a great impact on your churches. One of the responsibilities of a leader is to develop other leaders. I believe we in denominational work need to identify ways to develop leaders for our churches, and CLI is a way that is working for us.
This past Saturday a graduation service was held in the Franklin College chapel for six graduates. One of those graduates completed the two year program which earned him a Certificate in Christian Leadership. The other five completed the third year of classes for which they received a Diploma in Pastoral Studies. One of these graduates currently serves as a bivocational pastor in Michigan! He had about a four hour drive each way to attend our Saturday classes, and said during the graduation service that what he received from this program was far more than what it cost him to travel.
Since its inception 217 students have been enrolled in CLI. Fifty-four of them have taken one or more courses for their own personal enrichment in the past two years. They may or may not complete the entire program, but they saw some individual courses they believed would be a benefit to them. We currently have 35 students enrolled in either the two-year or three-year program. Fifty-two students have graduated with either the certificate or the diploma.
A number of our graduates are now serving as bivocational pastors in this region. While CLI was never designed to replace a seminary education, it does provide very practical and theological training for persons who feel called to ministry but will not be able to pursue a formal seminary education. Each of these individuals are enjoying productive ministries in their churches. However, the majority of our graduates are serving in their churches as lay leaders. Through CLI they have been equipped to provide leadership to their churches in a way that they could not before their involvement with CLI.
As exciting as our past ten years have been, we are looking ahead to the future. Last year we added an additional site to make CLI available to more individuals in our region, and this fall we are adding a third site in another part of our state. In addition, we have now opened CLI up to church leaders of all denominations. Previously, we made it available only to persons in the American Baptist churches in our region, but now we are inviting persons from all churches to enroll in CLI.
One of the challenges I continually hear from denominational leaders is how they will train the growing numbers of bivocational ministers in their denomination. Something like CLI is one possibility. Develop a quality program, staff it with excellent instructors, and make it available at a reasonable cost, and it will attract persons who want to grow in their leadership skills. Not only will it attract bivocational ministers, but it will attract lay leaders from your churches who will take back to their churches the things they have learned. This can have a great impact on your churches. One of the responsibilities of a leader is to develop other leaders. I believe we in denominational work need to identify ways to develop leaders for our churches, and CLI is a way that is working for us.
Friday, June 28, 2013
Bivocational ministry and education
When my first book was published a critic claimed that I, and the book, was anti-education. Obviously, that was written by someone who doesn't know me or my story. He based that comment on a section in the book that said that smaller churches are often much less interested in whether or not their pastor has a degree as they are in whether or not he or she can do the job. I continue to believe that, and I've seen it played out in many churches. Something else I believe is that the traditional ministerial education, a bachelor's degree followed by an MDiv, is not always the best route to take for someone who is going to serve a church. At one time that was the primary degree offered by many seminaries, but there are other options available today that might be better for some people.
For those who do not know my story I will give you a brief history. I began my pastoral ministry as the bivocational pastor of a small, rural church in southern Indiana. I had no pastoral experience and no education beyond high school. After several months I realized there was a lot about ministry I did not know so I began a search for a suitable place where I could get some education. I found a two-year Bible school about one hour south of my home that seemed like it would meet my needs. The problem was the I worked one hour north of my home. Another problem was that the school only offered classes during the mornings, and I worked day shift. I decided to transfer to third shift and enroll in school. I would drive one hour north, work all night, and then drive two hours south to take classes. I could only take about three classes a semester so it took me four years to complete that program, but I learned so much that I decided to begin my studies for a bachelor's degree.
I was able to transfer some of my credits to a university also located one hour south of my home so I began the process all over. It took me seven years to earn my bachelor's degree, but I learned so much that benefited me and my ministry. I completed that program in 1995 and stopped further studies until around 2002 when I decided to enroll in seminary. By this time I had left pastoral ministry and was serving as a regional minister for our denomination. The MDiv didn't appeal to me so I enrolled in a Master of Arts in Religion with an emphasis in Leadership. Most of the classes I took through distance learning. On my way home from graduating with that degree I felt the Lord encouraging me to enroll in the DMin program at that seminary, and in 2010 at the age of 62 I earned that degree.
