Support for the smaller church

For the past two days I've written or shared articles about the smaller church. Today I want to focus on how denominations are supporting these churches.

When I felt called to leave Hebron Baptist Church as their pastor I had been there for 20 years. I really did not want to leave that wonderful church, but one day I received a phone call asking if I would serve as an Interim Area Minister with our Region. This would be in addition to my pastoral duties so I accepted. Several months later I applied for the position and when the search team completed their work it was offered to me. I would be leaving a church I loved to serve, but at that time I would be working directly with 84 churches in my area. By the time I retired 14 years later that number would grow to around 133 churches.

One of the reasons I was selected was my work with smaller churches. Our executive staff all came from larger church backgrounds, and like most regions and districts, ours was made up mostly of smaller churches. Many of them had felt ignored by the Region and the denomination and had withdrawn from participating in many of our events. Our Executive Minister recognized that these churches were important to the ministry of the Region and wanted someone who would be accepted by these churches. Over one-half of the churches in my area averaged 50 people or less in attendance so I was a good fit for these churches. During the transition time I asked my predecessor what he thought my strength would be for this ministry, and he said the fact that I had never pastored a large church would give me immediate acceptance among some of these smaller churches. That proved to be true.

I will be forever grateful for our Exec's recognition of the importance of our smaller churches and his determination to not ignore them in favor of the larger churches. He gave me an opportunity to serve these churches and gave them an opportunity to get reconnected with what our Region was doing.

When I later was asked to lead seminars and conferences for various denominational groups around the country my Exec. gave his blessing. He told me no one else was doing what I was doing and he encouraged me to accept these invitations even though it meant I would be away from my job at times.

At these events I saw how many denominations were beginning to see the importance of their smaller churches. They wanted to provide training opportunities for them. They invested money and staff to make these events possible. We would often do the same seminar 4-5 times in the district or territory traveling to different parts of the state or territory to offer it at different locations. It was tiring, but these denominational leaders wanted to make it as easy as possible for their small church leaders to attend. I applaud them for that.

If your denomination, district or region is still not providing smaller churches with the resources they need, talk to them about it. One reason small churches sometimes feel ignored is that they never ask for help. Don't assume no one cares about your situation. As the pastor of a small church I often asked my Area Minister for assistance in some matter. During that pastorate we had three Executive Ministers speak in our little church. Some asked me how I got them to come to our church, and I responded they came because I asked them to. Denominational and district ministers are busy people, but most are willing to go wherever they are invited. Jesus said, "You have not because you ask not."

I am still available to lead training events for small church and bivocational leaders. If your organization hasn't provided such training lately ask them to consider doing so. Have them contact me to see if I can provide what is needed.

Help for bivocational ministers

When I wrote my first book in 2000 for bivocational ministers I did so because there were very few resources out there for us. I knew of only three books at that time, although there may have been some of which I was not aware, written specifically for bivocational ministers. That book was praised by a lot of people who read it, but it didn't have too many who read it. Some of the later books I wrote sold more copies while others sold even less than the first one. Today I am excited to see a number of books being released that directly speak to the challenges and opportunities of bivocational ministry. I hope those books find a bigger audience.

For several years I published a monthly email newsletter for bivocational ministers. Although I had a fairly large mailing list, tracking showed very few actually read it. Eventually, I decided it wasn't worth the work that went into it and canceled the newsletter. The same thing happened with a web site I had for bivocational ministers. It also had few readers and even fewer responses, and I canceled the web page.

This blog has seen about the same results. A standard article posted on the blog will average about 40 reads. The exception is if I post something controversial or especially hard-hitting. Those articles might have 200+ views. Obviously, those articles get shared with friends and colleagues.

I have to admit to being puzzled. When I was serving as a bivocational pastor I would have given anything to have someone come alongside me who had been there to support me and give me helpful information. I have to assume that either what I think would be helpful to other people isn't that helpful or something else is going on. If there is something I am missing, please let me know.

Bivocational ministry is difficult work, and it becomes more challenging if we do not help one another. None of us knows everything there is to know, but together we know so much more. As we share the resources and the things we have learned along the way we help one another, the churches we serve and the Kingdom of God. Don't be afraid to share these articles with others. I know some of you do, but many read the article, shake their head in agreement (I hope) and go on their way. Pass it on to someone who might benefit from reading themselves.

