I recently had the opportunity to attend a Transformational Church Summit at Campbellsville University. One of the leaders of the summit was Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay. Based upon research that organization has done, the number one key to transformational discipleship is getting people to read their Bible every day. Further research by the organization has found that only 20 percent of Christians read their Bibles daily. A study done by another organization reported that 35 percent of born again Christians never read their Bibles, and of those who say they do, many of them admit they only read their Bibles when they attend church services. Clearly, the church has much work to do in this area.
That work must begin by the pastors and other ministers on staff setting the example. I recently had a phone conversation with a minister who told me he graduated from a relatively liberal seminary. In one of his early classes the professor asked how many students had read the entire Bible. Out of a class of about 50 students he was the only one who raised his hand. If our clergy do not find it important to read the Scriptures we should not be surprised that many in our pews don't read them either. Although I did not do it every year, as a pastor I often followed an annual Bible reading plan that allowed me to read the entire Bible that year as part of my devotional reading. When I knew that would be part of my devotional practice for the year I would buy a new Bible in a translation I had not read before and use it for my reading. I also made sure the congregation knew what I was doing, not to impress anyone with my spirituality but to encourage them to follow my example. Many years I would issue a challenge to our congregation to make that the year they would read through the entire Bible before the end of the year. We in pastoral leadership should not expect members of our congregations to read the Scriptures if we are not setting the right example. And, if they are not reading the Scriptures we should not be surprised at their lack of growth as disciples.
Studies find that people often rise up to meet the expectations they are given. This is an area in which I find many church leaders fail to challenge their people. As Christians they should know that it is expected that they will spend time in the Bible each day and apply what they learn to every aspect of their lives. The Bible is not a book that is to be thrown in the back seat of the car after church and not taken out again until the next Sunday. It is the textbook for the Christian life. It teaches us how to grow as believers and become more mature in our faith. But none of this can happen if we are not diligently spending time reading and studying it.
Church leaders must set the example, we must establish the expectation that members of our congregations will spend time in the Word each day, and thirdly we need to present a high view of Scripture to people. I've been in a few churches where the Bible was never read as part of the service or as a text for a sermon. I've been in many more churches when a passage was read and then forgotten about as the pastor began to discuss some issue that didn't pertain to the passage. I've occasionally sat in services in which a text was read and then challenged and rejected by the minister as error.
If clergy have such a low view of Scripture we can expect our congregations to have the same view. Such people, in my opinion, have forfeited their right to serve as church leaders. The Scriptures are the infallible Word of God given to mankind to teach us how to live and how to conduct ourselves in this life and prepare for the life to come. The Bible is not a book about God; it is God's self-revelation of Himself to humankind so we can worship Him and trust Him. I may misinterpret or misunderstand what the text says, but that's my fault, not God's. It reflects my own lack of knowledge and understanding, but it doesn't change the truth of God's Word.
I often hear pastors complain about the lack of discipleship evident in the lives of their people, but one has to wonder what they are doing to address that. Are they demonstrating by their own behavior that we need to be regularly reading and studying the Scriptures? Are they setting the expectation before their people that they are to be reading the Bible daily? Are they demonstrating a high view of Scripture before the people? If the most important factor in helping people grow as disciples is to be daily reading the Bible, what are you doing to promote that in your church?
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Monday, October 8, 2012
Where do I begin?
I recently received an e-mail from an individual who said he was a first time pastor of a small church. He is serving as a bivocational pastor. The church is not healthy, and he wanted to know which of my books he should read first as he attempts to lead this church to become healthier. I recommended he begin reading The Healthy Small Church: Diagnosis and Treatment for the Big Issues
. This would help him with several different areas of church life that may need to be addressed. I also felt the last chapter which contains diagnostic questions he and his church leadership could answer together would be beneficial. However, as he reads this book there is something he needs to be doing before he starts addressing problems.
Everything in a smaller church is built around relationships. When change is introduced one of the first questions people will ask is how it will impact the relationships that exist in the church. Smaller churches are often referred to as family churches for a very good reason: they operate like a family. There are patriarchs and matriarchs who sit at the head of the table. New people can join a small church but they never really become part of the family until the patriarchs and matriarchs adopt them into the family. (By the way, that includes the pastor as well.) A new pastor of a smaller church must be very intentional about building relationships with the people in the congregation before attempting to make any significant changes in the way the church operates.
