What does your church plan to do the last half of 2020?

If 2020 was a computer I think most of us would want to do a reboot. What a mess, and it's not likely to get much better since it's an election year. My question in the title isn't an easy one to answer because no one knows what the rest of the year will hold, but it's still a question church leaders need to be asking. Let me answer it the way I think I would answer it if I was still the pastor of a church.

I would begin with the mindset that a lot of people are frightened. Between the pandemic, the rioting in the streets, the escalating violence, the businesses being closed forcing people out of work, the continued gridlock in the political world due to our electing children to office, and the news media breathlessly telling us each night how the world is going to hell in a hand-basket, people are frightened.

With this in mind I would want to bring the people messages of encouragement and hope. I would want to remind them that God is still God, and nothing going on in this world is going to change that. The church is in a very unique position right now because it is the only entity that can deliver a message of hope to the people. The media certainly isn't interested in bringing messages of hope. Neither is the political world. In fact, they have no hope to offer. The church does. I have preached many sermons from 1 Peter 1:3 which reads, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." This is not a dead hope, but a living hope that is ours because Jesus Christ rose from the dead!

In that same sermon I also remind them of the words found in Romans 15: 13, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Right now you probably know a lot of people who not only want hope in their lives but also joy and peace. Well...here it is. You should note that we are to overflow with this hope. Why do we need to overflow? So we can splash some of it on those we meet who do not share our hope. People need hope, and the church is the one place that can offer it to them through the person of Jesus Christ.

The second thing I would do is to share the gospel with as many people as possible. Yes, I'm talking about evangelism, something we talk about more than we actually do. When people are in crisis they are more open to hearing the gospel, and many people are in crisis right now. This window of opportunity may not be open very long. Our nation, our world, needs God, and the church is called to bring people to Him. Let's be about the work our Lord gave us.

The third thing I would do is call the church to prayer. Like evangelism, prayer is something many of us talk about more than we do. If there was ever a time the church needs to take 2 Chronicles 7: 14 seriously, it is now. We need prayer warriors who will seek  the face of God asking Him to heal our land.

The fourth thing I would do is to help our church understand the challenges the church is going to face in the coming decade and how to effectively minister to those challenges. I've actually written a book about that very topic that I'm trying to get published, but so far I've not found a publisher or an agent interested in it. I firmly believe that ministry in the next ten years will look much different than past ministry has been, and if we try to just keep doing what we've done in the past we will fail to impact our world.

Focusing on those four things would probably be enough for the next six months!

Speak into the lives of others

Author Mark Sanborn has said, "Great leaders help people have a larger vision of themselves." One of the most important things we can do is to speak into the lives of other people words that will help them elevate their self-confidence and belief in their God-given gifts and abilities.

Several years ago I was assisting a church with their pastor search. This was a very strong church whose previous pastor had served there for over two decades. They were having a lot of trouble finding the person they believed God had prepared for them. One day I thought of a pastor serving a church not that far from the one seeking a new pastor. He had not expressed interest in leaving his church although I knew he was struggling with their unwillingness to do much despite his best leadership efforts.

I called this pastor and asked his permission to submit his name to this church. Like Moses, he kept telling me all the reasons he couldn't possibly become the pastor of that church. I kept telling him that I believed he was ready to serve that church, and I was convinced he would do a good job. He kept disagreeing with me. Finally, I asked him to do two things: He and his wife should pray about this, and I asked him to contact another minister whose opinion I knew he respected and ask him if he believed this pastor was ready to serve this larger church. A few days later he called and told me he had done both things I asked, and if I still believed he could do a good job in that church he would give me permission to give his name to the search team. He continues to serve that church well today. All he needed was someone to help him develop a larger vision of himself than he had.

As the pastor of a small, rural church I often told our congregation how much I believed in them. I told them that I believed in them more than some of them believed in themselves, and I would regularly challenge our church to stretch ourselves more than some felt comfortable. Because the church had struggled for years prior to my going there the first few challenges were rather small, but as the congregation successfully completed those challenges, the next ones became larger. Our congregation did some amazing things during my time there, and it was all because they began to see a larger vision of themselves. I believe they began to see themselves as God sees them.

Many people go through life beaten down by people who speak doubt and discouragement into them. Eventually, when you hear those negative messages often enough you begin to believe them, and soon a never-ending loop of self-doubt begins to run through your mind. This makes it hard for someone to accomplish much of value or to even see the use in trying to do anything.

Each of us needs people in our lives who will speak words of power and victory into our lives. We need to know people believe in us and want to see us succeed. Each of us also needs to be persons who are speaking such words into the lives of others. We may turn around the life of someone by the positive words we speak to them. At the very least, we may change someone's day just by letting them know we believe in them and so does God. Look for ways to speak these words to someone today.

Charlie Brown's Christmas

We watched Charlie Brown's Christmas last night. Even though I've seen it dozens of times it still makes me laugh and warms my heart. Like many of us, Charlie Brown is tired of the commercialization of Christmas, but it seems there is little he can do about it. It's not until Linus explains the true meaning of Christmas can Charlie Brown escape the holiday blues.

With Linus telling the biblical account of the birth of Jesus Christ I'm surprised this classic Christmas special is still being shown. I'll be even more surprised if someone doesn't condemn it as offensive or politically incorrect. In recent weeks we've seen Veggie Tales condemned as racist and dangerous to children due to the fact that the vegetables are various colors. Here's a news flash to the California college students who issued the condemnation: Vegetables are different colors! We've also seen radio stations stop playing Baby, It's Cold Outside because a handful of listeners found the song sexist. The book series 50 Shades of Grey has sold over 100 million copies, and this 1944 song has been declared sexist! We live in a strange world.

My prayer is that, like Charlie Brown, many will find the true meaning of Christmas to be encouraging. The holidays are always a difficult time for some people. It is a very stressful time with lots to do. The holidays also triggers painful memories for some people. We need to be aware that not everyone will have a wonderful Christmas season and find ways to come alongside those who might be hurting to offer comfort and love.

This is a time for churches to be especially aware of people who struggle during the Christmas season. It's easy to get caught up in our Christmas pageants and programs and forget that some people are alone and hurting. There is often much talk in churches during the holiday seasons about families, but let's remember that not everyone has a family to be with during the season.

The birth of Jesus Christ should bring hope to all people. Born in humble circumstances His birth was first announced to shepherds watching over their flocks in the field. This may not mean much until one learns that shepherds were not the most respected people in that society. This reminds us that Christ came for all people. No person, regardless of their situation, is excluded from the love, the hope and the acceptance He came to offer. Let's make sure that message gets out this Christmas season.