For years I have encouraged denominational leaders to host training events. While some have done so others have told me they've tried to do so in the past and were disappointed by the turnout. One regional leader told me after hosting his first event he was glad I warned him to not be disappointed if only a handful showed up because that was what happened. Their region did host others after that, including one at which I spoke, and the attendance improved a little.

A few years ago one state convention invited me to do five workshops in five days in five different locations throughout their state. They wanted to make it as easy as possible for the most people to show up. They have hundreds of bivocational ministers in their state. At no event were there more than two dozen people, and at one event not one person showed up. Even the host pastor didn't show up to unlock the doors. A lot of money was spent with little return, and I'm sure the planners had to be very disappointed.

When I began in 1981 there was virtually no resources and certainly no workshops or training events specifically designed for bivocational leaders. That is not the case today, but not nearly enough of us are taking advantage of those opportunities and resources. The help is out there, but we have to make the effort to receive it.

How can denominations resource their bivocational pastors?

A few years ago I was invited to lead my "Healthy Small Church" seminar to a gathering of bivocational ministers in a United Methodist district. This district had over 100 bivocational ministers who turned out for the event. The following year this district asked some of their pastors to serve as coaches for these bivocational ministers and invited me back to train them on bivocational ministry and coaching techniques. I thought that was a great way for a judicatory to assist their bivocational ministers.

My DMin thesis was "Coaching Bivocational Ministers for Greater Ministerial Effectiveness." The last report I received indicated that thesis has been downloaded over 2,600 times. That thesis later became the basis for my latest book The Art and Practice of Bivocational Ministry: A Pastor's Guide.

For my thesis I coached six bivocational ministers for three months to see if that would assist them with some of the issues they were facing. As in all coaching, the person being coached chose the topic he or she wanted to address during the session. In addition to the six chosen to participate in the exercise I added four additional bivocational ministers I had coached previously to the book. Each of these individuals reported the coaching helped them resolve some of the issues we addressed.

One reason coaching bivocational ministers can be effective is because of their schedules. To insist on a face to face meeting can be very difficult. However, coaching can work just as well on the phone as in person. For the project I was coaching pastors in various places in the country and one in Canada. I think only two of the ten in the book were coached in person. The other eight were done over the phone.

Another reason coaching can be helpful is that the person being coached identifies the issue he or she wants to address at that time. That way you know you are dealing with the most pressing issue the minister is facing.

A third reason coaching can be helpful is that good coaching always demands accountability. At the end of each coaching session the person being coached identifies steps he or she is willing to take towards resolving the issue before the next coaching session. At the start of the next session the coach determines if the assignment was completed and the results of that. Coaching that does not lead to action steps is not good coaching.

A fourth reason this can be a good tool for the judicatory or denomination is that the coach can deal with a lot of people in a short period of time. The coach doesn't have to drive some distance to each person. It's possible to coach several people in one day on the phone where if you had to drive to a meeting with each person you might only be able to meet with 2-3 people.

Denominational leaders should look at coaching as a way to resource their bivocational ministers. It's been proven to add value to their lives and ministries.

If you are a bivocational minister who would like a coach, feel free to private message me. I would love to talk to you about the possibilities.

The danger of building church facilities with debt

Yesterday was an interesting day. Earlier I had a conversation with a lay leader of a church whose church is struggling with numerous issues. As a result, their attendance and giving are both down and has been this way for several months. The church is without a pastor, but their giving level is barely meeting their budget without having to pay a pastor salary and benefits. There are several reasons for this, but a major reason is the church has a large debt on an addition they built a few years ago. When their attendance was strong they were actually paying ahead on their debt, but now they would struggle making their regular payment and pay a pastor.

When I finished speaking with this individual I thought of another church that decided a few years ago to relocate. That decision was not without controversy and some people left the church when the decision was finalized. I feel certain that some believed that a new church facility would attract new people, the "build it and they will come" mindset. Unfortunately, that did not happen, and the church has struggled financially since moving.

About an hour later I was driving and listening to a Dave Ramsey podcast that had been downloaded on my I-Pad. Each day someone comes on the program to do a "debt-free scream." It's almost always a family who has followed Ramsey's plan and has gotten out of debt. However, this time the caller was the director of a church camp.

