The most critical time in the life of a small church

After spending 20 years as the bivocational pastor of a small church and the past 13 years as a leader in our judicatory often working with smaller churches I have decided the most critical time in the life of a small church is the time they spend between pastors.  This is a time that should be spent in reflection as they review their history and look towards the future.  It is a time to discern a fresh vision from God regarding their future ministry.  The selection of their next pastor is a critical decision that will largely determine whether or not that vision is fulfilled, and the person they call will shape their congregation for good or bad for years to come.  Unfortunately, many churches do not use this time wisely and end up calling someone who is not a good fit for their church and/or does not have the gifts to lead their church towards their God-given vision.

Some smaller churches cannot stand to not have a pastor.  Their attitude seems to be that most people wouldn't want to come to their church so they will take the first person who shows an interest.  This usually does not end well for the church.   Sadly, many of these churches do not learn from their mistake, and when they begin the search for their next pastor they take the same approach...and they continue their downward spiral.

I have worked with some smaller churches that are unwilling to spend the money for a quality interim pastor who can help them become better prepared to call a pastor.  These churches view the interim time as an opportunity to build up their financial coffers.  They look for someone willing to preach for little salary so they can replenish their bank account.  As a result they lose the opportunity to have someone lead the reflection they need before calling a new pastor.  A good interim minister will have some skills that can be very valuable to a church in a pastoral transition, and these folks should be used as often as possible.

Some of these churches really do not want a pastor, or at least one who will provide leadership to the church.  These churches want a chaplain who will care for the flock.  They simply want someone to preach on Sundays, visit people in the hospital, and perform weddings and funerals.  A problem arises when the number of funerals continues to increase much faster than the number of weddings.

Everything rises and falls on leadership.  No church can be any healthier than its leadership, and this includes both pastoral and lay leadership.  A church will not be healthy and growing if it does not have a healthy, growing pastor who is willing and able to provide leadership to the church, and the church is willing to follow that leadership.

Equally important is that the pastor is a good cultural and spiritual match to the congregation.  I have seen too many short-term pastorates because the pastor and the congregation were not a good fit.  There is little excuse for this if the church has done proper reflection and has performed a quality search.  Smaller churches cannot afford short-term pastorates if they want to go to a higher level of ministry which makes this search process even more critical.

A final mistake I'll mention in this post is that some smaller churches fail to utilize the services of their judicatories.  Our region offers the services of our Resource Ministers to assist our churches in their pastoral searches, but some of our smaller churches refuse to use that assistance.  I'll be the first to admit that it is often not easy to find quality persons to serve in some smaller churches, but we do have some resources at our disposal that can help that process.  We have a process that we can give our churches to help them through the time of reflection, and we have persons who can provide quality interim ministry during the search process that we can recommend.  Call your judicatory and ask what resources they have available, and use them.

Remember - you are better off without a pastor than to call the wrong person to be your next pastor.  The search process may take longer than you would like, but if results in a better match it will be well worth the wait.

The dilemma for the bivocational minister/small business owner

Those who follow me on Twitter know that most days I post several articles I find on other blogs that relate to ministerial matters, leadership, or small business.  Most small business owners are entrepreneurs as are many bivocational ministers.  Both require good leadership skills, and I have found that many of the leadership principles that are helpful for one are transferable to the other.  Of course, my entire ministry has been bivocational, and for many years my other occupation had been heading a small business.  I find both enjoyable and challenging.

Combining ministry with business leadership brings its own set of challenges.  I sometimes found it hard to make needed decisions in my business because those decisions went against what I tried to do as a pastor.  There would be times when an employee needed to be let go, but I usually found that extremely difficult.  As a pastor I was wired to retain people, not send them away.  As a preacher of grace I believe in giving people second and third and fourth chances.  God has certainly forgiven me many time when I have failed and never once ran me off.  How then could I fire someone for his or her mistakes?  More than once I knew as a small business owner what I needed to do, but it was very hard to convince my heart that it was the right thing.  This was always a difficult decision that cost me many nights of sleep.

I recently found solace in the fact that T. D. Jakes admits to some of the same problems.  I'm currently reading his book Instinct: The Power to Unleash Your Inborn Drive.  In one chapter he discusses how challenging it can be to be both a pastor and a business owner, and he specifically addresses the area of hiring and firing.