Small church pastors cannot spend the bulk of their time in the church office. They have to be with their people. I remember visiting one of the patriarchs of the church I served and found him in the barn working on a piece of farm machinery. I grabbed a nearby five gallon bucket, turned it upside down and sat there with him as he continued working. Our entire visit was spent in the barn as he finished getting his disk ready for spring. When I was leaving he smiled and said, "You know. You just might do all right here." I had entered his world and was not uncomfortable and we were able to make an immediate connection. It also helped that I was raised on farms so it wasn't the first time I had ever sat on a bucket in a barn.
Relationships are key to an effective ministry in smaller churches. Spend time with your people where they work, in their homes, at school functions. Get to know their hearts and allow them to know yours. The time may come when they will disagree with an action you want to take but will trust your heart and be willing to follow your leadership. As you know them you will avoid making decisions that you know will create undue pain in their lives. That kind of wisdom cannot be learned in a classroom but can only be found through the relationships you have with people, and that will make you a much better leader. It will also lead to a healthier church.
. This would help him with several different areas of church life that may need to be addressed. I also felt the last chapter which contains diagnostic questions he and his church leadership could answer together would be beneficial. However, as he reads this book there is something he needs to be doing before he starts addressing problems.Everything in a smaller church is built around relationships. When change is introduced one of the first questions people will ask is how it will impact the relationships that exist in the church. Smaller churches are often referred to as family churches for a very good reason: they operate like a family. There are patriarchs and matriarchs who sit at the head of the table. New people can join a small church but they never really become part of the family until the patriarchs and matriarchs adopt them into the family. (By the way, that includes the pastor as well.) A new pastor of a smaller church must be very intentional about building relationships with the people in the congregation before attempting to make any significant changes in the way the church operates.
Small church pastors cannot spend the bulk of their time in the church office. They have to be with their people. I remember visiting one of the patriarchs of the church I served and found him in the barn working on a piece of farm machinery. I grabbed a nearby five gallon bucket, turned it upside down and sat there with him as he continued working. Our entire visit was spent in the barn as he finished getting his disk ready for spring. When I was leaving he smiled and said, "You know. You just might do all right here." I had entered his world and was not uncomfortable and we were able to make an immediate connection. It also helped that I was raised on farms so it wasn't the first time I had ever sat on a bucket in a barn.
Relationships are key to an effective ministry in smaller churches. Spend time with your people where they work, in their homes, at school functions. Get to know their hearts and allow them to know yours. The time may come when they will disagree with an action you want to take but will trust your heart and be willing to follow your leadership. As you know them you will avoid making decisions that you know will create undue pain in their lives. That kind of wisdom cannot be learned in a classroom but can only be found through the relationships you have with people, and that will make you a much better leader. It will also lead to a healthier church.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Pastors and finances
Four years ago our region was blessed with a Lilly grant designed to assist our pastors with financial needs. Since we began we have been able to assist pastors with several hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. Much of this was to pay for medical expenses that were not covered by insurance. We've paid off thousands of dollars of student loan debt. We were able to help a pastor who lost his library and office equipment in a fire replace his books and equipment. A number of pastors with automobile problems have been helped get them repaired. I could go on and on telling amazing stories of pastors whose lives and ministries have been changed due to this grant. Lilly believed that if pastors did not have to worry so much about bills they could be more effective pastors, and I believe their theory is correct.
This has been an eye opening experience for many of us in the region. Going to school part time I was able to cash flow my education. I did not know until we began doing this that the average seminary graduate leaves school with $40,000-50,000 in student loan debt. I've personally talked to one who had over $60,000 in student loan debt. I've been blessed as a bivocational minister to have excellent insurance through my other employer and didn't realize some of the medical debt some of our pastors were carrying.
I've also been amazed at how difficult it is for pastors to talk to their churches about their debt. This grant requires that every dollar our region gives must be matched, usually by the church the pastor serves. I know many pastors who should be applying for assistance but won't because they do not want their church to know of their financial plight. As many as we've helped we know we haven't scratched the surface due to the fear or pride that prevents the pastors from admitting they have needs. In some cases, the pastor's concerns are justified due to the size of the church and its inability to provide those matching funds. Fortunately, we do have other avenues we can use to find matching funds. But, in too many cases the pastors do not want to admit their needs because of pride. This pride places continued stress on both the pastor and his or her family and is unfortunate.
Most judicatories do not have the opportunity to help their pastors as we do in our state thanks to the generosity of Lilly, but that doesn't mean the need isn't there. In fact, our experience shows just how great a need does exist. Many pastors are drowning in debt, not always the result of their spending habits. Some of these will leave the ministry to seek careers that offer larger salaries in order to pay their bills. Others will continue to struggle financially which will impact their ministry effectiveness.