He shared how the camp board and others decided that they needed to pay off their mortgage to free up money for ministry. They challenged the churches in their denomination to support that decision. They were able to raise the money in less than one year to pay off their mortgage and become debt free. The director was delighted at how much more ministry they could now do without this debt hanging over their heads. It was quite a contrast to the two churches I had earlier been thinking about.

There are many good reasons for a church to build new facilities and even to relocate. I'm not sure there are any good reasons for a church to go into debt to accomplish that. We always enter into debt when things are going well, and we seem to forget that churches also have times when things are not going so well. In the good times we may not have any problems making our payments, but each payment is less money we have available for ministry. When times are tough, we may struggle keeping current on our payments, and in those times we often find we really have to cut back just to stay afloat financially. The things that we usually cut back are ministries, staff salaries, and mission support.

Some may argue that they are stepping out in faith when they borrow money to build. Such people reason that God will help see them through if times get tough. I'm not sure that is faith or presumption. If we can trust God to provide the money to pay off our debt, why can't we trust Him to provide the money up front and avoid debt?

When I was pastoring our small church we decided to build a new fellowship hall. We had outgrown the old fellowship hall, and we felt we could increase our ability to do ministry with a new facility. We spent months talking and praying about building this addition before finally making the decision to move forward. The only problem was that our architect estimated the cost of this building would be about $250,000. That was a lot of money for a church that averaged around 55 people.

During the time we were discussing the building we had raised about $30,000 towards the new facility. After we voted to move forward we had a Commitment Sunday and raised another $52,000 at that one service. We decided to begin work immediately. The building committee asked where I suggested we borrow the remainder of the money. I said we should let God finance it. We believed He had given us the vision to build this, and I felt we should trust Him to provide the necessary funds. I challenged our church to see what God would do.

Several months later the new fellowship hall was completed debt-free. Our treasurer told me that money came from places I would not believe. There was so much money left over that the church had all new furniture put in the kitchen and dining areas.

Proverbs 22:7 says, "The borrower is servant to the lender." This applies to churches the same as it does to individuals. Debt can be a heavy burden and can severely limit what a church is able to do. If God is leading a church to do something, He can certainly provide the means to allow it to happen. It may take a little longer than we would like, but that's because our timing and God's timing isn't always the same. But, when the project is done debt-free we are free to go about serving others without having to worry if we'll have the money to make our payments.

Blog post #1000

It's hard for me to believe that this is my 1000th post on this blog.  At times, I've written four or five articles faithfully each week while there have been stretches when I've only written one or two a month.  A couple of years ago I decided if this blog was going to be helpful then I needed to be more regular in posting on it, and I have tried to do that.  Some weeks it's hard to think of four or five issues to address and other weeks I just have not had the time to post that many.  Still, I've attempted to write on things that I hope my readers will find interesting or helpful.  My whole purpose of this blog was to provide information that would be helpful to those in church leadership (especially those in bivocational ministry) and to encourage them in the work God has called them to do.

A secondary purpose was to provide a place for small church leaders to dialogue about the issues that were addressed in the blog.  I felt that we could learn much from one another.  Unfortunately, that dialogue has seldom occurred.  It is a rare post that generates even one comment from readers.

I must admit that I am at somewhat of a crossroads with this blog.  The number of people who follow it is very small, and the number of people who actually read the posts is even smaller.  About 1/3 of those who follow the blog read the posts.  Occasionally, that number will increase, especially if ethicsdaily.com carries one of my posts on their site, but the numbers are still very low.

This leads me to some conclusions, each of which have caused me to wonder recently whether to continue to invest in the amount of time it takes to create these articles.  Either the posts are not helpful to the readers, the people who should be reading this blog are not aware it exists, or a majority of the people I am trying to reach are not interested in having resources aimed at their particular needs. Based on the number of bivocational ministers serving across denominations today the number of people following this blog should be much greater than it is if it was truly adding value to people's lives and ministries.

By the end of October I will be making a decision about whether to continue with this blog.  I really need to hear from my readers for your input.  I also need to see the number of followers increase between now and then if I am to continue.

I am not upset by any of this, but I don't want to continue doing something if it is not meeting a need in people's lives.