Don't give up the ship

Thousands of people have given me advice over the years. Some of it was very good, and some of it was rather poor. But, there are two pieces of advice I've remembered that have served me well.

In 1967 I enlisted in the US Navy and was sent to Great Lakes for Boot Camp. The first week there was mostly filling out forms, taking tests, and becoming prepared for the real training that would begin the next week. Another boot about half-way through his training was in charge of us that first week. I hated him. He was constantly yelling and asking us to do things I thought was stupid. It was a miserable week.

On the last night before we would cross the highway to where we would meet our Company Commander and begin training in earnest he called us all to the front of the barracks. He admitted he had been hard on us and assured us that we hadn't seen anything yet! He asked if we had questions about what our training would entail and tried to answer everyone's questions as best he could. He almost seemed human! His last comment to us was, "Just remember, the Navy will never ask you to do anything that is impossible to do. It may be difficult, but it will be doable." I reminded myself of that throughout my tour and beyond.

About ten years later I was being ordained as a deacon in our church. The final part of the service was the "Laying on of Hands." As I knelt in the front of the church all the ordained people in attendance formed a line and one-by-one came by to offer words of encouragement and/or a prayer. I have no idea what anyone said to me except for the last person in line. One of our deacons was from Scotland and as he leaned in to whisper in my ear all he said in his rich accent was "Don't give up the ship."

Ministry is often difficult and frustrating. I cannot tell you how many times in my 34 years of ministry I have thought back to that first week of boot camp and reminded myself that God also will not ask us to do the impossible. Difficult, yes. Challenging, yes. Impossible, no. "With God all things are possible."

There have also been many times when I've been tempted to leave it all and just walk away from the ministry. But, how can anyone walk away from God's call on their lives? This is who I am. This is what God has gifted me to do. I can't give up the ship.

It's funny that two people whose names I long ago forgot has had such an impact on my life through just one sentence each. In His wisdom God branded those words onto my spirit to encourage and strengthen me for the task He would give me.

Perhaps they will encourage and strengthen you today.

When things look dark remember Sunday's coming

Regular readers have probably noticed I've not posted any articles on my blog for the past several days. I was supposed to be gone on vacation. Unfortunately, due to several factors which included a kidney stone that decided to move on the first day, I didn't get to go anywhere. I ended up canceling the vacation but decided to go ahead with my plan to not write on the blog for the days I was supposed to be away.

It turned out to be quite a week with many things that could have been addressed. The church shooting in Charleston, the resignation of Tullian Tchividjian after his confession of an affair, and the SCOTUS ruling that makes same sex marriage legal in all 50 states would have likely been addressed if I had been blogging this past week.

As I've considered what to say about these events now that I'm back I decided to say very little. There has already been much written about each of them, and I'm sure that others will continue to write and discuss each of them. At this point, I don't think there is anything I could say that hasn't already been written, so I'm just going to say one thing and move on.

None of these events caught God by surprise. At no point this past week did God ever once look at what was occurring and shake his head in amazement. I'm sure some will ask that if God knew this young man was going to kill the people in the church why didn't God stop him? Why didn't God stop this young pastor from having the affair that forced him to resign from the pulpit at Coral Ridge Church? One atheist who supported the Supreme Court's decision on same sex marriage asked why, if God exists and is against such marriage, did he not answer the many prayers that Christians prayed that the court would not rule in favor of such marriages?

Quite honestly, I can't answer any of those questions and feel no reason to try. I guess if I could explain God's actions I would be God, and I'm not, and neither are you. What I do know is that God was not surprised by any of these events. I also know that he is still God, and in the end his decision on each of these events will be the only one that matters.

As we study the Bible we often find that the times were the darkest just before God turned things around. We see that scenario played out time and time again in the life of Israel in the Old Testament and even more in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

That Friday when Jesus died on the cross was the darkest day this world has ever known. No doubt, the demons of hell celebrated the death of the Son of God. Those who had followed Jesus must have felt that the world was coming to an end. What no one realized was that it was only Friday. Sunday was coming. When Sunday morning dawned the stone was rolled away, and the world hasn't been the same since.

No, the events of the past few days did not catch God by surprise, and Jesus is still alive. The church is not to give up hope. We are not to hide behind locked doors. We have work to do. God's will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven so let each of us be about our Father's business.

Learn to accept constructive criticism

No one enjoys being criticized. Pastors and church leaders receive more than their share of criticism from people who are often not aware of their facts or who have an agenda. However, there are those persons who sincerely want to help. Even thought their criticism may be painful to hear, it can lead to growth and a more effective ministry.

As most of my regular readers know, I began my pastoral ministry in 1981 with no education beyond high school. In the small, rural church I served that was not a major problem. A couple of years into my ministry I realized that I needed more education than I had and enrolled in a Bible school about an hour from my house.

Our church had one person with a college degree who had taught in the local school system for a number of years. One morning after the service she approached me with a concern about my poor grammar. She admitted that few people in our church would be bothered by it, but she also knew it was unlikely I would remain in that church forever. Her concern was that it could be a hindrance to my future ministry.

I admitted to her that I was not a good English student in school and was aware that this was a problem. I explained to her that I would be required to take two semesters of English in the school I was now attending and was hopeful I would learn proper English grammar.

She was correct; my ministry has not been limited to that congregation. I've had the opportunity to publish a number of books, speak to church leaders in numerous denominations in the US and Canada, and serve as a judicatory minister. I will never be mistaken for an English major, but what I learned in those two semesters have proven to be very helpful as my ministry has expanded.

My critic has moved, but we communicate once in a while by e-mail. Recently, I asked if she remembered that day when she challenged me about my poor grammar. She did remember and also remembered how difficult that conversation was for her. She did not want to hurt my feelings, but she also did not want my ministry to be limited by something that could be corrected. I assured her that I was never offended by her comments and appreciated her desire to see me grow.

The first thing you should do when someone criticizes you is to determine if there is any truth in their criticism. If there is, be glad they care enough to speak truth in your life even if it is painful.

The second thing you should do is to examine the motives behind the criticism. Are these mean-spirited people who want to hurt you, or they people who want to see you grow and develop into a more effective leader? Leaders need more of the second type of people in their lives because it is very easy for us to have blind spots when it comes to our own shortcomings.

Thirdly, you should ask yourself what God might be saying to you through your critics. If there is truth in the criticism that might be an indication that God is speaking to you through these people. That's why it's always important to listen to the critics.