Here is a way for churches to step in and help their pastors. I know only too well how many churches, especially smaller ones, like to poor-mouth. Although they claim to struggle financially, I also know many that have large sums of money in savings or on CDs. What a blessing they could be if they would help their pastor with some of his or her financial needs. October is Pastor Appreciation Month, and I can think of no better way to show your pastor how much you appreciate him or her than to help ease his or her financial burdens.
Church leaders may be thinking that their pastor doesn't have any financial challenges, but you won't know until you discuss this with the pastor. Believe me, many of them are hiding major financial difficulties from their congregations. You may be reluctant to discuss this with your pastor thinking it's none of your business, but if you are talking to him or her because you want to help then it is your business. Your church may not be able to pay off the sums of money our region has been able to pay with our grant, but if you paid off even one bill it might relieve a lot of stress. I can remember a time in our lives when if we had just one less bill it would have made a tremendous difference.
Another thing our grant enables us to do is to send our pastors to receive financial counseling. There are pastors who are seminary graduates who can't balance a checkbook. Some have adequate income but have never learned how to prepare a budget or manage their money. When we find a pastor who would benefit from financial counseling we send that person to some people we have identified throughout our region as being especially competent. Your church could do the same for your pastor. In fact, most pastors I know would benefit from some level of financial counseling that might range from how to balance a checkbook to investing and planning for retirement. Here's another way you could demonstrate your appreciation for your pastor in October. I know I would prefer something like that to a Wal-Mart gift card!
Pastors are people called by God to serve God's people. That doesn't mean they don't have financial challenges like many others. Their cars break down, their children may need braces, they go to the emergency rooms, they misuse credit cards, and the list goes on. As their financial challenges increase so do their stress levels. Few pastors receive large salaries, and if they get behind financially it's very difficult for them to catch up. How great it would be if their churches would begin to invest in the future of their pastors by helping financially when they have unexpected needs.
This has been an eye opening experience for many of us in the region. Going to school part time I was able to cash flow my education. I did not know until we began doing this that the average seminary graduate leaves school with $40,000-50,000 in student loan debt. I've personally talked to one who had over $60,000 in student loan debt. I've been blessed as a bivocational minister to have excellent insurance through my other employer and didn't realize some of the medical debt some of our pastors were carrying.
I've also been amazed at how difficult it is for pastors to talk to their churches about their debt. This grant requires that every dollar our region gives must be matched, usually by the church the pastor serves. I know many pastors who should be applying for assistance but won't because they do not want their church to know of their financial plight. As many as we've helped we know we haven't scratched the surface due to the fear or pride that prevents the pastors from admitting they have needs. In some cases, the pastor's concerns are justified due to the size of the church and its inability to provide those matching funds. Fortunately, we do have other avenues we can use to find matching funds. But, in too many cases the pastors do not want to admit their needs because of pride. This pride places continued stress on both the pastor and his or her family and is unfortunate.
Most judicatories do not have the opportunity to help their pastors as we do in our state thanks to the generosity of Lilly, but that doesn't mean the need isn't there. In fact, our experience shows just how great a need does exist. Many pastors are drowning in debt, not always the result of their spending habits. Some of these will leave the ministry to seek careers that offer larger salaries in order to pay their bills. Others will continue to struggle financially which will impact their ministry effectiveness.
Here is a way for churches to step in and help their pastors. I know only too well how many churches, especially smaller ones, like to poor-mouth. Although they claim to struggle financially, I also know many that have large sums of money in savings or on CDs. What a blessing they could be if they would help their pastor with some of his or her financial needs. October is Pastor Appreciation Month, and I can think of no better way to show your pastor how much you appreciate him or her than to help ease his or her financial burdens.
Church leaders may be thinking that their pastor doesn't have any financial challenges, but you won't know until you discuss this with the pastor. Believe me, many of them are hiding major financial difficulties from their congregations. You may be reluctant to discuss this with your pastor thinking it's none of your business, but if you are talking to him or her because you want to help then it is your business. Your church may not be able to pay off the sums of money our region has been able to pay with our grant, but if you paid off even one bill it might relieve a lot of stress. I can remember a time in our lives when if we had just one less bill it would have made a tremendous difference.
Another thing our grant enables us to do is to send our pastors to receive financial counseling. There are pastors who are seminary graduates who can't balance a checkbook. Some have adequate income but have never learned how to prepare a budget or manage their money. When we find a pastor who would benefit from financial counseling we send that person to some people we have identified throughout our region as being especially competent. Your church could do the same for your pastor. In fact, most pastors I know would benefit from some level of financial counseling that might range from how to balance a checkbook to investing and planning for retirement. Here's another way you could demonstrate your appreciation for your pastor in October. I know I would prefer something like that to a Wal-Mart gift card!