Every week has a Sunday

One of the pressures of pastoral ministry is the knowledge that every Sunday the minister must be prepared with a sermon.  For those churches that still have Sunday night services and a mid-week service that means the minister is often expected to prepare three messages every week.  Assuming four weeks vacation each year (which many don't get) that is 144 messages a year.  It's no wonder many pastors feel the pressure of message preparation.  I am convinced that one reason many pastors do not remain at one church for more than 3-4 years is that they can take their "sermon barrel" with them to the next church and reduce the stress of sermon preparation.  However, I believe there are better ways to address this.

Sermon planning can help reduce the stress of sermon preparation.  As a bivocational pastor I soon learned that it was time well spent to think ahead about the messages I needed to bring to our congregation.  There are few feelings worse for a minister to arrive at Saturday night and not even know what you are going to preach the next morning.  By planning ahead the minister can use the time he or she has for the actual preparation of the message.  My planning would include both single messages and sermon series.  Each year I would preach through a book of the Bible, so the text gave me the theme of the message.  It was then my job to put meat on that skeleton.  In my book The Healthy Pastor: Easing the Pressures of Ministry I go into detail about how I planned out my sermons in advance.

The actual preparation of the sermon is made easier with a good library and a good filing system.  As I visit with pastors I am often shocked at how bare their libraries are.  I've wondered more than once how they were able to prepare sound messages with the resources they had available to them.  I know books are expensive.  Believe me, I've bought plenty, but it's important to look at them as an investment in your ministry and not just as an expense.  There are now some very good Bible study software programs available with excellent resources that are much less expensive than purchasing books.  For those ministers who are tech savvy this may be a good option.  But, the best library in the world is of little use if you do not have a good filing system so you can find the material you need for a particular sermon.  One of the biggest time wasters in sermon preparation is in trying to find something that you remember reading in some book or publication.  Again, in the book I mentioned above I describe the filing system I began using in the mid-1980s and continue to use today.  It might work for you as well. 

Many churches expect their pastor to deliver all the messages, but that may not be a realistic expectation.  Sometimes the minister puts that expectation on himself or herself.  There are other options that can sometimes be helpful to relieve some of the stress of preparing sermons.  As a pastor I would occasionally show a video on Sunday night.  Twice our church bought a series of videos that focused on some of the significant sites in the Holy Land.  Our people enjoyed viewing these sites and learning more about their importance to the biblical story.

Two of our lay leaders filled the pulpit for me when I was away on vacation.  Later, two other lay leaders accepted the challenge of delivering a sermon.  Each of these individuals did an excellent job, and our people enjoyed their messages.  It was obvious they put a lot of work in their preparation, and it was enjoyable for me to be able to not have to prepare a message that week.

Preaching creates a stress for ministers that will never go away, but here are some simple solutions to help ease some of that stress.  I always found preaching to be one of the most enjoyable aspects of ministry, but it's enjoyable only when you are able to reduce the stress that often comes with it.

Building up your library

I've spent a little time this evening looking at the shelves of books that line two+ walls of my study.  There are hundreds of books on these shelves plus I have more on my NOOK and Kindle devices.  As I was looking at the shelves of books I was reminded of when I began my pastoral ministry in 1981.  I had one three-shelf bookshelf that that had books on one shelf.  I found it very difficult to prepare proper sermons and do the study I needed to do on various topics of pastoral ministry.  Two or three times a month I would visit a nearby college library to use their commentaries and other religious books.  While that helped I dreamed of developing a library of my own.

I now have the opportunity to visit numerous pastors in their churches, and one of the troubling things I find in many of their studies is the lack of good books.  Sometimes this is true of fully-funded pastors, and it is often true for the bivocational ministers I visit.  As one who has always believed that leaders are readers, I wonder what they are doing to grow their leadership and communication skills.  Perhaps, like me in my earlier years of ministry, they make use of public and college libraries, but this has its limitations.  It takes time to go to the library, and the resource you need may not be available when you need it.  My recommendation for ministers is to build up a library of the resources that you need to be effective in ministry.

Books are expensive so most ministers will need to build their library slowly.  The good news is there are many ways to save substantial dollars on the books you want.  For several years I attended the annual book sale our local public library held each fall.  I became a member of the library so I got access to the sale the day before it opened to the public.  That cost me $10.00 a year.  When the doors opened I went straight to the religious section.  Most years I left there with at least one sack of ministry-related books.  My best find was the two-volume Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament which sells for around $100.00 which I bought for $2.00.

