This past evening I had a conversation with a denominational leader who asked if I knew of a pool of bivocational ministers. It's not the first time I've been asked that question as these leaders are finding it difficult to find such ministers for their churches. Unfortunately, there is no such pool of which I'm aware.
The denomination in which I've served has a formal listing of pastors who are open for placement, but there are very few bivocational ministers on that list. The reason for this is that bivocational ministry tends to be very geographic. It's unlikely that a minister will come from New Jersey to pastor a bivocational church in Kansas. I've found a good rule of thumb is that most bivocational pastors will be found within a one-hour drive of the church. If they have to travel much more than an hour it really lessens their ministry in the church.
As more and more churches move towards calling a bivocational pastor it is imperative that denominations and judicatories begin seeking such persons to serve these churches. Otherwise, these churches will be tempted to call persons who may not be qualified to serve as pastors. I've seen too many instances where small churches have taken a warm body just to have a pastor who turned out to cause much harm to the church.
I'm convinced that many smaller churches will find their future pastors within their own membership. I've seen several instances when a church called a gifted layperson to be their pastor, and in many cases it has worked very well. Such persons already are trusted by the church and in the community. Because they have roots in the community they are more likely to remain as pastor for an extended period of time, and this is usually good for the church.
Denominational leaders can work with pastor search committees to discern if there might be someone in the church who could serve as pastor. Calling someone into the ministry is the work of God, not of denominational leaders, but we can approach people and ask if they have ever felt that God might be calling them to such ministry.
We also need to be looking in both our larger and smaller churches for others who might possess ministry gifts and begin discussions with them about serving as bivocational ministers. Pastors are often the best persons to initiate these discussions, and as they find people who do sense a call of God on their lives this can be made known to their judicatory leaders.
Every judicatory needs to develop several pools of potential bivocational ministers so they will have people available when their churches begin searching for new pastors. The time to develop these pools is yesterday, but today is not too late! Someone in every judicatory needs to have the responsibility to intentionally focus on this growing need or our smaller churches are going to struggle to find suitable pastors.
Once we have a pool, even a small one, we must find ways to offer training. That will be the topic of my next blog post.
Friday, April 22, 2016
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Freedom of the pulpit under attack
We live in a time when religious freedoms are under growing attack in the United States. This is especially the case for those who hold to conservative Christian values. Ten years ago few would have thought that SCOTUS would determine that same-sex marriage was a Constitutional-given right. Even fewer would have guessed that states, courts, and school districts would demand that people be allowed to use the bathroom of their choice. Virtually no one would have believed that government agencies would monitor the sermons preached from the pulpits of this nation and fire those whose messages did not meet their political correct litmus test. That kind of thing only happens in Communist and Socialist countries, doesn't it? Not any longer.
The Georgia Department of Public Health fired Dr. Eric Walsh from his position as a district health director due to sermons he preached as a lay minister with the Seventh Day Adventist church. Shortly after his hiring in 2014 a team from the Department began investigating his sermons. A few days later the Department announced it was rescinding the job offer which Dr. Walsh had already accepted. You can read more about this here.
This situation should give pause to every bivocational pastor. If you take a biblical stand that does not meet with the worldview of your employer your job may be in jeopardy. Dr. Walsh has sued the Georgia Department of Public Healthy, but there is no way in today's political climate to guess how this will end. If he loses, evangelical bivocational pastors may face increased scrutiny in the future.
Of course, every pastor and every Christian should be alarmed at this assault on religious freedom. We have gone from being a nation who holds to religious freedom to one that practices religious tolerance, and anything the government merely tolerates one day can be challenged the next.
This should serve as a wake-up call to American Christians, but I am not hopeful. We have been asleep for the past 50 years and generally apathetic as our nation has become more and more secular. The majority of us do not vote in elections. We do not hold our elected representatives accountable. They are much more afraid of offending large corporations and losing their financial support than they are of losing the votes of conservative Christians.