Pastors are people called by God to serve God's people. That doesn't mean they don't have financial challenges like many others. Their cars break down, their children may need braces, they go to the emergency rooms, they misuse credit cards, and the list goes on. As their financial challenges increase so do their stress levels. Few pastors receive large salaries, and if they get behind financially it's very difficult for them to catch up. How great it would be if their churches would begin to invest in the future of their pastors by helping financially when they have unexpected needs.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
The changing role of denominations
Much has been written lately about the demise of denominations. Some question if they still have value in the 21st century. Churches are leaving their denominations for a variety of reasons while others are changing their denominational affiliation. For some churches this is related to theological differences between them and their denomination while others feel the denomination they have belonged to for decades is now a hindrance to their ministries. As a judicatory leader in a mainline denomination I still believe there is value in denominations, but I also recognize that many need to make some significant changes that may be difficult.
The primary advantage to denominations is the same as it's always been. Belonging to a denomination and/or an association allows churches to do things together they could not do by themselves. The church I pastored was giving 15 percent of its offering to our denominational mission program when I left. It was a sizable amount of money for a church our size, but by itself it would not have supported a missionary more than five or six months at the most. Alone, our overseas mission support would have amounted to very little, but when added to the gifts of thousands of other churches our denomination was able to fund mission work around the world.
A few years ago I went with several individuals to an area of Appalachia to help winterize a couple of houses. About 15 individuals from seven churches in one association was part of this effort. Every church in that association but one is bivocational. Alone, none of those churches could have done what we were able to do together. Sadly, it seems that seldom do churches in associations get together for ministry any more, but that day was a prime example of what can happen when they do come together for the purpose of ministry.
In addition, denominations and judicatories are able to provide resources to their churches, assist when problems arise in the church, assist in finding pastoral leadership, offer training opportunities, and provide a connection with other like-minded churches. And, they are able to do that with a personal touch. In our Internet-connected world, virtually anything a denomination can offer is also now available online through some para-church organization, but what you lose by using those resources is the personal touch from a person who knows your church, has visited your church and its leadership, and has a vested interest in seeing your church succeed. That is an often overlooked advantage that comes by being connected with a denomination.
Despite these advantages denominations can bring to their churches, there are some things they need to address if they want to survive and thrive in the 21st century. For the sake of brevity, I'll just touch briefly on three.
They need a clear identity. Many denominations have been in turmoil for years over controversial social issues. While some have taken definite steps to say where they are on these issues, many others continue to try to manage them by developing yet one more task force to study the issue. Studying an issue seems to be a safer place to be than to actually state the official denomination stand on the issue, but the continual stress around these issues does nothing but erode trust in the denomination. With decreasing trust comes decreasing dollars which may explain why many denominations today are struggling financially. Here's an idea for denominational leaders. Grow a spine. Take a stand. Stop trying to appease both sides on these issues because all you're doing is hindering the work of God's Kingdom. At least if you'll simply issue a definitive statement about the position the denomination takes on the issues everyone can make whatever decisions they need to make about their continual association with the denomination. It may be painful for awhile, but in time everyone will be able to move forward.
They need a clear understanding of their role in the 21st century. Too many denominations seem to believe that the church exists for them. They don't, and frankly never did. As denominational leaders our role is to do whatever we can to assist our churches in the fulfillment of their ministries. It is the church that God called to advance His Kingdom, not denominations. Our role is merely to assist them. Denominations exist for their churches, and those that can't understand that will continue to decline, and should.
Finally, they need a clear vision for their ministry. This is really connected to the first two mentioned. I suppose every denomination has a vision statement, but that doesn't mean they have a vision for ministry. Writing words is easy; putting them into practice on a daily basis is much more difficult. Some denominations have a vision that is primarily maintenance-minded. Their vision is to preserve their historic policies and polity, to ensure that all things are done decently and in order, and, frankly, to survive. Such vision lacks the heart of God for what is really important. Unless denominations recover a vision that honors God and the work of their churches they will become irrelevant to both God and their churches.
Denominations are huge bureaucracies and change will not be easy. In fact, it will likely come with much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. There will be much pain as denominations transition into new roles and relationships with their churches, but such transformation must happen. There can be so many benefits coming from the relationships between a denomination and its churches, but many of these benefits are going to be lost if the denominations are unable to make the changes required of them. I address this in more detail in my latest book The Healthy Community: Moving Your Church Beyond Tunnel Vision.