Many of the books I purchased were ordered through CBD which offers Christian books at very good prices.   I also had some success visiting a used Christian bookstore near the seminary when I was a student where I found books at greatly reduced prices.  It's also amazing what one can find at yard sales and at the Goodwill stores.  A pastor friend of mine who has thousands of books in his library regularly visits Goodwill stores looking for books.

Some publishers look for persons to review their books.  A few years ago I began reviewing books for one such publisher.  From a list of books I could select one that I thought I would enjoy, they would send me the book free of charge (which I got to keep), and when my review was published I could select another free book as payment for my review.  I did this for a few years and added several books to my library at no cost to me.

Although many e-books are nearly as expensive as printed ones, both NOOK and Kindle do offer some great prices on quality e-books.  Just last night I purchased a book for my Kindle that normally sells for $16.99 for the printed version for $2.99.  That kind of savings can really help your book budget.

Speaking of book budgets, your church should have in its budget a line item that will reimburse you for the books and other resources you purchase.  Our small church provided me with a $400.00 per year book allowance.  They saw it as an investment in their future, and so should your church.  If your church does not offer the pastor a book allowance ask for one.

Because books are so expensive one needs to purchase them carefully.  Early in my ministry I spent quite a bit of money on two commentary sets that proved to not be very helpful.  That was money I could not afford to lose, but I did learn a valuable lesson about being sure the books I bought would actually be helpful to my ministry.

The books you buy are an investment in your ministry.  They will shape you and the way you think.  They will help you as you prepare your messages and as you lead your congregation.  They will give you new tools you will use as you minister to people.  They will also help expand your thinking and challenge some of the preconceptions you may have about various issues and doctrines.  I would not be the person and the minister I am today if I had not read the books I've read.  Invest in yourself and build you a library that will serve your ministry well.

What will determine the future of your church?

Several times I had the privilege of hearing Zig Ziglar speak.  He was one of the best motivational speakers I've ever heard.  He often began his lectures by asking two questions.

1. How many of you believe that regardless of how bad your personal, family, and business lives are at this moment there are still some things you could do that would make them even worse?
2. How many of you believe that regardless of how good your personal, family, and business lives are, there are still some things you could do to improve them?

He asked those questions to help his listeners understand that they were responsible for their own futures.  While outside forces can have some impact on our lives, ultimately we are responsible for our own future.  What we will be, what we will have, and where we are five, ten, and twenty years down the road is largely dependent upon the choices we make now.  This is true of our personal lives, our family lives, and our business lives.  It is also true of our churches.

In my own workshops I often include this message, and many times someone in my audience will want to push back.  That person will insist that their church wants to grow, wants to have a greater impact on its community, and wants to be a more vibrant church, but they also insist that some outside force prevents that from happening.  A few times I have made those persons unhappy by insisting just as strongly that, while they are saying the right things, they are not willing to do what it takes to achieve them.  While most organizations, including churches, will face challenges to accomplishing their goals, the successful ones achieve them anyway.  Here is an important fact we must never forget: If you really want to achieve something, you will find a way; if you aren't committed to achieving something, you will find an excuse.  Life will provide us with many things to blame, but ultimately the final results we experience in life are due to the choices we make.

There will always be roadblocks to a successful ministry, but none of these are greater than the forces and the power available to the believer in Christ.  Romans 8: 35-39 tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God.  Isaiah 54: 17 reminds us that no weapon formed against us shall prosper.  Jesus says in Matthew 16: 18 that the gates of Hell shall not prevail against the church.  We could refer to more Scripture, but these three alone are enough to demonstrate the forces are work within the church and the believer.  To accuse outside forces of being able to prevent our churches from fulfilling God's vision for their ministry is to discount the truth of these passages.  The fact is the only thing that can limit the ministry, and the future, of our churches is our own limited thinking. 

As I work with smaller churches I frequently hear the same complaints.  We are an older congregation.  Our people are on fixed income.  We can't attract younger families with children.  We have few resources and can't compete with the larger churches in our communities.  It's hard to find good pastors willing to serve in a church like ours.  The denomination doesn't care anything about us.  Younger people just don't have the commitment that we did at that age.

Over the next few days I'm going to challenge each of these statements in this blog.  Any of them may be true, but that does not mean they have to be limiting.  In fact, everyone of them, and any others you want to raise, can be overcome if you really want to do so.  Or, they can be a convenient excuse for you and your church to do nothing.  Either way, you will decide which it will be for you.

