The Power of a dream

 Martin Luther King, Jr. touched the soul of America with his "I have a dream" speech in which he talked about a time when racial differences would be set aside, and all people could come together. We are a long away from seeing that dream fulfilled, but as a nation we have come a long way since Dr. King shared his dream.

Dreams have power to touch people's hearts. They can show us the ways things could be, the way things ought to be. They give us a vision of a preferred future. Although dreams by themselves cannot change anything, nothing much worthwhile happens without a dream.

How long has it been since you had a dream? I'm not talking about the dreams that cause you to wake up at night. I'm referring to the kind of dreams that point toward a different future, a better future. Isn't it funny that as children we spent a lot of time dreaming. We dreamed about what we wanted to do when we were grown up, the kind of work we would do, the person we would marry, where we would live and many more dreams. For some reason, as adults we quit dreaming. We settle. We accept mediocrity. We lose the ability to dream which also means we lose the ability to grow.

This can be true of our careers. I think of the Dolly Parton movie "Nine to Five." Most of the workers settled to live mundane lives committed to mundane careers. Not Dolly and her friends. They had a dream. They were determined to advance their careers, and through a series of comedic events they did just that.

It can be true of marriage. I've never known a young couple getting married who were excited about settling down for a boring life together. Yet, it happens all too often. A marriage filled with dreams about the future often falls into a rut and ends with two people sharing an address but not a life.

Finally, it can be true of a church. Every church began because someone or a group of people had a dream for a church in their community. Over time, the original dreams are forgotten and everyone settles in to become part of an organization. They keep the rules. They follow the church constitution. They refer to the past years of the church as "the good old days" when the building was full and people's lives were being changed, but they do nothing to recapture that excitement. If they do try to do something, quite often they simply repeat what worked back them rather than seeking God's dreams for the church today.

I encourage you to begin to dream. Dream about what your marriage could be like. Dream about what your career could look like. Dream about what your church could become once again. Then, begin to put together a plan for how to make that dream a reality.

My first Sunday

 Yesterday was my first Sunday as the Transitional Pastor of North Madison Baptist Church, and it felt so good being back in the pulpit. After all, it had been a whole 4 months or so since I had preached! It just felt good sharing God's Word with the people and having the opportunity to speak an encouraging word to them. I found out I picked a busy week to start...we are the host church for the American Baptist Men's meeting tonight and there is a leadership meeting on Tuesday. Nothing like hitting ground running.

At the American Baptist Men's meeting I am going to share a video and the story of a pilot who was scheduled to fly the plane that was flown into the Pentagon building on 9/11. He was bumped off that flight the morning of 9/11 by a more senior pilot. It is a powerful and moving story. I heard this pilot speak at a meeting I attended while on vacation in Florida. I had to buy his DVD and will be showing that tonight. I encourage all men living in the Madison, Indiana area to attend this meeting. It will be at 7:00 at North Madison Baptist Church starting at 7:00. There will be pie and coffee after the meeting, and you do not have to be an American Baptist to attend. I would love to have every man in the Madison community to come and hear this story.

Secrets and church health

While serving as a regional minister in our judicatory one of my churches had a series of pastoral changes in a short period of time. I found out from the second pastor that the leadership had fired him but told him to announce he was resigning, and they would provide him with a severance package. I heard the story and called the pastor to confirm it. He admitted it was true but begged me to not say anything because he and his family were able to live in the parsonage while he sought another church. I had previously heard similar stories about this church and its board.

To protect this pastor I waited until he moved to another church and left the parsonage before calling the head of the lay leadership. I asked if what I had been told was true, and he admitted it was. I then said that I felt this church had a lot of secrets that were being kept from the membership. After a long pause he admitted this was also true. He had just assumed his leadership position and assured me he was going to address it.

One of the problems in keeping secrets is that they really do not remain secrets for very long. People know when things are not right. I retired soon after this event occurred in this church and do not know how the church is doing today, but at the time they had lost over half of their congregation. I told that lay leader something I've told many congregations: A CHURCH IS ONLY AS HEALTHY AS THE SECRETS IT KEEPS.

How many churches have covered up pastoral affairs "for the sake of the ministry?" How many have covered up financial irregularities for the same supposed reason? How many church boards have fired the pastor and bribed him or her with financial incentives to announce to the congregation that they felt "led by the Lord to take another church?"