Even worse, we have not seen a religious revival in this nation in many years due to the apathy of Christians and their leaders. We have become content to gather in our "sanctuaries" and play church games. Maybe our "sanctuaries" are not so safe after all. 2 Chr. 7:14 still says that God will heal the nation when His people humble themselves, confess their sins, and pray.
Evangelical Christians must do two things if we have any hope of restoring this nation to its Christian foundations. We must become informed voters who vote our values, not our financial interests. Many of us need to run for public office and be willing to stand up to the special interest groups who want to shape our nation according to their worldviews. We need to hold our elected officials accountable and vote them back out if they refuse to listen to us.
More importantly, we have to pray for a spiritual revival in this land. Ultimately, a nation's salvation does not come from the White House, the State House, or the Courthouse. It comes from God. God is no longer willing to wink at our apathy. In the Old Testament when He judged a nation he sent warning after warning, each a little stronger, trying to turn that nation back to Him. Eventually the warnings stopped and judgment fell. We are experiencing such warnings in America now, each one a little stronger than previous ones. If the church and this nation do not heed those warnings we can expect God's judgment to fall upon us as well.
The Georgia Department of Public Health fired Dr. Eric Walsh from his position as a district health director due to sermons he preached as a lay minister with the Seventh Day Adventist church. Shortly after his hiring in 2014 a team from the Department began investigating his sermons. A few days later the Department announced it was rescinding the job offer which Dr. Walsh had already accepted. You can read more about this here.
This situation should give pause to every bivocational pastor. If you take a biblical stand that does not meet with the worldview of your employer your job may be in jeopardy. Dr. Walsh has sued the Georgia Department of Public Healthy, but there is no way in today's political climate to guess how this will end. If he loses, evangelical bivocational pastors may face increased scrutiny in the future.
Of course, every pastor and every Christian should be alarmed at this assault on religious freedom. We have gone from being a nation who holds to religious freedom to one that practices religious tolerance, and anything the government merely tolerates one day can be challenged the next.
This should serve as a wake-up call to American Christians, but I am not hopeful. We have been asleep for the past 50 years and generally apathetic as our nation has become more and more secular. The majority of us do not vote in elections. We do not hold our elected representatives accountable. They are much more afraid of offending large corporations and losing their financial support than they are of losing the votes of conservative Christians.
Even worse, we have not seen a religious revival in this nation in many years due to the apathy of Christians and their leaders. We have become content to gather in our "sanctuaries" and play church games. Maybe our "sanctuaries" are not so safe after all. 2 Chr. 7:14 still says that God will heal the nation when His people humble themselves, confess their sins, and pray.
Evangelical Christians must do two things if we have any hope of restoring this nation to its Christian foundations. We must become informed voters who vote our values, not our financial interests. Many of us need to run for public office and be willing to stand up to the special interest groups who want to shape our nation according to their worldviews. We need to hold our elected officials accountable and vote them back out if they refuse to listen to us.
More importantly, we have to pray for a spiritual revival in this land. Ultimately, a nation's salvation does not come from the White House, the State House, or the Courthouse. It comes from God. God is no longer willing to wink at our apathy. In the Old Testament when He judged a nation he sent warning after warning, each a little stronger, trying to turn that nation back to Him. Eventually the warnings stopped and judgment fell. We are experiencing such warnings in America now, each one a little stronger than previous ones. If the church and this nation do not heed those warnings we can expect God's judgment to fall upon us as well.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Who will fund your church ten years from now?
There is an elephant in the room that many churches are trying to ignore. It has to do with their future finances. Many small, struggling churches survive financially today because of the faithful giving of people in the past. When churches were full of the Builder generation the giving was strong enough to allow many of them to save significant sums of money. Now, after several years of decline, many of these churches regularly dip into those savings to pay current expenses. What happens when that savings is gone and the last of the Builders and Boomers are gone?
