Churches and denominations have spent a lot of time in recent weeks talking about what the future holds for the church when this pandemic is over. It's probably a good discussion to have, but it misses an important point that many are overlooking. With or without the challenges brought about by the pandemic, the church is moving into difficult waters as it is going to be confronted with a growing number of challenges in the coming years. These have nothing to do with church structures or systems, They have everything to do with the culture in which we will minister.
I just finished writing a new book this week with the working title of Is Your Church Ready for Ministry in the Coming Decade? I am now in the process of contacting publishers and literary agents to see if anyone is interested in the book.
The book looks at some of the issues that I believe the church will have to confront in the next decade if it wishes to be relevant to our culture. Many of these are not new issues, but they are issues the church has either refused to address in the past or failed to adequately address. Many of them are quite disruptive, even now, and will become more so in the near future.
Some of the issues I mention are the growing divide between races in this country, the church's response to the mental health crisis affecting the nation, poverty issues, widespread addiction, the breakdown of the traditional family, the growing acts of violence sweeping the nation, sexual and gender issues, the level of distrust of authority in both government and the church, including that directed towards God and the Scriptures, and the increasing attacks on religious freedom that we are experiencing.
For too long the church has sat around wringing its hands complaining about these things but doing little about them. For instance, a study of 500 churches 98.4 percent of the pastors said they knew of people in their congregation dealing with some form of mental illness or disorder. Yet, only 12.5 percent of these pastors reported their churches ever discussed mental health issues openly.
A similar discrepancy exists when it comes to race issues. In another study only four percent of white Protestants identified racism as an issue while one-third of African-American Protestants said it was an issue. Of that number, twenty-five percent said it was the most important issue Christians needed to address. It's hard to fix a problem if people are not aware there is a problem.
Many of the challenges mentioned in the book are not new. In fact, the first-century church faced many of these same issues as has the church throughout history. But, these problems are getting worse, and as our population continues to increase I believe they will become even greater problems in the future. My other concern is that much of the church isn't ready to face them. In fact, we've often tried to avoid them or we've addressed them using the wrong tactics.
I try to offer solutions that will honor both biblical truth and grace. Sometimes, the solution can be a little messy and make some folks in the church uncomfortable, but I believe they offer the best opportunity to help people find real answers to their situations.
Please pray with me that this book will find a publisher. I believe it contains a much needed message for the church as it prepares to minister in the coming years.
Showing posts with label Racism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Racism. Show all posts
Thursday, May 21, 2020
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Need something to read during the pandemic?
Since many of us are ordered to remain in our homes except for essential reasons, it might be a good time to think about reading that book you've been putting off because you've been too busy. Or, if you don't have a book you've been wanting to read you may be wondering what would be a good one,
This year has gotten off to a slow start for me, and my wife and I have been staying in for the past two weeks already, so I've read a lot more than usual this year. I've already read 20 books this year, about to complete a couple more and have three more on order. Let me suggest four books for you to consider from the ones I've read this year. I will warn you, Amazon is focusing on shipping essential items first, and instead of getting a book you order in 2-3 days it may take 2-3 weeks. I've actually received used books from third party sellers quicker than I've got new ones from Amazon.
One book I enjoyed reading is The Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision by Kevin VanHoozer and Owen Strachan. While many pastors view their ministries as counselors, leaders or motivational speakers, the authors remind us that our most important role is that of theologian. We are called to help our congregations think theologically about all aspects of their lives. We also serve the same role as we relate to our communities. As we relate to persons within our communities we have the opportunity to speak to the issues important to them through the eyes of sound theology. I would certainly recommend this book to any pastor who has not read it.
Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America by Michael Emerson and Christian Smith is another book I found very interesting and helpful. The authors conducted a survey of 2,000 white Evangelicals and an additional 200 face-to-face interviews to gather their views on the racial issues affecting our nation. The results were quite interesting and helps us to better understand the racial divide that exists in this country.
Those who know me won't be surprised that John Maxwell's latest book, The Leader's Greatest Return: Attracting, Developing, and Multiplying Leaders is on this list. I often write and talk about the importance of developing leaders. This book provides a lot of helpful information on how to identify potential leaders and develop them. No organization can rise above its leadership so it's important to constantly be seeking and developing leaders.