Instituting change is also a challenge for ministry leaders who are also small business owners.  As we well know, change occurs very slowly in the church as the cost of such change is minimized as much as possible.  Again, we are wired in the church to retain people.  In the business world change happens much quicker with little concern for how it will impact people.  If people don't like the change they are free to leave and seek employment elsewhere.  I found that in most cases I chose the pastoral model when trying to introduce change into our business.  I wanted to move much slower than I should have, and it created problems for the business.

Another challenge pastor/business owners can face is when people owe their business money.  I would listen to every sad story people wanted to give as to why they couldn't pay their bill.  Cash flow is king in a small business.  You can be profitable and go broke if you don't have the cash to pay your bills.  The problem became worse when the person who owes you money is a Christian.  Our small business once had a client who owed us money and was several weeks late paying it.  Some wanted me to take him to court to get our money.  I refused.  The man was not only a Christian; he was a leader in his church.  I took seriously the biblical admonition to not take a brother to court.  He eventually did pay us what he owed, but it created a lot of grief for a lot of people.

There were people, usually other Christians, who thought that because I was a minister they should get special deals.  They failed to realize that our business had bills to pay just like any other business.  We had employees who needed us to be profitable so they could receive their pay checks each week.  A few Christians just assumed I had to be greedy since I would not give them special pricing, and I'm sure a percentage of them became angry with me as a result.  The minister/small business owner often has to work very hard to help others understand that his or her business must remain profitable to exist.

Occasionally, our business would make mistakes and have unhappy customers.  That's going to happen, and you try to minimize it and resolve it to the satisfaction of the customers.  What hurts is when people question your integrity and even your calling as a minister because of an honest mistake that your business made.  I even had one or two question whether I was even a Christian because of a simple mistake that we made.  We resolved the issue with the customer, but the pain their accusations caused did not go away for some time.

Despite the challenges, I still enjoy both ministry and small business.  I also believe that the flexibility owning a small business can bring can be an asset to a bivocational minister.  Knowing some of the unique challenges that a minister-owned business can bring can help one avoid them or at least not be surprised when they occur.  If you want to read more about some of the mistakes I made as a small business owner read my book Mistakes: Avoiding the Ones that Will Close Your Small Business.  It is only available for the NOOK device, but it will help you avoid some of the mistakes that are common to many small business owners.

What door is God preparing to open in your life?

One of the benefits of living to a certain age is the opportunity to look back and see how things unfolded in your life.  I still remember the day in 1981 as if it was yesterday when Hebron Baptist Church voted unanimously to call me as their pastor.  I had no experience and no education beyond high school.  The only thing I did have was the absolute confidence God had called me to pastor a church.  Few churches would have called me as their pastor, but God led me to one that would.

Although bivocational ministry was not uncommon in those days, it was not widely respected by many denominational leaders and others in church leadership.  For 20 years I served that church as a bivocational pastor until I was called to a judicatory ministry position at least in part because of my experience with bivocational ministry.  Never did I think this ministry opportunity would present itself, but God opened the door.

Soon after beginning my pastoral ministry I decided that I needed some formal education if I was going to be a more effective minister.  Working a full-time job, pastoring a church, and raising a family did not lend itself to pursuing an education, but God opened a door that allowed me to attend a Bible school.  After completing that program he made it possible for me to continue my education allowing me to earn three degrees.  Even now I sometimes wonder how that happened, but I realize that God kept opening doors and I kept walking through them.

One of my frustrations as a pastor was the lack of resources specifically created for bivocational ministers.  Towards the end of my pastoral ministry I decided to try to write a book that would encourage bivocational ministers and present this ministry as a viable option that others should consider.  I had never attempted to write a book before, but I sat down and began to write.  A couple of years later that book was published becoming the first of eight books (so far) that I've published on bivocational and small church ministry.  God opened a door that gave me an opportunity to not only write but to lead workshops and conferences for bivocational and small church leaders for numerous denominational bodies.

I mention these things not to focus on what I've done with my life but to recognize that God is continually preparing us for doors he plans to open for us to walk through.  Scripture is clear that even before we are born God has a plan for our lives.  I sometimes wonder how many times God has opened a door for me that I refused to enter thus missing out on that opportunity he had for me.  How many times have I failed to prepare myself for an opportunity that God couldn't give me because I wasn't ready?