It's well known that the Builder generation strongly supported institutions such as churches. Even many of us in the Boomer generation, once we returned to the church, have been pretty faithful financial supporters. However, that has not been the case with many of succeeding generations. As younger generations have reached adulthood they have often been saddled with excessive debt, including student loans, and were facing a combination of shrinking wages and rising costs of living. Those factors, coupled with a lack of interest in institutions in general, have led them to give much less to their local church. Even those who are generous givers often split up their giving between their church and other charities and groups they want to support.
A few years ago I was speaking with a denominational leader whose primary role was to work with the churches of that denomination to help them realize what the financial future looked like for churches. He said most of the churches have no idea, and those who do want to pretend it won't happen to them. We can pretend all we want, it is the reality facing many of our churches, and now is the time to begin preparing for it.
What can churches do in light of expected reduced giving in the future?
It's well known that the Builder generation strongly supported institutions such as churches. Even many of us in the Boomer generation, once we returned to the church, have been pretty faithful financial supporters. However, that has not been the case with many of succeeding generations. As younger generations have reached adulthood they have often been saddled with excessive debt, including student loans, and were facing a combination of shrinking wages and rising costs of living. Those factors, coupled with a lack of interest in institutions in general, have led them to give much less to their local church. Even those who are generous givers often split up their giving between their church and other charities and groups they want to support.
A few years ago I was speaking with a denominational leader whose primary role was to work with the churches of that denomination to help them realize what the financial future looked like for churches. He said most of the churches have no idea, and those who do want to pretend it won't happen to them. We can pretend all we want, it is the reality facing many of our churches, and now is the time to begin preparing for it.
What can churches do in light of expected reduced giving in the future?
- Avoid debt. Be sure you really need to build that new addition or undertake that capital project. If you do, cash-flow it. The Bible tells us that the borrower is slave to the lender. Churches are not the exception. The last thing you want if your giving drops is a large mortgage payment.
- Teach biblical stewardship. Many churches are very reluctant to hear sermons about money. Some have insisted their pastors never discuss money from the pulpit. Those are the churches that need to hear about stewardship the most. Many denominations have sound, biblical stewardship programs that you can use. Don't wait until the church needs money to talk about money. Stewardship is part of discipleship. Talk about it in that context.
- Invest in God's kingdom. As a pastor I often reminded our church that God honors churches that honors missions. When we had very little money we still gave 10 percent of our offering to our denomination's mission program. I told our church that we can't expect people to tithe if we as a church don't tithe. When our finances became stronger we increased that giving to 15 percent of our offering. The more we gave the more came in. We were never able to outgive God.
- Take a close look at staffing needs. In many small and medium size churches salary and benefits for pastoral staff often take up the majority of the church's income. That leaves little money for ministry and other expenses. Many of these churches are now looking to call bivocational people as pastors and for staff positions. Many churches are using more volunteers in some positions.
- Finally, accept the reality that your church could be affected by reduced giving in the future. Begin to talk about that now and take the steps appropriate to your church to counteract that possibility.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Just be yourself
When Rick Warren and Saddleback Church first became well-known it was interesting to watch some pastors begin to shape their ministries and even their dress after him. At the time I read a comment that pastors around the country had stopped wearing suits and even socks in the pulpit! Others modeled their leadership styles and actions after Bill Hybels. I read one pastor's admission that he began to pronounce his words like Ravi Zacharias even though he wasn't Indian. And how many have tried to copy Billy Graham's style of preaching? I remember attending a revival a number of years ago when the speaker's mannerisms and speech reminded me of Graham. Since I had numerous private conversations with him I knew these mannerisms and speech were reserved for the pulpit and found them an unnecessary distraction.
Many of us go into the ministry impacted by those we admire. It's natural that some of our mentors' influences will show through in our ministry and preaching styles. However, we must be careful that we don't simply become a clone of another minister.