Finally, you have to decide how you will respond to the criticism. When such criticism is well-meaning and contains truth it is often a mistake to ignore it. Explore ways you might be able to address it in a positive way. Learn new skills or develop new habits that can have a more positive impact on your ministry or on you personally. We all have room to grow, and constructive criticism can often point out some of those areas.

How can denominations better serve their bivocational churches and pastors?

Last Friday my blog addressed the potential decline in denominational life as we now know it.  In the post I listed several reasons for this decline that came from the book Unfinished Business: Returning the Ministry to the People of God by Greg Ogden.  In addition to the reasons he named I suggested one additional reason: the failure of denominations to recognize and resource their bivocational churches and pastors.  You can read that blog post here.  I promised that I would suggest some ways denominations could better support their bivocational churches in a later blog, and that is what this post will address.

I frequently receive e-mails from bivocational pastors who tell me they feel lonely and ignored by their denominations.  Because of their other jobs they often cannot attend pastor gatherings held during the day time.  Many tell me they seldom, if ever, see their denominational leaders.  I once asked a bivocational pastor who was seeking a move to another church if he had told his judicatory leader of his interest in moving.  He responded that he had been in his church for five years, and his DOM wouldn't know him if he walked into his office.  I hear similar stories from bivocational pastors serving in numerous denominations.

The first thing a denomination can do to support their bivocational ministers is by simply being present.  I had two Area Ministers during my 20 year pastorate, and both of them attended at least one worship service at our church during their tenures.  One attended my mother's funeral service.  I spent time with each of them at various times in my ministry.  Some of those times they assisted with issues we had in the church.  Other times they were leading workshops in our church or preaching revivals.  I had an excellent relationship with both men and knew I could call on them at any time. Our region had three Executive Ministers during my pastorate, and all three of them preached in worship services in our church.  My church and I felt very supported even though we were a small, rural bivocational church.

I should say a word to bivocational pastors right here.  I was often asked how I got these folks to speak in our church, and the answer is quite simple.  I asked them.  We can't always place the blame on the denominational persons.  Now that I serve in that capacity I can tell you that we normally go where we are invited.  If I have a free Sunday then I will go to a church I haven't visited for awhile, but I don't have too many free Sundays. I have 133 churches in my area so I'm usually committed to going somewhere just about every Sunday.  It's not easy for me to just "drop" in on a Sunday.  I understand a pastor's frustration at never seeing or hearing from their denominational leaders, but sometimes you have not because you ask not.

Bivocational ministers run the gamut when it comes to theological education.  I've heard from some that never completed high school to others who have PhDs.  Some who have advanced degrees have them in fields other than theology or ministry.  Many bivocational ministers need practical ministry and theological training.  Few of them are going to be able to uproot their families and go off to college and/or seminary, so denominations need to find ways to offer the education and training they need.

Our region offers a program called the Church Leadership Institute (CLI) that is designed for both lay leaders and bivocational ministers.  We now have several CLI graduates pastoring some of our bivocational churches. and these individuals are doing a very good job.  CLI was never designed to replace a seminary education, but it does provide solid, practical ministry training as well as an introductory theological education.  We see the need to expand this program and have increased the number of sites where CLI is offered to make it more accessible and we're currently exploring offering it online.  Every denomination needs to look into offering something similar.

While there are many things that denominations need to do to support and encourage their bivocational ministers I will just mention one more in this post.  How often does your denomination showcase bivocational ministers?  Does your denomination ever have a bivocational minister speak at its annual meetings?  Is the good work done in some of your bivocational churches ever recognized in your denominational newsletters or at your major gatherings?  Are your bivocational ministers ever offered opportunities to serve on your regional boards or other significant denominational positions?

For a number of years our region recognized "Church of the Year" churches.  Similar size churches competed with one another for the award. The church I pastored received it twice, and that recognition did much to encourage our small church.  As a bivocational pastor I was asked to work with a number of our churches, both bivocational and fully-funded, in a major capital funds campaign our denomination conducted one year.  At our recent region biennial a bivocational pastor was asked to speak to the gathering about some ministries their church was doing and the impact it was having on its community.  These types of public recognition are not always found in every denomination, but they should be.

Bivocational churches are growing rapidly across denominations.  Many of them are providing wonderful ministry to their communities.  These churches and their pastors need support and encouragement from their denominations as well as the resources they need to take their ministries up to another level.  The denominations that offer such to their bivocational churches will flourish in the coming years.

How can we make sense of suffering?

I have shared in this space before how much I enjoy the writing of Ravi Zacharias, one of the fine apologists of our time.  I listen frequently to his podcasts as well and enjoy them as much as his books.  He is not afraid to take on the toughest challenges to the Christian faith, and in his book Why Suffering?: Finding Meaning and Comfort When Life Doesn't Make Sense he does just that.  In fact, in the book he admits that "The question of pain and suffering provides the greatest challenge to belief in God."

The reason suffering is such a problem for many skeptics is due to what they call an insoluble trilemma.  They make three claims and insist these are irreconcilable.  These claims are

1. God is all-powerful: He can do anything He wills.
2. God is all-loving: He cares with an intense value for His creation.
3. Evil is a reality: Suffering is an all-pervading part of this world.

On the surface it would appear that these statements are irreconcilable.  If God is all powerful and all loving, the question is then asked why does such evil exist? Obviously, at least one of them cannot be true, and since no one can deny that evil is a reality, one of the others must not be true.  Either God is not all-powerful or He is not all-loving.  If either of these are not true then, according to the skeptic, belief in God is irrational.

The trilemma is introduced in the first chapter, and in the remainder of the book Zacharias responds to it and proves that faith in God is rational and that there is meaning in suffering that mankind does not always understand.  As he begins his defense of the Christian faith he asks a question, "Why is it that we finite, self-serving, time-constrained, so-often-wrong human beings think we have all the wisdom needed in which to castigate God and hold Him before the bar of our wisdom within our timetable?"

I have read most of Zacharias' books and believe this one to be one of his most valuable, especially for pastors.  Every week we deal with people who are experiencing suffering of one type or another.  Every Sunday when we step into our pulpits we are speaking to hurting people.  For some of them, their pain is so severe that they are not sure how they will move forward with their lives.  Others are struggling to hold on to their faith and are not even sure they want to.  They question what have they done to deserve this pain they are experiencing?  Where is God?  Does He care?  If He doesn't care about what I'm going through why should I care about Him?  For some it's less painful to decide that perhaps God doesn't even exist than to believe that He doesn't care.