I also mention these things to encourage you to look for the doors God may be opening for you.  Too many of us limit ourselves by failing to take advantage of the opportunities God gives us.  We are presented with an opportunity but begin to make excuses why we couldn't possibly do that.  Have you ever been faced with a ministry opportunity that you turned down because you are "Just a bivocational minister?"  Do you spend more time looking at all the things you don't have than you do looking at what God has been doing in your life that may have prepared you for more responsibilities?  In one of the sermons I sometimes preach I remind the congregation that "God is more interested in your availability than in your capability."

Believe me that although I was excited about being called as the pastor of that small, rural church, I was also fearful because I didn't know if I could lead a church.  When I was asked to come on our region staff it was also a fearful time.  By then I knew I could pastor that church, but I had no idea about how well I could serve in this new role.  I know what you experience at times when God seems to be opening new doors for you, but if he is opening the door it means that he knows you are capable of performing the task.  If God is opening a door for you he just wants you to be available, and if you'll do that he'll make you capable.

Is God opening a door for you?

The need for church revitalization

Eighty percent of the churches in America are either plateaued or declining.  Some put that number even higher.  Personally, I believe most of those churches are declining as the plateau level on a life cycle is really a rather small period of time.  It is estimated that 4,000 - 5,000 churches close their doors each year.  The number of churches per capita continues to shrink meaning that our churches are growing at less than the rate of population growth in this country.

Many denominations are focused on planting new churches which are greatly needed, but we are not starting enough new churches to make up for those that are closing.  It is critical that new church planting continues, but we also need to find ways to bring new life into our existing churches.

Church revitalization is not easy work because it requires that churches are willing to change, and change does not come easy for many churches.  It requires that their primary focus is no longer on themselves but on those not yet reached with the Gospel.  A few years ago I talked with a church about some changes it needed to consider making in order to bring new life into their congregation.  I cautioned them that if they began making some of those changes they might lose some of their existing membership.  One person responded she didn't see anyone in their church she was willing to give up, and the rest of the congregation agreed.  What these folks failed to realize is the impact that decision will make on future generations, their children and grandchildren.  Change is not easy, but neither is seeing a church lock its doors for the last time.

Church revitalization is also difficult because it demands courage from its leadership.  Everything rises and falls on leadership.  Several years ago when I was a pastor I read a book on church turnarounds.  One of the statements in the book was that every church turnaround was prefaced by a change in pastoral leadership.  The church I pastored needed to change, but if the author of the book was right such change could not happen under my leadership.  I didn't feel led to leave the church, but I also didn't want to be a stumbling block to its needed transformation.  I decided that I needed to change how I led the church.  The church would have a new pastor because I became committed to changing my ministry.  As my ministry changed so did our church, and many positive things began to happen.

Unfortunately, too many pastors are not leaders.  Some have admitted to me that they don't really know how to lead; they've never been taught how to lead; and they really don't want to be a leader.  They are managers.  They are comfortable maintaining the status quo.  Such pastors are unlikely to ever bring new life into a church.  Often, they are little more than hospice chaplains tending to a dying patient.

Unless a pastor is willing to lead the effort church revitalization will not happen.  He or she must have the courage to challenge the tunnel vision that has led the church into its current situation and a vision for how to lead the church in a different direction.  The lay leaders of the church also need to be people of courage willing to follow the pastor's lead.  Only when the pastor and lay leaders demonstrate their commitment to turning the church around will it experience new life.

We cannot afford to lose any more churches.  There is so much spiritual confusion today in our nation and world, and they need a healthy and revitalized church that can bring them the clear message of hope found only in the Gospel.  Our children and grandchildren need to hear that message, and where will they hear it if not from the church?  Is your church growing or is it in decline?  Where do you see your church ten years from now if it continues its current trend?  If your church is in need of revitalization now is the time to contact your region or denominational leadership and ask for their assistance.

Church or mission station

In yesterday's post I discussed the problem the church faces today of being unable to reach younger people.  You can read that post here.  I shared how we now serve in a mission field, and if we want to effectively reach the people God has given us we must understand how they think and how they view God and the church.  Before we will be able to do this we are going to have to rethink what it means to be a church.