Be sure to check this blog tomorrow to read my response to the first complaint: we are an older congregation.  To be sure you don't miss it you may want to join the other followers of this blog.  You may also want to read my book Intentional Ministry in a Not-So-Mega Church: Becoming a Missional Community that addresses how smaller churches can have a more productive ministry in their communities.

The changing role of judicatories

Since 2001 I have served as a judicatory minister.  Yesterday we had our usual monthly staff meeting, but there was nothing usual about it.  For two of our staff it was their last meeting.  Both are retiring at the end of this month.  A significant portion of our meeting time was spent sharing our appreciation with these two wonderful servants of God.  Unfortunately, this is not the first time we've had such meetings.  When I came on staff we had eleven ministers serving as executive staff; after these two retire we will be down to four plus one interim.  For the past several years, as people have retired they have not been replaced simply because we've not had the money to do so.

This problem is not limited to our judicatory or our denomination.  It is common among many judicatories in the United States.  Some denominationas have combined two or more of their judicatories.  Some follow the practice we've followed and do not replace those who retire or resign.  I know some who have been forced to let some of their staff go.  As churches continue to reduce their giving to their denominations and judicatories we are likely to see this reduction in staff continue.

What will happen as staff continues to decrease?  The obvious answer is that the work load will be spread out to those who remain, but eventually even the most dedicated of servants will reach a point where they simply can't accept any more responsibility.  At that point tough decisions will have to be made about what the judicatory can continue to offer its churches and what ministries will have to be allowed to die.  The "do-not" list will become more important than the "to-do" list.  Even more important will be for the judicatory to have a clear vision of its purpose and reason for existence because that vision will determine what items goes on which list.  Perhaps more important yet will be the need to clearly communicating the vision and the two lists to the churches they support.

In my opinion, judicatories exist to provide the resources their churches need to fulfill their God-given visions for ministry.  Judicatory leaders are no longer a "pastor to the pastors" as so many of us were trained to believe.  We are resource ministers charged with the responsibility to provide whatever resources the churches and pastors need.  Different polities may identify different resources and services they will provide their churches, but most will agree that they exist to made resources available to their churches.

One thing is certain: judicatories will have to find new ways of doing what they are doing.  Few now have the personnel and financial resources to do everything they have done in the past.  It will be impossible for declining numbers of judicatory leaders to attend every meeting they have attended in the past or to participate in every special occasion in the life of their churches.  Each will have to decide what is the most important activities in which to invest.

Another thing that is certain is that non-supporting churches will find they receive less and less assistance from their judicatory.  Some might complain that is unfair, but what is unfair is that supporting churches are subsidizing the non-supporting churches, and in many cases the non-supporting churches demand the most assistance from their judicatories.  We'll talk more about this in tomorrow's post.

Having been in this role now for twelve years I can say that judicatories have much to offer their churches.  We assist in pastoral placement, provide training, help with leadership identification and equipping, assist with conflict situations, provide mission opportunities, serve as a conduit between the denomination and local churches, and offer just about any resource the churches need to fulfill their ministries.   And, yes, we still minister to our clergy and their families when they need a pastor.  As a bivocational pastor in our judicatory for twenty years I benefitted greatly from our judicatory, and I am convinced that you and your church will as well if you will take advantage of the many resources your judicatory offers.

How do denominational cutbacks impact their churches?

I want to ask some questions in today's post and hope to get some responses from my readers.  Many denominations and judicatories are having to cut back on their staff and programming due to funding issues.  Some denominations have combined judicatories while others reduce their staff.  My questions have to do with how that is impacting their churches.

• How would you compare the ministry support you received from your judicatory five years ago to what you are receiving today?
• How often do you see or hear from your judicatory and/or denominational minister?  Has that changed in the past five years?
• What assistance or resources did your judicatory or denominational provide you five years ago that they no longer offer?
• What do you wish your judicatory or denomination would do to assist your church's ministry that it is not currently doing?
• How does your church feel about its relationship with your judicatory or denomination?  Has that relationship changed in the past five years?
• What is your judicatory or denomination currently doing to assist bivocational ministers?
• Has your church increased or reduced its financial support of its judicatory or denomination in the past five years?  By how much?
• What do you wish I had asked regarding this issue? 