The reason I share this is two-fold. One, some who reads this blog may be struggling with a desire to further their education and believe it can't be done. It can be done. I did it while married with two children, working a full-time job, and serving in ministry. You can do it! I'm not saying it's easy, but you can do it. I know that every class I took improved my ministry, even some of the college required classes that had nothing to do with ministry. Can you serve a church without a formal education? Yes, but I also believe you will enjoy a more productive ministry with an education. You may not go as far as I did, but any education you complete will help you enjoy greater success.
The second reason I wanted to share my story is because many people think education is not affordable for them. There is no question that education is expensive, but when you do it like I did most people can cash-flow it with little difficulty. If money is tight you can always set out a semester and build up your reserves. With so many schools offering distance learning options the expense is much less as well. One often overlooked way of paying for school is through your employer. My employer would pay the tuition for any course that had the potential of benefiting the company. The company paid my tuition for nearly every course I took in college greatly limiting my costs. Here is another advantage bivocational ministers can sometimes have over their fully-funded peers. Not many churches will do this, but most large companies have some sort of program available to help fund their employees education.
A study I did in 2004 found a wide variety of educational levels among bivocational ministers. Like me, many had no education beyond high school while a few had PhDs. Most fell somewhere in between. I'm not saying you need to go to school. What I am trying to say in this post is that if you have felt led to do so you can do it. Don't allow your doubts to prevent you from investing in yourself and your ministry.
For those who do not know my story I will give you a brief history. I began my pastoral ministry as the bivocational pastor of a small, rural church in southern Indiana. I had no pastoral experience and no education beyond high school. After several months I realized there was a lot about ministry I did not know so I began a search for a suitable place where I could get some education. I found a two-year Bible school about one hour south of my home that seemed like it would meet my needs. The problem was the I worked one hour north of my home. Another problem was that the school only offered classes during the mornings, and I worked day shift. I decided to transfer to third shift and enroll in school. I would drive one hour north, work all night, and then drive two hours south to take classes. I could only take about three classes a semester so it took me four years to complete that program, but I learned so much that I decided to begin my studies for a bachelor's degree.
I was able to transfer some of my credits to a university also located one hour south of my home so I began the process all over. It took me seven years to earn my bachelor's degree, but I learned so much that benefited me and my ministry. I completed that program in 1995 and stopped further studies until around 2002 when I decided to enroll in seminary. By this time I had left pastoral ministry and was serving as a regional minister for our denomination. The MDiv didn't appeal to me so I enrolled in a Master of Arts in Religion with an emphasis in Leadership. Most of the classes I took through distance learning. On my way home from graduating with that degree I felt the Lord encouraging me to enroll in the DMin program at that seminary, and in 2010 at the age of 62 I earned that degree.
The reason I share this is two-fold. One, some who reads this blog may be struggling with a desire to further their education and believe it can't be done. It can be done. I did it while married with two children, working a full-time job, and serving in ministry. You can do it! I'm not saying it's easy, but you can do it. I know that every class I took improved my ministry, even some of the college required classes that had nothing to do with ministry. Can you serve a church without a formal education? Yes, but I also believe you will enjoy a more productive ministry with an education. You may not go as far as I did, but any education you complete will help you enjoy greater success.
The second reason I wanted to share my story is because many people think education is not affordable for them. There is no question that education is expensive, but when you do it like I did most people can cash-flow it with little difficulty. If money is tight you can always set out a semester and build up your reserves. With so many schools offering distance learning options the expense is much less as well. One often overlooked way of paying for school is through your employer. My employer would pay the tuition for any course that had the potential of benefiting the company. The company paid my tuition for nearly every course I took in college greatly limiting my costs. Here is another advantage bivocational ministers can sometimes have over their fully-funded peers. Not many churches will do this, but most large companies have some sort of program available to help fund their employees education.