The primary advantage to denominations is the same as it's always been. Belonging to a denomination and/or an association allows churches to do things together they could not do by themselves. The church I pastored was giving 15 percent of its offering to our denominational mission program when I left. It was a sizable amount of money for a church our size, but by itself it would not have supported a missionary more than five or six months at the most. Alone, our overseas mission support would have amounted to very little, but when added to the gifts of thousands of other churches our denomination was able to fund mission work around the world.
A few years ago I went with several individuals to an area of Appalachia to help winterize a couple of houses. About 15 individuals from seven churches in one association was part of this effort. Every church in that association but one is bivocational. Alone, none of those churches could have done what we were able to do together. Sadly, it seems that seldom do churches in associations get together for ministry any more, but that day was a prime example of what can happen when they do come together for the purpose of ministry.
In addition, denominations and judicatories are able to provide resources to their churches, assist when problems arise in the church, assist in finding pastoral leadership, offer training opportunities, and provide a connection with other like-minded churches. And, they are able to do that with a personal touch. In our Internet-connected world, virtually anything a denomination can offer is also now available online through some para-church organization, but what you lose by using those resources is the personal touch from a person who knows your church, has visited your church and its leadership, and has a vested interest in seeing your church succeed. That is an often overlooked advantage that comes by being connected with a denomination.
Despite these advantages denominations can bring to their churches, there are some things they need to address if they want to survive and thrive in the 21st century. For the sake of brevity, I'll just touch briefly on three.
They need a clear identity. Many denominations have been in turmoil for years over controversial social issues. While some have taken definite steps to say where they are on these issues, many others continue to try to manage them by developing yet one more task force to study the issue. Studying an issue seems to be a safer place to be than to actually state the official denomination stand on the issue, but the continual stress around these issues does nothing but erode trust in the denomination. With decreasing trust comes decreasing dollars which may explain why many denominations today are struggling financially. Here's an idea for denominational leaders. Grow a spine. Take a stand. Stop trying to appease both sides on these issues because all you're doing is hindering the work of God's Kingdom. At least if you'll simply issue a definitive statement about the position the denomination takes on the issues everyone can make whatever decisions they need to make about their continual association with the denomination. It may be painful for awhile, but in time everyone will be able to move forward.
They need a clear understanding of their role in the 21st century. Too many denominations seem to believe that the church exists for them. They don't, and frankly never did. As denominational leaders our role is to do whatever we can to assist our churches in the fulfillment of their ministries. It is the church that God called to advance His Kingdom, not denominations. Our role is merely to assist them. Denominations exist for their churches, and those that can't understand that will continue to decline, and should.
Finally, they need a clear vision for their ministry. This is really connected to the first two mentioned. I suppose every denomination has a vision statement, but that doesn't mean they have a vision for ministry. Writing words is easy; putting them into practice on a daily basis is much more difficult. Some denominations have a vision that is primarily maintenance-minded. Their vision is to preserve their historic policies and polity, to ensure that all things are done decently and in order, and, frankly, to survive. Such vision lacks the heart of God for what is really important. Unless denominations recover a vision that honors God and the work of their churches they will become irrelevant to both God and their churches.
Denominations are huge bureaucracies and change will not be easy. In fact, it will likely come with much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. There will be much pain as denominations transition into new roles and relationships with their churches, but such transformation must happen. There can be so many benefits coming from the relationships between a denomination and its churches, but many of these benefits are going to be lost if the denominations are unable to make the changes required of them. I address this in more detail in my latest book The Healthy Community: Moving Your Church Beyond Tunnel Vision.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Measuring success in the bivocational church
Churches in America tend to measure success by counting nickles and noses. When our numbers are up we assume God's favor is upon us, and when the numbers are down something is wrong. Pastors and other church leaders look for the latest and greatest strategies for growing their churches by reading the newest books and attending the right conferences. Now, there is certainly nothing wrong with wanting to grow a church. Any minister would prefer growth over stagnation. Numbers are important because they represent people, and in the best of situations they represent people whose lives are being transformed through a relationship with Jesus Christ. The problem is when we assume that the smaller church is less important to the Kingdom of God than the larger ones, and when we in ministry begin to measure our value to that Kingdom based upon numbers. The fact is that if big numbers are the only sign of God's favor on our ministries then few bivocational ministers will feel very good about their calling. I believe there are more biblical ways of measuring success.