God has created each of us with our own individual personalities and gifts. He equipped us just the way he wanted us. Now, we are expected to develop those personalities and gifts. That development will last a lifetime if we want to remain effective in ministry, but such development will not happen if we are content to just model ourselves after someone else.
We need to just be ourselves whether we are in the pulpit or elsewhere. We don't need to develop a pulpit voice or manufacture special mannerisms for when we are preaching. I think this is even more critical for bivocational ministers because people are used to seeing us in our non-ministerial roles. I don't want people to see me conduct an auction and then later preach in a church and wonder if I have a split personality. I simply want to be Dennis because I believe that is how people will best relate to me.
Have you developed a ministry persona that is different from your everyday life? Does that persona feel natural to you? If not, it probably doesn't feel natural to those around you either. God didn't call you into the ministry to be someone's clone. Just be yourself.
Many of us go into the ministry impacted by those we admire. It's natural that some of our mentors' influences will show through in our ministry and preaching styles. However, we must be careful that we don't simply become a clone of another minister.
God has created each of us with our own individual personalities and gifts. He equipped us just the way he wanted us. Now, we are expected to develop those personalities and gifts. That development will last a lifetime if we want to remain effective in ministry, but such development will not happen if we are content to just model ourselves after someone else.
We need to just be ourselves whether we are in the pulpit or elsewhere. We don't need to develop a pulpit voice or manufacture special mannerisms for when we are preaching. I think this is even more critical for bivocational ministers because people are used to seeing us in our non-ministerial roles. I don't want people to see me conduct an auction and then later preach in a church and wonder if I have a split personality. I simply want to be Dennis because I believe that is how people will best relate to me.
Have you developed a ministry persona that is different from your everyday life? Does that persona feel natural to you? If not, it probably doesn't feel natural to those around you either. God didn't call you into the ministry to be someone's clone. Just be yourself.
Monday, April 18, 2016
Small things can bring great harm
Solomon once warned us that small things can cause great harm. In Song of Solomon 2:15 he reminds us that the little foxes can destroy the vines. I thought of this verse when I recently read that another leader of a large church had been removed from his position because of misconduct.
Darrin Patrick, pastor of The Journey, a megachurch in St. Louis was fired as the pastor after church elders investigated some allegations of misconduct. While they emphasized that there was no evidence of adultery, they claimed that Patrick had engaged in inappropriate contact with two females. In addition, they said that they had been working with him for several years on some other areas of sin in his life including misuse of power, manipulation and lying, and lack of self-control which they claimed amounted to "deep historical patterns of sin."
Patrick joins other well-known ministers who have been terminated or resigned from their churches in recent years due to issues such as pride, misuse of power, and a lack of accountability.
In no way am I going to point a finger at Patrick or any other pastor who struggles with such sin in their lives. I do not know the circumstances nor do I want to. Anyone in a position of leadership, including pastors, will be tempted to misuse their power. Notice, I didn't say they might be tempted; I said we will be tempted. However brief the temptation may be, there will be times when it will come, and how we handle it will shape our ministries and leadership for years to come.
I am sure that Patrick and other pastors in similar situations did not get up one morning and decide they would begin to manipulate people, lie to them, and misuse their positions of authority. More likely, one day a "mispeak" was used to advance something that would benefit the church. I use the term "mispeak" because it is a popular term among politicians who somehow seem to get by with it quite often. Maybe the end result was good so the lie was overlooked. However, one lie often leads to another.
One misuse of authority also leads to another. After all, we can always justify it because we are doing the Lord's work, and what we are doing is to advance the Kingdom of God. One flirty moment leads to another. Again, it's all harmless because we would never follow through with anything physical. And then one day we stand before our leadership group trying to respond to allegations of misconduct.
God reminded Cain (Gen. 4:7) that sin lies at the door desiring to take control of his life. That same warning applies to those of us in ministry. Small, seemingly insignificant things can overtime grow much larger. We open the door, and suddenly a foothold that sin had in our lives becomes a stronghold that we cannot overcome.