A study I did in 2004 found a wide variety of educational levels among bivocational ministers. Like me, many had no education beyond high school while a few had PhDs. Most fell somewhere in between. I'm not saying you need to go to school. What I am trying to say in this post is that if you have felt led to do so you can do it. Don't allow your doubts to prevent you from investing in yourself and your ministry.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Pastors must never stop growing
One of my professors worked for a number of years for Ford Motor Company. He had worked in many departments, but for several years he was in Human Resources. In our first or second class he said something that has always stuck with me. He said when he was reviewing job applications he was not impressed with the degrees the person may or may not have had. The only thing a college degree meant, according to him, was that the person was capable of learning. He emphasized that Ford would teach a person everything he or she needed to be successful in the company as long as the person was capable of learning. At the time that made a lot of sense to me, and it still does.
Some people believe that once they receive a degree they have learned everything they need. Nothing could be further from the truth. I read recently that when one individual received his PhD his mentor sent him a congratulatory card in which he wrote, "Now you can start learning." What an insightful comment! As important as formal education may be, we must always recognize that we must continue to learn and grow if we want to enjoy success in our ministries.
In his book How to Thrive as a Small-Church Pastor
Steve Bierly writes, "If you are not trying to grow as a pastor, you won't be able to retain even the level of competence you have now." As a regional minister I can say sadly that I sometimes meet pastors who have never grown beyond what they learned in seminary years earlier. Such ministers leave a trail of destruction behind them everywhere they go and cannot understand why. Every two or three years they change churches never realizing that their problems are not coming from their churches but from their own lack of personal growth.
What are some of the areas in which we need continual growth?
. I would certainly recommend you read that book and Bierly's book mentioned above for more information on the need for continual growth and some helpful steps you can take to experience that growth in your life.
Some people believe that once they receive a degree they have learned everything they need. Nothing could be further from the truth. I read recently that when one individual received his PhD his mentor sent him a congratulatory card in which he wrote, "Now you can start learning." What an insightful comment! As important as formal education may be, we must always recognize that we must continue to learn and grow if we want to enjoy success in our ministries.
In his book How to Thrive as a Small-Church Pastor
Steve Bierly writes, "If you are not trying to grow as a pastor, you won't be able to retain even the level of competence you have now." As a regional minister I can say sadly that I sometimes meet pastors who have never grown beyond what they learned in seminary years earlier. Such ministers leave a trail of destruction behind them everywhere they go and cannot understand why. Every two or three years they change churches never realizing that their problems are not coming from their churches but from their own lack of personal growth.What are some of the areas in which we need continual growth?
- Spiritual growth - A major risk that many ministers face at some point in their ministries is neglecting their own spiritual development. We can become so busy doing things for God that we forget our own need to maintain a growing relationship with Him. We cannot give out what we are not taking in. The pastor who neglects his or her personal walk with God will eventually dry up and have nothing fresh to give.
- Relational skills - Everything in smaller churches is based on relationships. The pastor who is weak in relational skills will never enjoy a successful ministry in a smaller church. The good news is that this is an area in which anyone can grow. One place to start growing in relational skills is by becoming a better listener. Another is by spending time with people.
- Leadership skills - In the past several months I have worked with churches that asked their pastors to resign. In every case the primary complaint was that the pastor failed to provide leadership to the congregation. One of the problems faced by pastors is that many seminaries have not trained their students to be leaders. They've taught them how to manage their churches, not lead them. Churches that are serious about growing and serving their communities are looking for leaders, and if we are not growing in that area we will find ourselves limited to serving only those churches who are satisfied with the status quo.
- Communication skills - Pastors must be great communicators both in and out of the pulpit. As far back as 1870 John A. Broadus wrote, "The record of Christian history has been that the strength of the church is directly related to the strength of the pulpit. When the message from the pulpit has been uncertain and faltering, the church has been weak; when the pulpit has given a positive, declarative message, the church has been strong. The need for effective preaching has never been greater." I agree totally, and I also believe that ministers must be skilled at interpersonal communication. Such communication is directly related to our ability to lead, and if we can't communicate with others we cannot lead them.
- Conflict resolution skills - Church conflict is a reality. While it will never be entirely eliminated, it can be managed and even resolved. The problem is that many of us in pastoral leadership have never been taught how to do that. At a workshop I once led a pastor asked why so many pastors get stabbed in the back. I responded that I wasn't sure that we get stabbed in the back as often as we shoot ourselves in the foot. I've witnessed many pastors who made the conflict in their churches much worse by the steps they took to address it. We must continually be learning ways to better handle conflict.