There is a good chance, pastor, that as you stand in your pulpit you are speaking to people who are struggling with these very questions and hoping you will give them answers to those questions.  I believe this book can help you answer those questions and give your people the comfort, the meaning, and the hope they need.

When your days are shorter than your "to-do" list

Just about everybody complains about being too busy today.  There are so many things demanding our attention that it seems like we are constantly running and going nowhere.  This is often true for bivocational ministers who are trying to balance the demands of a job, a ministry, a family, and if there is any time left over they would like to spend a little time with God.  Of course, without that time with God we will eventually find ourselves drying up on the inside until we have nothing to give to our families, our job, and our ministries.  Oh yea, I haven't even mentioned having any "me" time so we can do some things that we enjoy doing for ourselves.  How do we cope when our days are consistently shorter than our "to-do" lists?

I've addressed this in my book The Healthy Pastor: Easing the Pressures of Ministry.  There are things we can do to intentionally address the various demands on our lives and live a healthier and more fulfilling life.  Since coming back from a two-week vacation this past weekend I've had people ask how I could take off for two weeks.  I just smiled and told them to read the book!

Jon Acuff, in his excellent book Start: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average and Do Work that Matters, shares a five-step secret to getting it all done.  This is great advice for persons who are overwhelmed by all the things they need to accomplish.

1. Admit that you can't possibly get it all done.
2. Give yourself the grace to accept that as reality, not failure.
3. Do the things you can do with your full attention.
4. Celebrate what happens during Step 3 instead of obsessing over the things you didn't get to.
5. Repeat as necessary.

This is great advice from a great book.  I recently finished re-reading this book and will read it again next year.  I frequently recommend it to young people starting out in life and to those of us who are a little more seasoned but sometimes feel stuck or trapped.  I think it is a must read for persons serving in bivocational ministries.

Often, those in bivocational ministry struggle with doubts about their calling.  They hear the people who question their commitment and/or abilities.  They look at their (usually) smaller congregations and wonder if their service is really making a difference.  Then there is the fear.  They fear they are short-changing their families.  They fear the stress that often comes from ministry will damage their health.  They fear that their critics may be right: maybe they do lack commitment and/or abilities. The list goes on.

Actually, instead of beginning the above sentences with "they" I should have used the word "we."  I've been in bivocational ministry since 1981, and I've experienced each of these doubts and fears on more than one occasion.  But, I've also learned a few things along the way.  I've learned that God does call persons to serve in bivocational roles, and that calling is just as valid as the call to fully-funded ministry.  I've learned that my ministry does make a difference to the persons I serve and to the Kingdom of God.  I've also learned that I don't have to check everything off my "to-do" list to be an effective minister and pleasing to God.  I can't do it all, and that's OK.  I can live a balanced life, and that's even better.

Acuff affirms all these learnings and blesses me with even more insights about how to overcome a life that can quickly become overwhelming and out of balance.  It is a book I wish was available when I was a much younger minister.  It may have saved me a few sleepless nights.

The importance of preaching

During my twenty year bivocational pastorate I preached a few "Saturday-night specials."  It didn't happen often, and I was never pleased when it did happen.  Some of those sermons worked out pretty good, but most of them were terrible flops.  More than once I complained to my wife on our way home that I felt like I wasted everyone's time that day.

Although I would have argued at the time that those poor sermons were the result of an ultra-busy week, the truth is that they were the result of poor use of my time.  If God calls a person to preach then that person has an obligation to be prepared regardless of the workload that particular week.  Preaching on Sunday gives a minister, especially one who is bivocational, the single best opportunity that week to impact his or her congregation.  Being unprepared is unacceptable.  After all, it should not come as a surprise to a pastor that Sundays come every seven days.

Unfortunately, not all pastors feel as I do.  As I am in a different church nearly every week I have the opportunity to hear a lot of different pastors in both larger and smaller churches.  More times than I want to remember I have left a worship service and wondered all the way home what the purpose might be of the message I just heard. 

Just a few weeks ago I attended such a service.  The pastor read a text and then preached a message that had little, if anything, to do with that text.  He would go one way for awhile and then begin talking about something else before jumping off on another point.  None of them connected with one another or with the text or what was supposed to be the theme that Sunday.  After the service I told my wife I felt like the sermon had been put together during the Sunday school hour.

Years ago I heard the joke about the pastor who wrote on his sermon outline next to one point "Point weak - talk louder."  This pastor must have thought that was actual advice because it seemed the weaker his points were the faster and louder he talked.  If that is a steady diet of the quality of sermons this congregation is receiving then I am sad for them.  My hope is that this was just an off-day for the pastor.  Any pastor who has been in the ministry for any time at all will have some Sundays when his or her message just doesn't connect as well in its delivery as it did in the study.  (Believe me, I've had those Sundays as well!)  But, I've been around enough of this kind of preaching to know that too many pastors have off-days 52 times a year.

When a pastor preaches many opportunities exist.  People's lives can be changed as they accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior or as they learn more biblical ways to approach some of the challenges they are facing.  People can be encouraged and filled with renewed hope.  Vision can be cast that will lead the church into more effective ways of doing ministry.  People can be discipled as they are exposed to more of God's truth and how it applies to their lives.  Those who are grieving can be reassured that God has not abandoned them.  People can be led to worship God and encounter him in new and exciting ways.  The list goes on and on.

But, without good, biblically-based preaching none of these things are likely to happen.  In those churches where the preaching is weak the people come and return home inspired to eat lunch.  Nothing life changing happens in a church when the pastor does not take his or her preaching duties seriously.  I truly believe this is why we see so many dead and dying churches.  When there is a fire in the pulpit there will be a fire in the pew, but when the pulpit is weak so will be the church.

As I said earlier, there is no greater opportunity to touch people's lives than that period of time they allow you to speak to them from the pulpit.  If you are a pastor you need to come to the pulpit each Sunday with a fresh word from God's Word that will touch people's hearts and change their lives.  Your message must not only be biblical; it must be developed in a way that clearly communicates to those who will hear it.  It should end with a clear call to action so the people will know how they should respond to what they've just heard.

Leaders set the mood

Those of you who know me know that for several years I managed a small  business our family owned.  The first several years was enjoyable and profitable.  (Funny how those things go together!)  The last several years of owning that business it was neither of those things.  A combination of the economy turning sour and several mistakes I made eventually led to our having to close the company.  I have written an e-book about those mistakes that is available here.