For the past few years I have challenged those attending my church leader's seminars that we need to stop viewing ourselves simply as churches and begin to see ourselves as mission stations.  America is no longer a Christian nation. Christian thinking and values no longer shape our society.  One writer has referred to our society as a "rapidly emerging pagan culture."  Many of us would agree with that assessment.  We now do ministry in a society that is as ungodly as any in which our missionaries serve.  Being content to be a church isn't going to have much of an impact on such a society, and, in fact, it hasn't had much of an impact now for several decades.  We have to change our mindset and begin to view ourselves as mission stations God has placed to reach the unchurched people around us.

We get up on Sunday mornings and talk about going to "church."  We put on our nice clothes, drive to a nice facility, often with beautifully manicured lawns, and sit in comfortable pews or chairs.  Our music may range from pipe organ to a praise band, but they are all playing music that points us towards God.  Everyone is pleasant and polite (at least during the service).  Everyone present basically thinks alike and shares the same core values.  The speaker delivers a message that most people agree with, and an hour or so after arriving we all return to our homes inspired to eat lunch and get on with the remainder of our day.

As the atheist Matt Casper in the book Jim and Casper Go to Church: Frank Conversation about Faith, Churches, and Well-Meaning Christians asks, "Is this what Jesus told you guys to do?"  After spending a summer attending church services with the book's author, Jim Henderson, he couldn't get past the fact that he saw little action on the part of the people who sat in pews week after week.  Henderson writes, "Casper simply could not imagine Jesus telling his followers that the most important thing they should be doing is holding church services.  And yet this was the only logical conclusion he was able to come to based upon what he's observed."

Casper's question is a valid one.  Jesus gave the church a mission.  We call it the Great Commission (Mt. 28: 19-20).  We talk about it often in church.  We just don't do it.  Attending church services is great, but it's not fulfilling the Great Commission.  The purpose of attending worship services is to worship God and to be equipped to do ministry the rest of the week.  This is what a mission station would do.  It would give God's people an opportunity to come together to worship and to celebrate God, and then equip and encourage people to be engaged in ministry the other six days of the week.

If we view ourselves as part of a church we will have certain expectations of what that means.  If we view ourselves as a mission station we will have a different set of expectations.  I would encourage you to take a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle.  On one side list the expectations you would have of a church, and on the other side list the expectations you would expect of a mission station.  Which list best represents your congregation?

Our society needs the church to rise up and be a body of Christians with a mission.  We must be willing to leave our "sanctuaries" and go into an evil and hostile world with the transforming message of the gospel.  The church must take the Great Commission seriously and begin to boldly share the gospel with those who have not heard it.  Let's turn our churches into mission stations and begin once again to make an impact on our society.

Is the church not paying attention or does it just not care?

For decades we have witnessed a decline in the number of people attending worship services in the United States.  The membership roles of most denominational churches continue to shrink as does their revenue.  We have long noticed the "graying" of our congregations as growing numbers of young people have turned away from the church or have sought out churches that are not part of the denominations in which they were raised.  Recent reports indicate the fastest growing group in America today are the "nones."  These are the people who indicate "none" as their religious preference.  This is the reality facing many of our denominational churches today, and the question has to be asked, "What are they doing to address this reality?"  The answer must be "Not much" since the problems have only gotten worse.  The next question that must be asked is, "Is the church not paying attention or does it just not care?"

Part of what makes this so sad is that many young people today are drawn to the person of Jesus Christ.  It is the church that they don't trust and don't like.  Many younger people do not believe the church represents the real Jesus so they have turned away from the church and sought out other means to practice their spirituality.  A number of books address this problem, but none does it better than They Like Jesus but Not the Church: Insights from Emerging Generations by Dan Kimball.

At a church leadership conference Kimball challenged the approximately 500 pastors in attendance to leave the confines of their church offices for part of each week to spend time with persons not involved in a church.  Their response amazed him.  Many believed their congregations would not approve as they were expected to be at the church office in case they were needed by one of the members.  Some felt that it was not their responsibility to go to the people; they should come to us.  Few seemed to be willing to spend time building relationships with unchurched folk and discussing with them the reasons they are turned away from the church.