. I would certainly recommend you read that book and Bierly's book mentioned above for more information on the need for continual growth and some helpful steps you can take to experience that growth in your life.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Why so many changes in the church fail
For the past few years our denomination has offered pastors and churches the opportunity to receive excellent training on various aspects of ministry with the hope that we will see some of our churches make some changes that will help them be more effective. This multi-year training begins with the pastor receiving some individual instruction, and for the final few sessions a leadership team from the church is encouraged to attend with the pastor. I personally know a number of pastors who have attended this training, and with few exceptions not many of their churches have experienced any real change. The pastors and the leadership teams who attended the events returned to their churches excited about new opportunities to do ministry, but in many cases they ran into the same mindsets that have kept those churches in decline for years. Some of these pastors eventually gave up and accepted the status quo or sought new churches to serve.
In my 30+ years of ministry I've seen this scenario played out time and again. Denominations and other groups develop training for pastors and lay leaders that gets these people excited about new possibilities only to have their new ideas rejected by the church when they return. I think we've been missing an important piece to church transformation.
I don't believe we can transform our churches simply by teaching church leaders new information and giving them new ways of doing ministry. It does little good to train a person and send him or her back into a system that isn't willing to change. It is also true that it usually isn't helpful for a church to be ready to be transformed if the pastor is stuck in the same old ways of thinking about ministry. Both the pastor and the congregation needs to be on the same page if we want to see real change occur in our churches. Otherwise, we will continue to see pastors become frustrated with ministry to the point of abandoning it completely, and we will continue to see churches stuck in decline because their pastors are unwilling to try new ways of doing ministry.
One of the best training events I attended as a pastor ended up making a big difference in our church because about ten other people from the church attended with me. That is a high number of people for a congregation of 50-55 people. Essentially, someone from nearly every family in our church attended that event, and when we left there that evening we were all on the same page as to what we needed to do as a congregation. One-fifth of our congregation were immediate advocates for the changes we needed to make as a church, and none of those changes were resisted. As a congregation we were ready for change, and a large enough group of people from the church learned together how to begin to implement those changes. By the way, this is often done more easily in the smaller churches bivocational ministers are likely to serve. It takes fewer people in such churches to convince others to accept the change.
I often encourage pastors to never attend continuing education events alone. Always take as many from your congregation as possible so everyone can hear what you hear exactly as you hear it. When you return to your church you will find you have a number of people ready to promote the changes you want to make. You will likely find there is less opposition, and if there is you have a number of people to advocate for the changes you recommend.
In my 30+ years of ministry I've seen this scenario played out time and again. Denominations and other groups develop training for pastors and lay leaders that gets these people excited about new possibilities only to have their new ideas rejected by the church when they return. I think we've been missing an important piece to church transformation.
I don't believe we can transform our churches simply by teaching church leaders new information and giving them new ways of doing ministry. It does little good to train a person and send him or her back into a system that isn't willing to change. It is also true that it usually isn't helpful for a church to be ready to be transformed if the pastor is stuck in the same old ways of thinking about ministry. Both the pastor and the congregation needs to be on the same page if we want to see real change occur in our churches. Otherwise, we will continue to see pastors become frustrated with ministry to the point of abandoning it completely, and we will continue to see churches stuck in decline because their pastors are unwilling to try new ways of doing ministry.
One of the best training events I attended as a pastor ended up making a big difference in our church because about ten other people from the church attended with me. That is a high number of people for a congregation of 50-55 people. Essentially, someone from nearly every family in our church attended that event, and when we left there that evening we were all on the same page as to what we needed to do as a congregation. One-fifth of our congregation were immediate advocates for the changes we needed to make as a church, and none of those changes were resisted. As a congregation we were ready for change, and a large enough group of people from the church learned together how to begin to implement those changes. By the way, this is often done more easily in the smaller churches bivocational ministers are likely to serve. It takes fewer people in such churches to convince others to accept the change.
I often encourage pastors to never attend continuing education events alone. Always take as many from your congregation as possible so everyone can hear what you hear exactly as you hear it. When you return to your church you will find you have a number of people ready to promote the changes you want to make. You will likely find there is less opposition, and if there is you have a number of people to advocate for the changes you recommend.
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