At the very root of such sin is pride, and the cure for pride is humility. The best leaders I've known were very humble people. They recognized any success they enjoyed was not of their own doing. They are quick to give God and those who work with them the praise for the good things that occur under their leadership.
As a leader, there will be times when you will be tempted to think more highly of yourself than you should. When such times occur it is important to spend even more time in prayer, in reading the Scriptures, and in worship. Maintain a humble spirit, and you will be less likely to fall into the traps that pride can set for you.
Finally, let's pray for one another. Again, I am not criticizing any of these pastors nor should you. Rather, let's pray for them and for one another that we will not fall victim to Satan's snares.
Darrin Patrick, pastor of The Journey, a megachurch in St. Louis was fired as the pastor after church elders investigated some allegations of misconduct. While they emphasized that there was no evidence of adultery, they claimed that Patrick had engaged in inappropriate contact with two females. In addition, they said that they had been working with him for several years on some other areas of sin in his life including misuse of power, manipulation and lying, and lack of self-control which they claimed amounted to "deep historical patterns of sin."
Patrick joins other well-known ministers who have been terminated or resigned from their churches in recent years due to issues such as pride, misuse of power, and a lack of accountability.
In no way am I going to point a finger at Patrick or any other pastor who struggles with such sin in their lives. I do not know the circumstances nor do I want to. Anyone in a position of leadership, including pastors, will be tempted to misuse their power. Notice, I didn't say they might be tempted; I said we will be tempted. However brief the temptation may be, there will be times when it will come, and how we handle it will shape our ministries and leadership for years to come.
I am sure that Patrick and other pastors in similar situations did not get up one morning and decide they would begin to manipulate people, lie to them, and misuse their positions of authority. More likely, one day a "mispeak" was used to advance something that would benefit the church. I use the term "mispeak" because it is a popular term among politicians who somehow seem to get by with it quite often. Maybe the end result was good so the lie was overlooked. However, one lie often leads to another.
One misuse of authority also leads to another. After all, we can always justify it because we are doing the Lord's work, and what we are doing is to advance the Kingdom of God. One flirty moment leads to another. Again, it's all harmless because we would never follow through with anything physical. And then one day we stand before our leadership group trying to respond to allegations of misconduct.
God reminded Cain (Gen. 4:7) that sin lies at the door desiring to take control of his life. That same warning applies to those of us in ministry. Small, seemingly insignificant things can overtime grow much larger. We open the door, and suddenly a foothold that sin had in our lives becomes a stronghold that we cannot overcome.
At the very root of such sin is pride, and the cure for pride is humility. The best leaders I've known were very humble people. They recognized any success they enjoyed was not of their own doing. They are quick to give God and those who work with them the praise for the good things that occur under their leadership.
As a leader, there will be times when you will be tempted to think more highly of yourself than you should. When such times occur it is important to spend even more time in prayer, in reading the Scriptures, and in worship. Maintain a humble spirit, and you will be less likely to fall into the traps that pride can set for you.
Finally, let's pray for one another. Again, I am not criticizing any of these pastors nor should you. Rather, let's pray for them and for one another that we will not fall victim to Satan's snares.
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Bivocational ministry and life-long learning
I spoke at a recent bivocational minister's conference at Earlham College's School of Theology. The final segment was a discussion by all present about how seminaries and Bible schools can do a better job of training bivocational ministers. There were many great suggestions made from the bivocational ministers. Some of them had attended a seminary or Bible school; others had not. At one time I told them that if a school tried to teach all the things they were suggesting it would be a 10 year program! The dean and a number of his staff were present and promised to continue to study this matter.