Robert Schuller once defined success as "discovering and developing your potential as well as seeing the new opportunities born all around you every new day." John Maxwell defined it as "knowing God and his desires for me; growing to my maximum potential; and sowing seeds that benefit others." Charles Stanley described success as "the continuing achievement of becoming the person God wants you to be and accomplishing the goals God has helped you set." Each of these are individuals who are considered to be successful Christian leaders and pastors, and yet none of them defined success with numbers. Their idea of success was more personal. It involved one's personal growth, recognizing the call of God on one's life, and seeking to be obedient to that call.
In my workshops I always remind church leaders that the call to bivocational ministry is not a greater nor a lesser call than the call to fully-funded ministry. It is God's call on a person's life for that particular time and for that particular church. Our willingness to be obedient to that call is the beginning of a successful ministry, and our faithfulness to that call allows our success to continue.
Success must be seen as a journey, not a destination. It begins with an understanding of the vision God has for your ministry and then taking the steps needed to achieve that vision. Every step of that journey represents success. Failure isn't taking a step backwards; we will all do that at times. Failure is when we stop the journey, when we stop moving towards the vision. Success isn't found in achieving that vision. Too many will achieve that initial vision and stop. A successful ministry will achieve the vision, stop long enough to celebrate, identify a fresh vision from God, and begin the journey again.
For more information on how to measure success in a bivocational church and how to take the success journey I refer you to an early book I wrote on the subject, The Bivocational Pastor: Two Jobs, One Ministry.
Robert Schuller once defined success as "discovering and developing your potential as well as seeing the new opportunities born all around you every new day." John Maxwell defined it as "knowing God and his desires for me; growing to my maximum potential; and sowing seeds that benefit others." Charles Stanley described success as "the continuing achievement of becoming the person God wants you to be and accomplishing the goals God has helped you set." Each of these are individuals who are considered to be successful Christian leaders and pastors, and yet none of them defined success with numbers. Their idea of success was more personal. It involved one's personal growth, recognizing the call of God on one's life, and seeking to be obedient to that call.
In my workshops I always remind church leaders that the call to bivocational ministry is not a greater nor a lesser call than the call to fully-funded ministry. It is God's call on a person's life for that particular time and for that particular church. Our willingness to be obedient to that call is the beginning of a successful ministry, and our faithfulness to that call allows our success to continue.
Success must be seen as a journey, not a destination. It begins with an understanding of the vision God has for your ministry and then taking the steps needed to achieve that vision. Every step of that journey represents success. Failure isn't taking a step backwards; we will all do that at times. Failure is when we stop the journey, when we stop moving towards the vision. Success isn't found in achieving that vision. Too many will achieve that initial vision and stop. A successful ministry will achieve the vision, stop long enough to celebrate, identify a fresh vision from God, and begin the journey again.
For more information on how to measure success in a bivocational church and how to take the success journey I refer you to an early book I wrote on the subject, The Bivocational Pastor: Two Jobs, One Ministry.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Now is the time to begin preparing for 2013
We've just entered the fall season which is when church calendars begin filling up with all kinds of activities. Many churches do a "Trunk-or-Treat" alternative to Halloween. Even more have Thanksgiving dinners, and nearly every church has some special events for the Advent season. Finance committees begin meeting in many churches to prepare budgets for next year while nominating committees begin their work trying to find people to fill the various positions in the church. There's a lot going on, but this is also the time when pastors need to begin thinking about the church's focus for the coming year and his or her sermon plans.
It's always amazed me that a church could develop a budget and a list of people for various leadership positions without any clear sense of what their focus would be for the coming year. Such visionless churches are merely ensuring they can maintain what they have without giving any thought to what God might want for their churches. Maybe, just maybe, God wants to call your church to a great evangelism emphasis in 2013. Do you think that should be reflected in the budget? Do you think there might need to be some people identified who could provide leadership to that? Should that enter into the pastor's preaching plans for the next year? The answer to all three questions is yes.
If a church has not had an active evangelism emphasis in several years it is likely to need training for its members to help them feel more comfortable sharing their faith. Money should be in the budget for such training. You may identify resources that will be used by your people when they share their faith. The cost of those would be included in the budget. Part of your evangelism efforts may include some special events which should be covered in the budget. All of this will have an impact on the work of the Finance Committee.
You may need special people to lead some of this training or programming. (Please don't elect an Evangelism Committee because if you do evangelism then becomes their job and everyone else is off the hook.) These folks will need to be released from some other responsibilities in order to focus on this new role. Their old positions will either have to be filled by someone else or eliminated if those positions no longer add any real value to the church. The Nominating Committee needs to know these things before they begin their work.