One of the mistakes I made was that I stopped being positive about the company and its future.  I would go into the office obviously discouraged and downcast.  I had plenty of good reasons for feeling that way, but my attitude affected everyone who worked there.  Because of me it was not a pleasant place to work.  Our folks were trying and working hard, but I'm sure they didn't feel their efforts were appreciated by me.  I'm also sure there were many days they were hoping I wouldn't even show up because my depressed attitude brought everyone else down.

Leaders do set the mood for the organization they lead, and this is true of churches as well.  As I meet with pastors I'm often bothered by how many have such negative feelings towards their current ministries and members in their congregations.  When I visit their churches I'm not surprised that it is not an exciting place of worship and ministry.  One could ask the chicken and egg question, I suppose.  Is the negative atmosphere in the church the cause of the pastor's discouragement or is the pastor's attitude responsible for the negative atmosphere?  Either could be true for different churches, but one thing I know is that things will never turn around in the church until the pastor's attitude towards it changes.  Until the pastor becomes positive about the opportunities that exist in the church no one else there will, and things will continue their downward spiral.

In 1994 H. B. London, Jr. and Neil Wiseman wrote what I believe to be a classic for pastors titled The Heart of a Great Pastor: How to Grow Stronger and Thrive Wherever God Has Planted You.  One of the things they wrote in their book has stuck with me all these years: "Most desirable places were difficult until a previous pastor loved the church into greatness."  Throughout the book they emphasize that our current ministries are holy ground and should be treated as such.  Rather than complain about how difficult our churches are, our attitude should be that God has called us to this place for such a time as this.  The church you currently serve will either be better or worse when you leave it, and our intention should be that it will be better.  What might happen if, instead of complaining and criticizing, we determined we would love it into greatness?

This doesn't ignore the fact that churches can be difficult to lead.  I served as a pastor for twenty years so I understand the frustration that comes with the position.  As I've told people in the past, I resigned from my church many times on a Monday morning.  I just had the good sense not to tell anyone but God, and before the week was over he was always able to help me begin to see things through his eyes.  I often told our congregation in my messages how much I loved them and how much they meant to me, and I was quite honest when I said those things.  The church was a much different place when I left that it was when I arrived, and I believe part of the reason was that they had a pastor who loved them.

Since my business closed I've often wondered why I could take that same positive attitude to that endeavor that I had with the church, and I've not found an answer to that question.  I am certain if I projected the negative emotions I felt with the business onto the church that the church would have never become the positive place it was when I left.  Just know this, as a leader in your church your attitudes will set the mood for the entire church. 

Small church conference

 



This past Saturday I had the privilege of speaking at a Small Church Conference in Massachusetts.  The Old Colony Baptist association had been planning this event for several months and did a great job of promoting it, bringing in workshop leaders, and arranging for an excellent event for small church leaders in that association and throughout Massachusetts.  Diane Badger and her team deserve a great round of applause as does the host church who was so hospitable and made the event even more enjoyable.  About 100 people participated in the conference, and the response I've seen on social media and from comments by the participants the day of the event have been very positive.

I frequently hear from bivocational and small church leaders that they want these kinds of events in their judicatories and often voice a great deal of frustration to me that they aren't scheduled more often.  Here was an example of an association that decided to not wait for someone else to schedule something they wanted.  They did it on their own, and the interesting thing is that when they did they found others who would come alongside and help with the funding and promotion.  They also opened it up to churches throughout their judicatory which allowed many more people to attend than would have if they had limited it to just their association.

These types of events could also be offered in conjunction with other events such as denominational annual and biennial meetings and the various national gatherings denominations hold.  One track at such events could be focused on bivocational and small church ministry with one or more speakers who would speak specifically to the leaders of those churches.  I've been fortunate in the past few years to lead workshops at a number of these types of events for several different denominations.  Most of them drew leaders from smaller churches who said they probably would not have attended the larger gathering if nothing had been offered specifically for them.

One of the things that is important for these types of events is to make sure that they are open to the lay leadership and not just pastoral leadership.  Several pastors who attended this recent Saturday event said that one of the things they appreciated was that their lay leaders who attended got to hear someone else say some things they had been trying to explain to their churches.  These pastors felt that this would make a difference in their churches as they went forward.

Many in denominational leadership recognize that the numbers of bivocational ministers are growing in their denominations.  They are very aware of the large numbers of smaller churches in their denominations that are led by both bivocational and fully-funded pastors, and they are also not blind to the fact that many of these smaller churches are doing good ministry.  But, too often we are still not providing these leaders and churches with the training opportunities focused on their needs that they need.  It's time we in judicatory and denominational leadership become much more intentional about providing those types of events.  I believe that if we do so we will find that it is an investment that will pay great returns.

Ministry challenges in the 21st century for bivocational ministers

"Bivocational ministers have the same responsibilities as fully-funded ministers.  There are sermons to prepare each week, people who seek counsel, conflicts that arise in the church, administrative tasks, meetings to coordinate and attend, congregants who need to be visited, and the various other general expectations people have of ministers, regardless of church size.

"There are also challenges associated with living in the 21st century.  It's not easy to be a minister today.  The way people think and believe is rapidly changing.  Expectations are higher today than ever before, and if people can't get their expectations met, they will simply move on to another church.  Denominational affiliation matters little in the 21st century.  If people have to attend two or three different churches to have their expectations met, they will do so.  In the past, it was enough for ministers to be able to exegete the Scriptures in order to preach to people.  Today it is just as important to exegete the culture to understand how best to reach it, but when we do so, we begin to see just how difficult it is to minister to this postmodern, pre-Christian society in which we live."

This is an excerpt from my latest book The Art and Practice of Bivocational Ministry: A Pastor's Guide.  In the book I go on to discuss several of the reasons it is so difficult to minister today.  I will just list them here.

• Rejection of Absolute Truth - It is very difficult to proclaim Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life and the only way to God to a culture that sees all truth as relative.  With the rejection of absolute truth also comes a rejection of absolute morality so we find ourselves living in a society in which everyone does what seems right in their own eyes.
• Generational Differences - It can be a challenge to develop a worship service that will be meaningful to four and even, in some churches, five generations.  Preparing a message that will speak to each generation at the same time will also be difficult.
• Membership Issues - We live in a time in which people have little interest in joining organizations but are very interested in being involved in things they find meaningful.  Many churches will need to revisit their membership requirements or risk losing talented people.
• Rapid Cultural Changes - Society is changing at a much quicker pace than most churches to the point that the church is always playing catch-up.