Kimball is willing, and this book contains some of the conversations he's had with numbers of the emerging generation.  I will warn you...some of those comments people have made to Kimball about the church are not comfortable to read.  The folks he talked to had some harsh things to say about church leaders, about some of the teachings of many churches, some of its practices, and its political agenda.  Some of their accusations seem a little unfair, but much of it is accurate, and whether we agree with their comments or not, they are the perceptions held by many unchurched people today.  If we are not willing to build relationships with these folks and earn the right to discuss their perceptions, how do we ever expect to be able to reach them?  Perhaps just as important...if we are not willing to listen to these folks how will we know which of their perceptions are actually valid and need addressing by those of us in church leadership?

Those of us who have been Christians for some time often live in a bubble.  We speak a secret language only known by other Christians.  We listen to Christian music, buy Christian books, attend Christian events, watch Christian programming on television, listen to Christian radio, and the majority, if not all, of our friends are Christians.  Our churches have conducted their activities in the same manner for years (decades?) so we assume that everything we do is normal and should appeal to people today just as it did to our grandparents.  If we want to learn how others see us, we have to get out of the bubble and enter the world we've been called to impact with the Gospel.

Isn't that what missionaries do?  If they spent 24/7/365 with their fellow missionaries they would never make an impact on the people they are trying to reach.  America today is just as much of a mission field as any other nation, and the church needs to learn that it must treat it as a mission field if we are going to have any influence on it today.   For a missionary to be effective he or she must understand the people they are trying to reach, their beliefs, their practices, their thinking.

For us to effectively reach our mission field we must do the same thing.  This book is a great place to get an overview of the people God has given us to reach.  Then, we must be willing to go out among the people and engage them, develop relationships with unchurched people to help them see that their perceptions of Christians are not valid of all of us, and then earn the right to share our faith.  It would be a shame to lose a generation of people because we weren't paying attention to the reasons why they didn't like the church.  It would be a greater shame if we lost that generation because we simply didn't care.

The problem with quick fixes and easy answers

This past week I was asked to preach the funeral of a young woman who was killed in our community by a hit-and-run driver while she was walking.  This mother of an active duty serviceman was a member of the church I pastored for twenty years so I knew her and her family very well.  Only after the funeral did the police announce that they had a person of interest, but at this point no arrest has been made.  Over 900 people attended the viewing, and nearly 300 came to the funeral.  I knew that at least some were hoping I could explain why this happened.

Early in my message I explained that I could not answer their "why" questions.  I shared some of the simple answers some would have given them, but I said that I would not use any of those responses to try to explain the events of the past few days.  This was not because I didn't believe any of them; it's just that I don't find those responses that helpful and comforting.  I explained I also did not want our unanswered questions to overshadow the celebration of this woman's life and its impact on so many people.  She was a person who was a friend to everyone she met and a blessing to so many people, and that was my focus for the remainder of the service.

As I younger pastor I probably would have used some of those answers in an attempt to explain what happened.  "God had a purpose for calling her home."  "She's in a better place now."  Etc.  Fortunately, I learned long ago that I did not need to always have an answer to everyone's questions nor did I need to defend God when tragedies occur.  I learned that while going through crises in my own life.  I've spent a lot of time asking the "why" question myself and never finding an answer, and through that I've learned that sometimes the only thing we can do is to trust that the presence of God will carry us through those dark times in our lives when there are no answers.  The one thing I could do is to promise the family and friends of this young woman that God would be present with them as they struggle with their loss.

Giving people easy answers and looking for quick fixes for problems may make ministry simpler, but it doesn't really address the issues people face.  "There is a time to be born and a time to die" may be biblical and true, but it's hardly comforting to a parent grieving the loss of a child.  As ministers we have to be willing to go beyond that to walk with that parent through that loss.  To give a struggling family "Three keys to a happy marriage" probably isn't going to resolve the issues they are facing.  Families do not get into trouble overnight, and their problems are not going to be resolved overnight with a brochure and a prayer.

Ministry is often complicated and messy, and the more complicated life becomes the more difficult ministry will be.  Often, the best thing we can do is to refer people to specialists trained to address the specific issues they are facing.  We provide pastoral care and support, but we also refer them to others who can provide the professional help they need.  Sometimes, pastoral care is enough, but sometimes it isn't.  The wise pastor will be able to understand the difference.