As reported here before, all expectations are that bivocational ministry will continue to increase in importance in virtually all denominations. This is an important discussion to have. Most of the participants at this conference who had graduated from a seminary or Bible school agreed that much of their education did not prepare them well for the realities of bivocational ministry. If the numbers of bivocational ministers are going to increase then it's important that we find the best possible ways to educate and prepare them for this ministry.
However, we must also realize that seminaries and Bible schools cannot do it all. I was only half joking when I told the group that they were describing a 10-year program if any institution tried to teach everything they were suggesting.
It would appear to me that seminaries, Bible schools, and denominations need to work together to develop the training that bivocational ministers need. There are some things that the educational units should teach such as theology, church history, leadership, pastoral care, preaching, etc. Denominations can then provide training in church growth, relationship building, and other practical skills bivocational ministers need. I certainly don't have it all figured out, and it would probably vary by school and denomination.
The key to this training, however, will be the bivocational minister. I've met too many who see little value in formal training, and among those who do many see no way they have the time to pursue it. I'll be the first to admit that it's tough. I was a bivocational pastor working full-time in a factory with a wife and two children at home when I first enrolled in a Bible school. It isn't easy, but the difference it made in my ministry caused me to enroll in college when I graduated from the Bible school. Later I went on to earn my master's and doctoral degrees while serving in fully-funded ministry. In between degree programs I attended numerous continuing education events.
Ministry is changing just as rapidly as everything else in our world. I still have most of the text books from the Bible school I attended in the mid-1980s on my bookshelves, but much of what's in those books no longer apply to the 21st century church. If you want to enjoy the ministry today you have to commit to being a life-long learner. Seminaries and denominations must offer cutting-edge continuing education events at a time that is convenient for bivocational ministers to attend, and these ministers must commit to attending such events. The ministers must invest in good books that explore new findings in theological thought and practical ministry skills.
I do not know what seminaries and Bibles schools will do in the future to train bivocational ministers. Some are already offering certificate programs that can be taken online that provide a nice mix of theological and practical ministry skills. Some are exploring how they can better serve this sector of ministry, and I'm sure some will choose to ignore it and focus on preparing people for fully-funded ministry.
However, regardless of what these institutions do, nothing stops you from being a life-long learner. There are numerous workshops and conferences held around the country today that are developed especially for bivocational and smaller church leaders. I know because I'm involved in several of them this year. Take advantage of these opportunities. If there are none close to you, contact your denominational leaders and ask them to provide some training that will improve your ministry. Take the initiative and develop the skills and knowledge you need to fulfill the calling of God on your life.
As reported here before, all expectations are that bivocational ministry will continue to increase in importance in virtually all denominations. This is an important discussion to have. Most of the participants at this conference who had graduated from a seminary or Bible school agreed that much of their education did not prepare them well for the realities of bivocational ministry. If the numbers of bivocational ministers are going to increase then it's important that we find the best possible ways to educate and prepare them for this ministry.
However, we must also realize that seminaries and Bible schools cannot do it all. I was only half joking when I told the group that they were describing a 10-year program if any institution tried to teach everything they were suggesting.
It would appear to me that seminaries, Bible schools, and denominations need to work together to develop the training that bivocational ministers need. There are some things that the educational units should teach such as theology, church history, leadership, pastoral care, preaching, etc. Denominations can then provide training in church growth, relationship building, and other practical skills bivocational ministers need. I certainly don't have it all figured out, and it would probably vary by school and denomination.
The key to this training, however, will be the bivocational minister. I've met too many who see little value in formal training, and among those who do many see no way they have the time to pursue it. I'll be the first to admit that it's tough. I was a bivocational pastor working full-time in a factory with a wife and two children at home when I first enrolled in a Bible school. It isn't easy, but the difference it made in my ministry caused me to enroll in college when I graduated from the Bible school. Later I went on to earn my master's and doctoral degrees while serving in fully-funded ministry. In between degree programs I attended numerous continuing education events.