In addition there are some challenges unique to bivocational ministers that are also addressed in the book.  These include

• Time Constraints
• Self-esteem Issues
• Lack of Support
• Challenges of Serving in Smaller Churches

The book does more than just identify the challenges.  It uses real-life examples of individuals I have coached who were wrestling with many of these problems and shows how we were able to help them overcome their challenges.  This is an excellent book for bivocational ministers, for denominational leaders who work with pastors, and with lay leaders of bivocational churches.  It will help you coach yourself through some of the challenges you face, give you some tools you can use to assist others, and encourage you as you read the stories of others who overcame the same obstacles you face.

The power of the pulpit in the small church

As a judicatory leader I get to visit a lot of churches.  This past Sunday I visited a small church that had about 35 people in the service.  The pastor preached from the book of Philemon and delivered a message I had never heard anyone preach from that book.  I thought the message was very well done and applicable to people's lives.  He had obviously spent time in preparing his message.  The only problem was that more people were not there to hear it.

Contrast that to other churches I have visited.  Obviously, the bar for excellent preaching has been set very low in those churches, and their pastors only sometimes hit that bar.  I have left many of those churches wondering why anyone attends there.  It certainly is not for the sermons.  Those pastors seemed bored in the pulpit, and too many of the messages felt like something that was put together quickly on a Saturday night perhaps from something they found on the Internet.  The message certainly did not seem to have inspired the preacher so it should not be a surprise if it doesn't inspire the listeners either.  I always leave those churches sad at the missed opportunities the pastor had to speak words of life to the congregation.

In larger churches there are usually many opportunities to speak to the membership.  Those churches have something going on five or six nights a week.  In the smaller church the best opportunity for the pastor to speak to the membership is on Sunday morning.  For many of the congregation, that is the only time they will be at the church all week.  This is the time for the pastor to speak words of encouragement and challenge to those he or she has been called to lead.  This is also the time to cast vision and speak of what God wants to do in and through that church.  It is critical that the small church pastor make the best use of his or her pulpit ministry.

This demands that sermon preparation remains a priority.  Sometimes, this can be challenging especially for the bivocational pastor who is trying to squeeze many activities into a limited number of hours.  During my pastorate I fired a few  "Saturday night specials" into the congregation, and most of them were instantly forgettable.  The messages that spoke to the congregation were usually the ones I had invested time in preparing.

A minister can block off time for various ministry activities, but that will usually last only until the telephone rings.  The pastor who can set aside Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings for sermon preparation is usually one who has staff available to run to the hospital when a member goes in and other people to handle various other responsibilities. That will not describe most bivocational ministers.  We may want to do sermon preparation at certain times during the week, but we also know that will only happen if an emergency doesn't occur that requires our attention elsewhere.  At the same time we cannot neglect sermon preparation by using those emergencies as an excuse.  Sermon preparation must be a priority which means we simply have to spend time working on our sermons.

One of the things that helped me as a pastor is when I began to plan out a preaching schedule three months in advance.  I would take a couple of sheets of paper in the fall of the year, write out the dates for each Sunday in the upcoming year in the margin, make note of any special days such as Easter, and then begin praying about what I needed to preach each Sunday.  I would often preach series of sermons so my planning had some continuity.  In the summer I would often preach through a book of the Bible so I would write down a possible title based on the various texts found in that particular book.  By knowing what I was going to preach in advance, when that week came I could focus on preparing that message.  I didn't have to spend half the week trying to decide what to preach.  It was also a big help to those who planned our worship services knowing three months out what my sermon topics would be.  I felt it made our worship services better as the entire service was built around the sermon for that day.

I encourage pastors to make their preaching a priority.  Invest in good books to help you research your sermons.  Invest enough time to do quality study, and spend the time necessary to create a good flow to your sermon.  I hear too many pastors who don't seem to know how to end their sermon.  They keep flying around and around repeating themselves over and over, and I want to scream, "Just land the plane!"  To me it just shows they did not spend sufficient time in preparing their sermon.

One last thing I'll address: please make your sermons apply to the real lives of people.  Too many sermons may be theologically sound, but they have no application to anyone's life.  People want to know how the Bible speaks to the situations they face in life, and if you cannot show any application they just have to assume it is irrelevant to modern society.  Of course, the Bible does speak to today's world, but it is up to us in the pulpit to help others see that.

What do bivocational ministers want?

My newest book is scheduled for release on October 1.  The title is The Art and Practice of Bivocational Ministry: A Pastor's Guide.  This book comes out of my doctoral thesis work that looked at how coaching can be a useful tool to help bivocational ministers address some of the challenges they face.  The final chapter was written specifically for denominational and judicatory leaders who work with bivocational ministers.  It focuses on what these leaders need to know about their bivocational ministers and how they can best help them.  The topics addressed in this chapter are:

• Bivocational ministers feel called to bivocational ministry.  For most this is not option 2.  They feel specifically called to be bivocational ministers, and they want that call affirmed by others.
• Bivocational ministers feel isolated.  It is hard for them to attend denominational events that are often scheduled during a weekday or to even meet with other pastors in the same association.  As a judicatory leader I know it is much easier to schedule a meeting with a fully-funded pastor because we can usually meet for breakfast, lunch, or at the church office.  One must be much more intentional to arrange a meeting with a bivocational minister, and too often such meetings do not happen leading to that sense of isolation.
• Bivocational ministers want relevant training.  Although some have a seminary education, many do not.  Today there are many ways to provide such training, and I am convinced this is something that denominations need to intentionally address.  The chapter discusses several ways these ministers can get the training they need and want.
• Bivocational ministers want to live balanced lives.  Almost everyone in bivocational ministry struggles with time issues.  Many of them need help in time management and need permission to be able to say no to the unrealistic expectations others might have of them.  They also need us to begin to educate congregations about what they can expect from a bivocational minister.
• Bivocational ministers are an asset to your churches.  Every denominational leader with whom I've spoken in recent years have told me the numbers of bivocational ministers are growing, and they expect that to continue.  The good news is that studies show that these ministers provide very effective ministry to their churches.  They deserve our support and affirmation.

The chapters leading up to this final chapter examine bivocational ministry and the benefits they can receive from having a relationship with a ministry coach.  The book includes ten case studies of bivocational ministers I have coached and how we addressed the issues they presented during our relationship.  Those issues are very common to bivocational and most fully-funded ministers.  I believe the ministers reading this book will find some answers to some of the challenges they face.

You can pre-order The Art and Practice of Bivocational Ministry: A Pastor's Guide from amazon.com for only $11.24.