The final book I'll recommend you consider reading is The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek. He begins the book by describing finite games and infinite games, Finite games have fixed rules and an agreed-upon objective that when reached ends the game. Infinite games are played by known and unknown players, lack fixed rules and have no finish line. So often people talk about winning or being the best. The problem with such language is that it suggests that they are playing a finite game, and business and ministry neither one is a finite endeavor. The book is written for business people, but I found so much in it that spoke to ministry.
Let me share an early quote in the book that really struck my interest. Sinek wrote, "In the Infinite Game, the true value of an organization cannot be measured by the success it has achieved based on a set of arbitrary metrics over arbitrary time frames. The true value of an organization is measured by the desire others have to contribute to that organization's ability to keep succeeding, not just during the time they are there, but well beyond their own tenure." To me, this should speak to every pastor, every church leader, every denominational leader. We get so caught up in buildings, budgets and baptisms (all of which are important), but we forget that we are in this until Jesus comes. What is ultimately important is not just what we accomplish this year but what we are accomplishing for the Kingdom of God for all eternity.
Happy reading!
This year has gotten off to a slow start for me, and my wife and I have been staying in for the past two weeks already, so I've read a lot more than usual this year. I've already read 20 books this year, about to complete a couple more and have three more on order. Let me suggest four books for you to consider from the ones I've read this year. I will warn you, Amazon is focusing on shipping essential items first, and instead of getting a book you order in 2-3 days it may take 2-3 weeks. I've actually received used books from third party sellers quicker than I've got new ones from Amazon.
One book I enjoyed reading is The Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision by Kevin VanHoozer and Owen Strachan. While many pastors view their ministries as counselors, leaders or motivational speakers, the authors remind us that our most important role is that of theologian. We are called to help our congregations think theologically about all aspects of their lives. We also serve the same role as we relate to our communities. As we relate to persons within our communities we have the opportunity to speak to the issues important to them through the eyes of sound theology. I would certainly recommend this book to any pastor who has not read it.
Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America by Michael Emerson and Christian Smith is another book I found very interesting and helpful. The authors conducted a survey of 2,000 white Evangelicals and an additional 200 face-to-face interviews to gather their views on the racial issues affecting our nation. The results were quite interesting and helps us to better understand the racial divide that exists in this country.
Those who know me won't be surprised that John Maxwell's latest book, The Leader's Greatest Return: Attracting, Developing, and Multiplying Leaders is on this list. I often write and talk about the importance of developing leaders. This book provides a lot of helpful information on how to identify potential leaders and develop them. No organization can rise above its leadership so it's important to constantly be seeking and developing leaders.
The final book I'll recommend you consider reading is The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek. He begins the book by describing finite games and infinite games, Finite games have fixed rules and an agreed-upon objective that when reached ends the game. Infinite games are played by known and unknown players, lack fixed rules and have no finish line. So often people talk about winning or being the best. The problem with such language is that it suggests that they are playing a finite game, and business and ministry neither one is a finite endeavor. The book is written for business people, but I found so much in it that spoke to ministry.
Let me share an early quote in the book that really struck my interest. Sinek wrote, "In the Infinite Game, the true value of an organization cannot be measured by the success it has achieved based on a set of arbitrary metrics over arbitrary time frames. The true value of an organization is measured by the desire others have to contribute to that organization's ability to keep succeeding, not just during the time they are there, but well beyond their own tenure." To me, this should speak to every pastor, every church leader, every denominational leader. We get so caught up in buildings, budgets and baptisms (all of which are important), but we forget that we are in this until Jesus comes. What is ultimately important is not just what we accomplish this year but what we are accomplishing for the Kingdom of God for all eternity.
Happy reading!
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Do we really know what others feel?
Much has been said in recent days regarding all the shooting incidents. Unfortunately, much of it has generated more heat than light. The one thing nearly everyone agrees on is that each shooting is a tragedy that should not have happened. The disagreements come from how to prevent such incidents from happening again.