Ministry is changing just as rapidly as everything else in our world. I still have most of the text books from the Bible school I attended in the mid-1980s on my bookshelves, but much of what's in those books no longer apply to the 21st century church. If you want to enjoy the ministry today you have to commit to being a life-long learner. Seminaries and denominations must offer cutting-edge continuing education events at a time that is convenient for bivocational ministers to attend, and these ministers must commit to attending such events. The ministers must invest in good books that explore new findings in theological thought and practical ministry skills.
I do not know what seminaries and Bibles schools will do in the future to train bivocational ministers. Some are already offering certificate programs that can be taken online that provide a nice mix of theological and practical ministry skills. Some are exploring how they can better serve this sector of ministry, and I'm sure some will choose to ignore it and focus on preparing people for fully-funded ministry.
However, regardless of what these institutions do, nothing stops you from being a life-long learner. There are numerous workshops and conferences held around the country today that are developed especially for bivocational and smaller church leaders. I know because I'm involved in several of them this year. Take advantage of these opportunities. If there are none close to you, contact your denominational leaders and ask them to provide some training that will improve your ministry. Take the initiative and develop the skills and knowledge you need to fulfill the calling of God on your life.
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
10 Stupid Things That Keep Churches From Growing
I admit it...I like book titles that catch my eye. Even more, I like books that tell it like it is. No spin. No worries about being politically correct. I've got a few books like that on my shelves: People Are Idiots and I Can Prove It!: The 10 Ways You Are Sabotaging Yourself and How You Can Overcome Them
by Larry Winget, They Like Jesus but Not the Church: Insights from Emerging Generations
by Dan Kimball, Jim and Casper Go to Church: Frank Conversation about Faith, Churches, and Well-Meaning Christians
by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper, and No Time for Tact: 365 Days of the Wit, Words, and Wisdom of Larry Winget
are some of my favorites.
Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches from Growing: How Leaders Can Overcome Costly Mistakes
by Geoff Surratt also sits proudly on my bookshelf. The sad thing about this book is that I've seen each of these things done in churches, and I'm guilty of a couple of them myself. Here's a list of the ten things he discusses.
I once heard Dr. Elmer Towns say in class that we don't have to worry about growing our churches. All we have to do is to identify the reasons why our churches aren't growing and remove them. If we do that, growth will occur.
Surratt not only identifies these 10 issues that will prevent a church from growing, he provides solutions for each of them. He doesn't offer theories but real world ways to address each one of these roadblocks to church growth. I ask again, if your church is guilty of any of these what are you going to do about it? If you're not sure I suggest you begin by reading this book!
by Larry Winget, They Like Jesus but Not the Church: Insights from Emerging Generations by Dan Kimball, Jim and Casper Go to Church: Frank Conversation about Faith, Churches, and Well-Meaning Christians by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper, and No Time for Tact: 365 Days of the Wit, Words, and Wisdom of Larry Winget are some of my favorites.Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches from Growing: How Leaders Can Overcome Costly Mistakes
by Geoff Surratt also sits proudly on my bookshelf. The sad thing about this book is that I've seen each of these things done in churches, and I'm guilty of a couple of them myself. Here's a list of the ten things he discusses.- Trying to do it all
- Establishing the wrong role for the pastor's family
- Providing a second-rate worship service
- Settling for low quality in children's ministry
- Promoting talent over integrity
- Clinging to a bad location
- Copying another successful church
- Favoring discipline over reconciliation
- Mixing ministry and business
- Letting committees steer the ship
I once heard Dr. Elmer Towns say in class that we don't have to worry about growing our churches. All we have to do is to identify the reasons why our churches aren't growing and remove them. If we do that, growth will occur.
Surratt not only identifies these 10 issues that will prevent a church from growing, he provides solutions for each of them. He doesn't offer theories but real world ways to address each one of these roadblocks to church growth. I ask again, if your church is guilty of any of these what are you going to do about it? If you're not sure I suggest you begin by reading this book!
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