How will this emphasis affect the pastor's preaching schedule? To keep any vision alive the congregation must be reminded of it at least once a month. A variety of ways can be utilized, but the one way to reach the most people in a smaller church is through the pastor's messages. He or she might want to preach a series of sermons on the topic and follow that with an occasional reminder. The pastor may prefer to address it in the sermon at least once a month. However he or she feels will work best, that needs to be planned out so it's not forgotten in the rush of all the things a pastor does.
When I was a pastor I spent some time each fall thinking about my preaching schedule for the coming year. I took sheets of paper and wrote down the date of every Sunday. If it was a holiday I made a note of that to prepare an appropriate message. I could then begin to think about possible sermon themes that would tie in with our emphasis that particular year. I always tried to work one quarter ahead with at least a text and a sermon title. The actual messages were often not prepared more than a couple of weeks out. All that was done in pencil so if events occurred that required a change it could easily be done on my simple planner.
This all took time, but when it was time to prepare my sermons I didn't have to spend half of the week trying to decide what I should preach. I could focus my attention on the message itself. It also helped me be more alert to things that would apply to my message when I would be reading. When I've shared this strategy with pastors attending my workshops someone will often ask if this doesn't negate the leading of the Spirit in sermon planning. My response is that I believe the Holy Spirit can lead us three months ahead of time the same as he can on Saturday night. The story of the wise and foolish virgins in Mt. 25 teaches us that thinking ahead and being prepared is a good thing. Now is the time to be thinking ahead to 2013.
It's always amazed me that a church could develop a budget and a list of people for various leadership positions without any clear sense of what their focus would be for the coming year. Such visionless churches are merely ensuring they can maintain what they have without giving any thought to what God might want for their churches. Maybe, just maybe, God wants to call your church to a great evangelism emphasis in 2013. Do you think that should be reflected in the budget? Do you think there might need to be some people identified who could provide leadership to that? Should that enter into the pastor's preaching plans for the next year? The answer to all three questions is yes.
If a church has not had an active evangelism emphasis in several years it is likely to need training for its members to help them feel more comfortable sharing their faith. Money should be in the budget for such training. You may identify resources that will be used by your people when they share their faith. The cost of those would be included in the budget. Part of your evangelism efforts may include some special events which should be covered in the budget. All of this will have an impact on the work of the Finance Committee.
You may need special people to lead some of this training or programming. (Please don't elect an Evangelism Committee because if you do evangelism then becomes their job and everyone else is off the hook.) These folks will need to be released from some other responsibilities in order to focus on this new role. Their old positions will either have to be filled by someone else or eliminated if those positions no longer add any real value to the church. The Nominating Committee needs to know these things before they begin their work.
How will this emphasis affect the pastor's preaching schedule? To keep any vision alive the congregation must be reminded of it at least once a month. A variety of ways can be utilized, but the one way to reach the most people in a smaller church is through the pastor's messages. He or she might want to preach a series of sermons on the topic and follow that with an occasional reminder. The pastor may prefer to address it in the sermon at least once a month. However he or she feels will work best, that needs to be planned out so it's not forgotten in the rush of all the things a pastor does.
When I was a pastor I spent some time each fall thinking about my preaching schedule for the coming year. I took sheets of paper and wrote down the date of every Sunday. If it was a holiday I made a note of that to prepare an appropriate message. I could then begin to think about possible sermon themes that would tie in with our emphasis that particular year. I always tried to work one quarter ahead with at least a text and a sermon title. The actual messages were often not prepared more than a couple of weeks out. All that was done in pencil so if events occurred that required a change it could easily be done on my simple planner.
This all took time, but when it was time to prepare my sermons I didn't have to spend half of the week trying to decide what I should preach. I could focus my attention on the message itself. It also helped me be more alert to things that would apply to my message when I would be reading. When I've shared this strategy with pastors attending my workshops someone will often ask if this doesn't negate the leading of the Spirit in sermon planning. My response is that I believe the Holy Spirit can lead us three months ahead of time the same as he can on Saturday night. The story of the wise and foolish virgins in Mt. 25 teaches us that thinking ahead and being prepared is a good thing. Now is the time to be thinking ahead to 2013.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Transformational church
Last week I had the privilege of attending a Transformational Church Summit on the beautiful campus of Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Kentucky. The principle speakers were Thom Rainer and Dan Garland from LifeWay and Rusty Ellison, pastor of Walnut Street Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Several other individuals led workshops as well. All I can is WOW! It was a dynamic two days filled with encouragement, hope, and tools that can help almost any church transform.