Hitting the wall

I've heard runners often talk about hitting the wall during a distance run.  There comes a time in the race when they feel they have nothing left and everything within them is screaming for them to quit.  While some runners will quit, others push through that wall and refuse to give up.  Once they get past that wall their energy seems to rise back up in them making them able to finish the race.

There often comes a time in the lives of ministers when we feel as if we've hit the wall.  We've given everything we have to give and feel drained physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  It is  during those times that the enemy comes whispering doubts and frustrations into our minds.  We've sacrificed so much for the church and ministry, and our minds begin to ask, "Why?  What difference has it made?"  The lies continue, "No one cares about me or my family.  I haven't had a decent raise in years.  Everyone else can take a Sunday off to attend a family event or a ball game, but if I even suggested I wanted to do something like that our church would have a fit."  At times, it seems like the liar is sitting on our shoulders whispering frustration and defeat into our thoughts.

This is what I call hitting the wall in the ministry, and I will confess I have been there more than once during my 30+ years in the ministry.  More than once I thought about walking away and turning my back on the call God had on my life.  I had convinced myself that nothing I was doing was making any difference anyway, so why bother.  I was tired, discouraged, angry, and despressed.  I had given everything I had to give, and it seemed I was the only one who cared.  Oh, believe me, I have thrown some great pity parties for myself, some of which lasted for weeks.  The problem with pity parties is, as Zig Ziglar used to say, no one comes to them.  We have to attend our pity parties by ourselves.

The thing we must do when such thoughts threaten to overwhelm us is to remember that they are all a lie.  We have to take our eyes off the lies and begin to refocus on what is true.  Some of the truths that has helped me get through the wall are:

• God has called me to this work.  As a bivocational minister I chose my other career, but God called me to the ministry.  That sense of being called was always a powerful weapon against the lies the enemy tried to get me to believe.  For me, I could walk away from a career.  It would be much tougher to walk away from a call of God on my life.
• What I did mattered.  For some people, it would matter for all eternity.  People's lives were changed because of the ministry I did.  I didn't touch thousands of people each week in the small, rural church I pastored, but my ministry did touch some who would have never been touched in a mega-church, and their lives were different because I helped introduce them to God and the life he had for them. 
• People did care about me and my family.  They proved it when I was approached and asked if I would agee to meet with a group of people in our church who wanted to gather every Sunday evening for a time of prayer for me and my family.  They proved it when they sent cards and notes thanking me for some act of ministry I had done for their family or sometimes just for being their pastor.  They proved it when they agreed to give me four weeks vacation instead of the two weeks so many bivocational pastors get.  They proved it again when they let me skip an occasional church activity to do something special with my family.
• I may not have received a lot of big raises, especially in my early years as the pastor of our church, but we never went hungry.  The Lord provided through my other job, and when our church's finances improved so did my salary and benefit package.  I'm certain I was one of the few bivocational ministers in our region whose church enrolled me in our denominational pension plan and paid their full share into the plan.  As I get closer to that time of retirement I am thankful for their consideration. 

Every minister will hit the wall at one time or another, and the enemy will use that time to try to drive us away from our calling.  It is vital that we refuse to listen to the lies and focus on the things that are true about our ministries.  Look at the victories that you have enjoyed in the ministry.  Look at the people's lives who are different because of how you ministered to them.  Spend time with people who will lift you up (upstairs people) instead of people who want to pull you down to their level (basement people).  At the same time, take care of yourself.  Get plenty of sleep and exercise.  Eat healthy meals.  Spend time with your family.  Practice good self-care.  If you'll do those things and focus on the positive things mentioned elsewhere you go through the wall and slam the enemy of your soul into his own wall!

Motivating volunteers in the church

I've just started reading a new book The Carrot Principle: How the Best Managers Use Recognition to Engage Their People, Retain Talent, and Accelerate Performance [Updated & Revised] by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton.  The book is based on a 10-year study of 200,000 managers and employees and is obviously written primarily for business leaders and managers.  However, even though I have just started reading the book, I am finding some principles that can certainly transfer to ministry leaders as well.  We often note that leading volunteers in a church is difficult because there is little we can do to motivate them.  When we say that we are probably referring to the fact that they are not getting paid.  As this book, and other studies, point out, money is not a primary motivator for most people.  A much more important motivator is recognition and appreciation for their work.

The authors write, "79 percent of employees who quit their jobs cite a lack of appreciation as a key reason for leaving.  Sixty-five percent of North Americans report that they weren't recognized in the least bit in the previous year."  Over three-fourths of people who quit their jobs do so because they did not believe anyone appreciated their efforts.  It had nothing to do with money.  They refer to another study that asked employees what they really wanted from their jobs.  Number one was the opportunity to grow on the job, number two was recognition, and number three was pay.  Again, recognition was more important to these employees than their salaries.

If we transfer this thinking to the church it's easy to see that recognition and appreciation is what will motivate our volunteers, and yet I'm not sure that happens very often in many churches.  I think back to my pastoral ministry, and I can remember two individuals who were very involved in the life of our church.  They faithfully served for many years in a number of capacities.  In time, both dropped out of active involvement.  One told me she was burned out from all she was doing and needed to step back.  She never became as involved in our church as she was previously.  Another individual left our church and never told anyone why.  Until recently.  I was talking to him recently and he confided that the reason he left our church was because he felt burned out with all he was doing and didn't know what to do about it.  Chances are there were others who felt the same thing that I am not aware of.

As I began reading the reasons why people left their jobs I realized it was the same reason these two individuals dropped out of their church roles.  Our church never did anything to intentionally recognize our workers.  I might make a comment once in a while from the pulpit about a specific activity and the persons leading it, but that did not happen nearly often enough.  Like too many church leaders I'm afraid I assumed their dedication to God and to our church was enough for our volunteers. As a pastor I should have known better.  What pastor has not had periods when he or she felt unappreciated by the congregation and thought of leaving for another place of service?  Why would we not recognize that those who volunteer in our churches might feel the same way?

If we want people to engage in the life of our churches we need to do a better job of demonstrating our appreciation for their work.  We need to recognize those who are doing an excellent job.  Such recognition needs to happen publicly and privately.  We must become very intentional about showing our appreciation.  We can do that by having appreciation dinners, by making sure they have the resources they need, by providing learning opportunities for them so they can grow in the ministries they are doing, by speaking words of appreciation to them at various times, and by asking them what challenges they are facing in their tasks.  This is certainly not an all-inclusive list; you need to find the methods of expressing appreciation that will work best in your church.  But, the key thing here is that you become much more intentional about demonstrating that appreciation.