Many denominations expect to see continued cutbacks in personnel in the foreseeable future, so these are important questions that they need to consider.  As a judicatory leader myself I believe these questions must be answered as we look at how judicatory staff are utilized and resources are developed.  One of my concerns is that too often we fail to ask the local church, the very ones we are supporting, these questions and make decisions that may not be the best for our churches.  That is why I devoted this post to asking these questions, and I am really hoping to get responses from a variety of my readers.

How a congregation learns part 7

This is my final post on this topic.  Tim Shapiro, president of the Indianapolis Center for Congregations, wrote an article entitled "How Your Congregation Learns" for Congregations magazine, a publication by The Alban Institute.  This series of posts came from that article.  In this installment we will look at Congregations learn well when they say "no" and say "yes."  Shapiro believes that in many cases when a congregation says yes to an initiative they also need to be saying no to something they've been doing.

For the past few years I've told church leaders at my workshops that most smaller churches could accomplish more by doing less.  Too many smaller churches are trying to compete with larger churches in their communities by offering ministries and programs for which they really don't have the resources.  As a result, they wear out their congregations and often end up providing something that is of average quality at best.  By focusing on doing fewer things they can begin to do them with excellence which will have a much greater impact.  Quality beats quantity every time.

Of course, this will not be easy.  Many of the things smaller churches do have taken on the quality of a sacred cow.  For instance, trying to eliminate a mid-week prayer meeting that is attended by five people on a good night will seem to some as heresy.  You can probably identify sacred cows in your church as well.  It's not that there is usually anything wrong with them; it's just that there's not enough right with them to continue doing them, especially if there are better things a church could be doing with that time.  Anyone familiar with the Pareto Principle knows that it teaches that we get 80% of our success from 20% of our efforts.  The trick for a learning congregation is to identify what 20% gives us our greatest return.  A tougher trick is to remember that at some point that 20% will eventually become the 80% that is no longer effective and will need to be replaced by something else.

Here's a challenge for church leaders.  As your congregation begins to discern a fresh vision for new ministries ask them what they will be willing to set aside to make the resources available for the new ministries.  It will probably be very uncomfortable at first, but as they begin to make those exchanges it will become easier, and you will begin to eliminate some of the activities that are no longer productive.

How a congregation learns

I recently read the latest edition of Congregations, a magazine published by The Alban Institute, that contained an excellent article on "How Your Congregation Learns" written by Tim Shapiro.  Shapiro was a pastor for 18 years before becoming the president of the Indianapolis Center for Congregations.  I felt the article was excellent and wanted to share it with the readers of this blog.  Each day I want to take one element that is addressed in the article and add some of my own thoughts to it.  As you read these think about how they might apply to your congregation and what changes they might make in how your church addresses whatever challenges it may have.  The first element Shapiro lists is Congregations that learn will find and use outside resources.  He correctly notes that an outside resource provides a new perspective to a congregation. 

Sometimes a church becomes stuck in its thinking because it can't find a new way to think about its existing challenges.  When any group has been together for some time certain thinking patterns take root.  When old issues arise again it's always tempting to deal with them in the same ways we did before.  We really have little choice because it's the only way we know to approach them.

Bringing in an outside resource gives us a new set of eyes to look at those old issues.  This resource may be a judicatory leader who has seen how other churches have approached the issue.  It may be a coach who can lead persons to begin to think differently about the issue.  It may be an author or consultant who has spent signficant time studying the issue and who has learned a number of ways to approach it.  Regardless of whom this resource is he or she will bring new ways of thinking to the challenge.  The congregation then can take their new learnings and adapt them to their context.

So far, my comments have focused primarily on bringing someone in to the church, but it's not always necessary to incur that expense for outside resources.  Every year there are numerous workshops and seminars made available to churches to provide them with those resources.  Churches need to take advantage of these opportunities, and yet few do, and then they complain that they can't seem to get unstuck.  Some of these are offered by the church's denomination at little or no cost.  Few workshops and conferences I've seen offered to churches are beyond any church's budget and should be seen as an investment in the future of the congregation.  These opportunities offer a great way to expose your church leaders to some of the best thinking on virtually any challenge that your church may be facing.

Whether you use someone specific to your congregation or take a group of leaders to an upcoming conference, find some resources outside your church to help you look at your challenges through different eyes and who can offer new solutions that can enable your church to move past whatever barriers may be holding them back.  Stay tuned tomorrow for the next factor that helps congregations learn.