Thom Rainer explained the research that went into their book Transformational Church: Creating a New Scorecard for Congregations
. As they researched churches that are being transformed they found some common characteristics. Although there are more than three such characteristics three primary factors include the church having a missionary mentality, relational intentionality, and a prayerful dependence. In a workshop Dan Garland taught us how to use a Transformational Church Assessment that measures the worship, the sense of community, the level of vibrant leadership, the relational intentionality, the missionary mindset, the prayer dependence, and the sense of mission that exists in the church. This assessment provides insights into the strengths of the church and areas that can be improved. Rusty Ellison explained how their church is currently involved in that assessment and how it is impacting their church.
For quite a while we have been told that 80 percent of the churches in America are plateaued or declining. Many of our churches recognize that things are not right with their churches and claim to want to make changes, but how many of them are actually doing anything intentional to change anything? I know of very few. Here is an assessment tool that can help a church identify areas in its life and ministry that need to be examined, and there are people who can assist with that examination and the changes that need for transformation to occur. If the leadership of a church did nothing more than study the book mentioned above and begin to implement some of the suggestions transformation could at least begin.
As excited as I felt when I left the summit I was also deeply concerned because I really wonder how many churches will actually use this tool now that it's available. Perhaps I am getting a little cynical, but many of the churches I know will prefer to wring their hands complaining about how bad things are in their church to actually doing something about it. They won't take this assessment and implement any of the recommendations that would come from it. They won't call the hundreds of judicatory and denominational leaders who are eager to help their churches that are serious about transformation. They won't call the hundreds of church consultants and coaches that are available to come alongside them and help develop a plan of action to transform their church. They won't even read the book I listed and attempt to implement even one suggestion in it. It's much easier to remember the good old days and hope that somehow, someway, sometime they will be able to recapture it.
Take a look at your church. Look at the people there now and look back at all those who have been a part of your church. How has God used your church over the years to impact and change people's lives? How has He blessed your church in the past? Do you believe He has done all that just to be done with your church now? I don't, so if your church is one of the approximately 100 churches that closes their doors every week it won't be His fault.
Your church is much like people. It doesn't matter how much of a reprobate they may be, God can still transform their lives if they will allow Him to. It doesn't matter where your church is today, God can transform it into a ministry center that changes people's lives if you will allow Him to. Make this a matter of prayer this week. Get this book, read it, and listen for what God might say to you as you read. Your church can be transformed.
Thom Rainer explained the research that went into their book Transformational Church: Creating a New Scorecard for Congregations
. As they researched churches that are being transformed they found some common characteristics. Although there are more than three such characteristics three primary factors include the church having a missionary mentality, relational intentionality, and a prayerful dependence. In a workshop Dan Garland taught us how to use a Transformational Church Assessment that measures the worship, the sense of community, the level of vibrant leadership, the relational intentionality, the missionary mindset, the prayer dependence, and the sense of mission that exists in the church. This assessment provides insights into the strengths of the church and areas that can be improved. Rusty Ellison explained how their church is currently involved in that assessment and how it is impacting their church.For quite a while we have been told that 80 percent of the churches in America are plateaued or declining. Many of our churches recognize that things are not right with their churches and claim to want to make changes, but how many of them are actually doing anything intentional to change anything? I know of very few. Here is an assessment tool that can help a church identify areas in its life and ministry that need to be examined, and there are people who can assist with that examination and the changes that need for transformation to occur. If the leadership of a church did nothing more than study the book mentioned above and begin to implement some of the suggestions transformation could at least begin.
As excited as I felt when I left the summit I was also deeply concerned because I really wonder how many churches will actually use this tool now that it's available. Perhaps I am getting a little cynical, but many of the churches I know will prefer to wring their hands complaining about how bad things are in their church to actually doing something about it. They won't take this assessment and implement any of the recommendations that would come from it. They won't call the hundreds of judicatory and denominational leaders who are eager to help their churches that are serious about transformation. They won't call the hundreds of church consultants and coaches that are available to come alongside them and help develop a plan of action to transform their church. They won't even read the book I listed and attempt to implement even one suggestion in it. It's much easier to remember the good old days and hope that somehow, someway, sometime they will be able to recapture it.
Take a look at your church. Look at the people there now and look back at all those who have been a part of your church. How has God used your church over the years to impact and change people's lives? How has He blessed your church in the past? Do you believe He has done all that just to be done with your church now? I don't, so if your church is one of the approximately 100 churches that closes their doors every week it won't be His fault.
Your church is much like people. It doesn't matter how much of a reprobate they may be, God can still transform their lives if they will allow Him to. It doesn't matter where your church is today, God can transform it into a ministry center that changes people's lives if you will allow Him to. Make this a matter of prayer this week. Get this book, read it, and listen for what God might say to you as you read. Your church can be transformed.
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