I seldom recommend a book until I've read all of it, but this one has really spoken to me in the first few pages.  I think it's a must read for church leaders.  You can order it by clicking on the title above.

The power of having a prayer team

One of the best things that ever happened in my pastoral ministry occurred in 1997.  Three men from our church went with me to the Promise Keeper's event in Washington, DC.  As we returned home they asked if they could meet with me once a week for prayer.  When they had returned to the hotel room that night and began to talk about the day each of them felt led to be part of a prayer team who would pray for me, my wife, and our church.  When our bus stopped for breakfast they approached me about the idea, and of course I agreed to it.  They shared what they wanted to do with others in the church, and from that point forward several individuals and I would meet in a Sunday school class room about a half hour before our Sunday evening service where they would pray for me, my wife, and our church.  No matter how difficult a week I might have had, I knew there were people in our church praying for me and that we would gather on Sunday evening for a time of special prayer.  To this day I believe that our small church was able to do some incredible things as a direct result of those times of prayer.

If I returned to pastoral ministry one of the first things I would do is to invite a group of people to become my prayer partners.  Ministry is tough and often feels very lonely.  To know there are individuals committed to praying for you is a great source of encouragement.  It serves as a reminder that you are not alone in what you are doing and that there are people who care very much for you and your family.  It was also a reminder that we were engaged in spiritual warfare, and the Christian has no greater weapon than prayer when doing battle with the enemy.

Many pastors I know feel that they have few people they can turn to when facing challenges in their lives or ministries.  Some are afraid to appear weak to members of their congregation so they don't confide in people when they are struggling.  There were times in my own ministry when I felt like that, but those times ended when we began our prayer team.  One of our leaders would usually begin our time by asking how they could pray for me, and that gave me permission to share the things that might have been going on in my life, in my family, or concerns I had about the church.  Then the people gathered in that classroom would begin to pray one by one.  More than once I would have tears in my eyes as I heard these men and women praying specifically for me and the concerns I had.  Once in a while we would still be praying when the service began in the sanctuary because our time of prayer had been so powerful.

There was another thing that occurred as a result of that prayer team meeting.  They would often pray for my wife as well when we met.  One Sunday morning the person who prayed for our offering mentioned my wife in his prayer.  On our way home I noticed she had tears running down her face.  When I asked what was wrong, she said that was the first time she had ever heard anyone other than me pray out loud for her.  It deeply touched her and reminded her how important she was to our church and to my ministry.

If you don't have a prayer team in your church that meets regularly to pray for the pastor it is important that one is started as soon as possible.  I would never want to pastor again without such a prayer team.  You can read more about this and other ways to ease some of the pressures of ministry in my book The Healthy Pastor: Easing the Pressures of Ministry.

My workshops

In the past several weeks I've had a number of bivocational ministers asking if I was scheduled to lead any of my workshops in their areas.  In every case the answer was no.  I am doing workshops in the Great Rivers Region in Illinois this week and another one in Michigan later in the year at an annual meeting of a state convention, and those are the only two I currently have scheduled this year.  Most years I will lead 3-5 workshops so this is a slow year, but that happens sometimes.

I only go where I am invited, so anyone who is interested in one of my workshops should contact their state convention, judicatory leader, or denominational leader and ask them to invite me to lead a workshop for their pastors and lay leaders.  Although I serve in the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky, I have led my workshops for Southern Baptists, General Baptists, Church of the Nazarene, Salvation Army, United Methodist, Wesleyan, Atlantic Baptist Mission (Canada), and Lutheran.  I am willing to work with any denomination or group that wants to encourage and equip their bivocational leaders and the churches they serve.  I have also done workshops for interdenominational events held at universities.

The workshops I currently offer are:

• Bivocational Ministry in the 21st Century
• The Healthy Small Church
• Transitioning the Small Church from Maintenance-Minded to Missional
• The Healthy Pastor
• Church Hospitality: How to Turn First Time Guests Into Followers of Christ
• Coaching Bivocational Ministers for Greater Ministry Effectiveness  (This workshop is primarily for judicatory leaders who want a tool they can use to better serve their bivocational leaders.)

Most of these workshops are available in a 90 minute format, a half-day format, or a full day event.  I prefer the full day workshops as they permit the most coverage of the topic, but I have adapted them to fit the needs of the inviting agencies.

Because of my work I limit myself to 5-6 workshops a year outside of our Region, so it is important that people contact me as soon as they can to get me on their schedule.  There is still time to schedule me for an event this fall although 2013 is filling up with other activities.  Again, if you are interested in attending one of my workshops, talk with someone who can host an event and ask them to invite me.  I'll be more than happy to speak with them about their needs.

Bivocational ministers are found around the world

This past weekend I received a message from a Facebook friend from Brazil.  He is attending seminary preparing for the ministry.  He speaks no English and uses Google translator to communicate with his English speaking friends.  His message was to thank me for my books which he has found has been a great encouragement to him and very helpful.  I am assuming one of the books he has read is Conciliando Profissa E Ministeri which is my book The Bivocational Pastor translated into Portuguese and published by CPAD which I believe is the publishing arm of the Assembly of God in Brazil.  I appreciated his comments very much.

A few years ago my book The Healthy Small Church was published in Korean by Word of Life Press.  I won't even try to reproduce the title of that book here!  The church in Korea continues to grow, and with the recent issues in that part of the world I would anticipate even more people will be coming to Christ.  I am honored to know that my work is playing a small part in meeting the leadership needs of the church there.

Last year I received e-mails from bivocational ministers in Scotland and India asking if I had plans to do any workshops in their countries.  They were reading my books and following my blog and other writings.  Perhaps God will one day open doors to do that, but for now I continue to develop resources that they can use in their churches and in their own personal lives.

It is easy for us in bivocational ministry to feel like we are all alone, but nothing could be further from the truth.  In the US bivocational ministry is growing across all denominations, and in some that growth is rapid.  Although I have not seen figures, my guess is that it is growing even more outside the US.  The fact is that God has been calling, and continues to do so, an army of bivocational ministers to serve the needs of His church around the world.  My friends, if you have responded to this call on your life you are part of that army.  Do not ever allow yourself to become discouraged and feel like you are "just a bivocational minister."  No, no, no...you are part of a significant move of God that is occurring around the world.  You are God's elect.  We should be both proud and humbled that He has chosen us to be part of this work.

Do you know a bivocational minister who is a little discouraged in the work right now?  If so, send him a link to this post.  It is my prayer that all who read it will be encouraged and reminded of the special call God has placed on their lives.