Politicians on one spectrum insist that banning guns or at least making them more difficult to obtain is the answer. While exact numbers are impossible to know, it is estimated there are between 270-300 million guns in the possession of American citizens. Approximately, 41 percent of Americans households own at least one gun. The vast, vast majority of those who own guns are responsible individuals who own guns for hunting, for personal protection, or for collecting purposes. We are consistently told that all Muslims should not be judged based on the actions of a few radicals. The same principle should be applied to those who own guns.
The real solution is two-fold. The first is dealing with sin. That may sound off-putting to this postmodern generation, but sin is at the heart of all hatred, racism, and acts of violence. The answer to sin is to commit one's life to Jesus Christ and allow Him to change our hearts. More than one person filled with rage and hatred has seen his or her heart changed through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. As society has become more and more secular we have seen a steady increase in evil and a general devaluing of life. America desperately needs a spiritual revival, and such a revival must begin in the church.
The second solution is that we need to know one another, and that begins by talking to one another.
I was raised in a small, rural community. I attended rural grade schools and was never in a school with an African-American until I started high school. Even there, we had few black students. I never knew any of the problems they faced in our community until years later I read a book written by a number of African-Americans from our town. It wasn't until then that I learned that my black classmates had not been allowed to try on their clothes in many of the stores in our community, and if they didn't fit after they got home, they were not allowed to return them. I didn't know that for many years blacks in our community were required to sit in the balcony in our movie theater nor did I know that they were required to enter a local drug store through the side door. They could order lunch there, but they were not allowed to remain to eat it. They had to take their meals outside to eat them. Needless to say, the book was an eye-opener and showed me a side of the community I never knew existed.
About the same time I was reading this book I was working one Saturday by myself in a family-owned business when an older African-American gentleman came in. We had never met, but we were soon engaged in a conversation that showed me there was still much about my community I had never considered. He asked why there were no black doctors or dentists in our area. He wondered why our school system had no African-American teacher working in our schools. Many years previously a black school had closed and, to my knowledge, only one teacher was retained. I had her for one class in high school, and she was a great teacher. But, I had never realized that there were no other African-American teachers in any of our schools. We had a very good, long discussion,and when he left I realized that his experience in our community had been much different than mine.
These are the kinds of discussions we need to have with one another. Until we understand the experiences of others we need to be very careful about offering advice.
The church should be a place where such discussions should take place, but this will require some intentionality to make it happen. We should also be aware that such discussions will likely make some people very uncomfortable. But, how do we get to know one another unless we can talk with one another? If we cannot talk about our differences and how we view our world, we will never understand one another, and we will never come together.
It is also time the church becomes more intentional about pursuing diversity. A pastor friend of mine was confronted a few years ago by an African-American pastor who told my friend, "You're always inviting us to be a part of what you are doing. When are you going to become a part of what we are doing?" Soon after, my pastor friend's church became a part of this black Baptist association, and they have became very involved in the work of this association. Both the church and the association have benefited from the relationship.
The racial problems in America are not going to go away in the near future, but until the church and individuals begin to intentionally work towards understanding one another and developing relationships with one another, these problems will only grow worse. Simplistic answers won't solve our problems, but prayer and building relationships with one another will go a long way to resolving them.
Politicians on one spectrum insist that banning guns or at least making them more difficult to obtain is the answer. While exact numbers are impossible to know, it is estimated there are between 270-300 million guns in the possession of American citizens. Approximately, 41 percent of Americans households own at least one gun. The vast, vast majority of those who own guns are responsible individuals who own guns for hunting, for personal protection, or for collecting purposes. We are consistently told that all Muslims should not be judged based on the actions of a few radicals. The same principle should be applied to those who own guns.
The real solution is two-fold. The first is dealing with sin. That may sound off-putting to this postmodern generation, but sin is at the heart of all hatred, racism, and acts of violence. The answer to sin is to commit one's life to Jesus Christ and allow Him to change our hearts. More than one person filled with rage and hatred has seen his or her heart changed through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. As society has become more and more secular we have seen a steady increase in evil and a general devaluing of life. America desperately needs a spiritual revival, and such a revival must begin in the church.
The second solution is that we need to know one another, and that begins by talking to one another.
I was raised in a small, rural community. I attended rural grade schools and was never in a school with an African-American until I started high school. Even there, we had few black students. I never knew any of the problems they faced in our community until years later I read a book written by a number of African-Americans from our town. It wasn't until then that I learned that my black classmates had not been allowed to try on their clothes in many of the stores in our community, and if they didn't fit after they got home, they were not allowed to return them. I didn't know that for many years blacks in our community were required to sit in the balcony in our movie theater nor did I know that they were required to enter a local drug store through the side door. They could order lunch there, but they were not allowed to remain to eat it. They had to take their meals outside to eat them. Needless to say, the book was an eye-opener and showed me a side of the community I never knew existed.
About the same time I was reading this book I was working one Saturday by myself in a family-owned business when an older African-American gentleman came in. We had never met, but we were soon engaged in a conversation that showed me there was still much about my community I had never considered. He asked why there were no black doctors or dentists in our area. He wondered why our school system had no African-American teacher working in our schools. Many years previously a black school had closed and, to my knowledge, only one teacher was retained. I had her for one class in high school, and she was a great teacher. But, I had never realized that there were no other African-American teachers in any of our schools. We had a very good, long discussion,and when he left I realized that his experience in our community had been much different than mine.
These are the kinds of discussions we need to have with one another. Until we understand the experiences of others we need to be very careful about offering advice.
The church should be a place where such discussions should take place, but this will require some intentionality to make it happen. We should also be aware that such discussions will likely make some people very uncomfortable. But, how do we get to know one another unless we can talk with one another? If we cannot talk about our differences and how we view our world, we will never understand one another, and we will never come together.
It is also time the church becomes more intentional about pursuing diversity. A pastor friend of mine was confronted a few years ago by an African-American pastor who told my friend, "You're always inviting us to be a part of what you are doing. When are you going to become a part of what we are doing?" Soon after, my pastor friend's church became a part of this black Baptist association, and they have became very involved in the work of this association. Both the church and the association have benefited from the relationship.
The racial problems in America are not going to go away in the near future, but until the church and individuals begin to intentionally work towards understanding one another and developing relationships with one another, these problems will only grow worse. Simplistic answers won't solve our problems, but prayer and building relationships with one another will go a long way to resolving them.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Racial reconciliation must begin in the church
In recent weeks there have been several sports stories about athletes being the target of racial slurs. College athletics is looking at assessing penalties if certain words are used during a game. From what I've seen of some officiating I'm not sure some referees need additional policing duties. They seem to have their hands full just handling the basic calls. Still, I applaud the governing forces for looking into the problem. From the comments from some former college and professional players, racial slurs coming from the stands and opposing players are not a new phenomenon.
It is amazing that here in the 21st century racism is still the problem it is. While we have made tremendous strides since the 1960s, this is a struggle that still goes on. Laws have been passed that make it illegal to discriminate against a person because of his or her race, and these laws have been effective in reducing the blatant racism that existed for many years, but they have not been effective in addressing the hidden racism that continues to exist. In Matthew 12:24 Jesus said, "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." When someone utters a racist slur or says something derogatory about a person due to his or her race it is because that is what is in that person's heart. Laws cannot change a person's heart. The heart can only be transformed by a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
The church has not, in my opinion, done enough to address racism. During the Civil Rights movement many churches and clergy marched and advocated for racial reconciliation, but once laws were on the books it seems that the church has backed off. Maybe we thought the work was done, but it obviously isn't. And, perhaps, some of the work we did do was misguided.
A bivocational pastor friend of mine is on staff at a university. He tells the story of how he often challenged his African-American colleagues to become a part of the university community and be a part of what the churches were doing in their community. A well-respected African-American pastor challenged him one day with this question: "You are always inviting us to join you. When are you going to join in what we're doing?" He took that question to his church which soon voted to become a member of that African-American association of churches. Maybe we have made a mistake in always asking the Black community and churches to join in what we're doing when we've shown little interest in joining in what they are doing.
I live in a state (Indiana) that had a history of KKK violence. As a child I was unaware of the discrimination that existed in our small community until I read a book a few years ago written by a number of African-Americans who lived in our community in the pre-Civil Rights era. I grew up hearing the slurs and the contempt poured out against people of color, and some of that was from people in the church. While the language is often more politically correct today, I still hear the contempt that is behind some of the comments that are made.
Several years before I became the pastor of a church a young woman in the church married an African-American. That was something that was not done at that time in this community. It led to a discussion in the church about who could be members of that church, and a vote was taken that declared that anyone, regardless of their race, was welcome to be a member. This was a bold step by a small, rural church in an area that still practiced discrimination in many areas. That was more than 40 years ago, and we need churches to continue to take bold steps that promotes equality among the races.
Roughly 15 years ago I interviewed with a pastor search committee of a church that was from a different denomination than the one I serve. The interview went very well, and the chairperson of the committee even made the comment that he believed they had found the person they wanted to present to the church for a vote. Other members of the committee agreed with him. That was before I asked my last question. That question was "Is everyone welcomed to attend and become a member of this church?" For several minutes they did their best to convince me they loved everybody. I then told them the reason I asked the question is because my daughter is married to an African-American, and when they visit on the weekends they attend the church where I serve, and I just wanted to make sure they would be welcomed. The stunned looks on their faces told me everything I needed to know even before they thanked me for coming and promised to get back with me. Of course, I never heard from them again.
We will never resolve the racial issues in this nation until we first resolve them in the church. Laws can force obedience, but they can't change person's hearts. The church must not assume racism has been erased from society or from our churches. It has not! We in the church must take the initiative to address this issue and begin to change people's hearts.
It is amazing that here in the 21st century racism is still the problem it is. While we have made tremendous strides since the 1960s, this is a struggle that still goes on. Laws have been passed that make it illegal to discriminate against a person because of his or her race, and these laws have been effective in reducing the blatant racism that existed for many years, but they have not been effective in addressing the hidden racism that continues to exist. In Matthew 12:24 Jesus said, "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." When someone utters a racist slur or says something derogatory about a person due to his or her race it is because that is what is in that person's heart. Laws cannot change a person's heart. The heart can only be transformed by a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
The church has not, in my opinion, done enough to address racism. During the Civil Rights movement many churches and clergy marched and advocated for racial reconciliation, but once laws were on the books it seems that the church has backed off. Maybe we thought the work was done, but it obviously isn't. And, perhaps, some of the work we did do was misguided.
A bivocational pastor friend of mine is on staff at a university. He tells the story of how he often challenged his African-American colleagues to become a part of the university community and be a part of what the churches were doing in their community. A well-respected African-American pastor challenged him one day with this question: "You are always inviting us to join you. When are you going to join in what we're doing?" He took that question to his church which soon voted to become a member of that African-American association of churches. Maybe we have made a mistake in always asking the Black community and churches to join in what we're doing when we've shown little interest in joining in what they are doing.
I live in a state (Indiana) that had a history of KKK violence. As a child I was unaware of the discrimination that existed in our small community until I read a book a few years ago written by a number of African-Americans who lived in our community in the pre-Civil Rights era. I grew up hearing the slurs and the contempt poured out against people of color, and some of that was from people in the church. While the language is often more politically correct today, I still hear the contempt that is behind some of the comments that are made.
Several years before I became the pastor of a church a young woman in the church married an African-American. That was something that was not done at that time in this community. It led to a discussion in the church about who could be members of that church, and a vote was taken that declared that anyone, regardless of their race, was welcome to be a member. This was a bold step by a small, rural church in an area that still practiced discrimination in many areas. That was more than 40 years ago, and we need churches to continue to take bold steps that promotes equality among the races.
Roughly 15 years ago I interviewed with a pastor search committee of a church that was from a different denomination than the one I serve. The interview went very well, and the chairperson of the committee even made the comment that he believed they had found the person they wanted to present to the church for a vote. Other members of the committee agreed with him. That was before I asked my last question. That question was "Is everyone welcomed to attend and become a member of this church?" For several minutes they did their best to convince me they loved everybody. I then told them the reason I asked the question is because my daughter is married to an African-American, and when they visit on the weekends they attend the church where I serve, and I just wanted to make sure they would be welcomed. The stunned looks on their faces told me everything I needed to know even before they thanked me for coming and promised to get back with me. Of course, I never heard from them again.
We will never resolve the racial issues in this nation until we first resolve them in the church. Laws can force obedience, but they can't change person's hearts. The church must not assume racism has been erased from society or from our churches. It has not! We in the church must take the initiative to address this issue and begin to change people's hearts.
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