I repeat that a church will only be as healthy as the secrets it keeps. Some churches have a lot of bodies buried, and I'm not referring to the graveyard that surrounds the church. Board meetings are filled with anger, tension and fear that people will learn the secrets that are being maintained. 

When I was first saved I was a member of a church where the leaders wanted the pastor out. It was not uncommon to see the deacons and the pastor go into a room after a Sunday morning service for a meeting. After a few months, the pastor left. Sometime later I was chosen to be a deacon in that church and was elected secretary. When I received the secretary's record book I thought I would finally find out what went on in those meetings. However, when I opened the book I found that all the pages from that time period had been torn out. The church was not a healthy church, and it still wasn't when I left a couple of years later.

An unhealthy church can never be a growing church, and if it did grow, it would grow to be even more unhealthy. When people walk into an unhealthy church, they can feel the tension. While they may not know what's going on, they know something is not right in this church. 

It's never easy to publicly announce misconduct when it occurs, but it's necessary. Like a doctor telling patient he or she has cancer, it's not easy for the doctor but the patient must know there's a problem, and there's a treatment plan. As painful as it might be for a congregation to hear there's a problem, it's far better to announce it and offer a plan to address it. I will repeat: A church is only as healthy as the secrets it keeps. 

Back in the pulpit

 Last week I announced that I was asked to serve as the Transitional Pastor of North Madison Baptist Church. I just want to remind everyone that my first Sunday in the pulpit will be this Sunday, November, 5. If you do not have a church home and live in the Madison, IN area we would love to have you join us for worship. The service begins at 10:30.

The message for this Sunday is entitled "The Waymaker." So often we find ourselves in a place where we think we are stuck, all alone with no way out. We feel hopeless and fearful. I've been there, and it's not a good feeling. The good news is God can make a way when we can't see a way. I believe you will find this message to be an encouragement.

Some have asked me what it means to be a Transitional Pastor. The church is seeking a pastor, and in Baptist life the person who served the church during their time of seeking new pastoral leadership was usually referred to as an interim pastor. I prefer the term Transitional Pastor. For me, the word interim suggests you are just killing time, holding ground until the church finds a new pastor. During this time many churches seem to go into neutral, merely coasting along until a new pastor arrives. I see no reason, and certainly no biblical reason, this should be the case.

The word transition suggests that things are moving. The church is moving from one stage of its life to the next stage, but in the process it remains actively involved in ministering to one another and to the community. During this transition time it seeks a fresh vision from God and begins to live into that vision. This is my third church to serve as the Transitional Pastor since my "retirement." I admit that I am excited to begin.

Someone asked if I was ever going to actually retire. The way I look at it is that God has blessed me with good health, He called me 44 years ago to serve Him as a minister, and so far, He hasn't told me I'm done. Rather than retire I prefer to re-fire, and I am fired up and ready to begin a new challenge.

Again, if you do not currently have a church home and would like to be part of this challenge, I encourage you to join us this Sunday at 10:30.

Changes in life

When you've lived 75 years you have seen a lot of changes. Just in technology alone the changes I've seen are remarkable. My first cell phone was a bag phone. It probably weighed 5-6 pounds, not exactly something you would carry on your hip or in your pocket. My first Internet provider used dial-up with all the screeches and bongs when you called in. I think they only had a couple of lines at first, and when the kids got home from school you couldn't get on again until about 10:00 PM. When they added 7-8 new phone numbers you kept trying until you finally got through on one. At least it was free! When I began my pastoral ministry I used an Underwood typewriter to type out the bulletins and sermon outlines. I used a lot of White-Out those days. A few years later I bought a word processor and thought things couldn't get any better.

I still remember my first computer. When I decided to add Microsoft Office it came on (I think) 12 floppy disks. The computer tried all day to download it until it finally ran out of memory. I had to have more memory added to the computer before I could even download the program! My first computer class was on DOS, and I'm glad I don't have to remember how to use that.

Life is much easier with high speed Internet, software programs you can just download off the Internet, cell phones with more options and memory than the earlier computers. Change is often a good thing that makes life a lot better. But, not all change is positive.

During these same 75 years I've seen many changes that are not for the better. Much of society today does not know how to relate to one another. We no longer discuss differences; we shout at one another, take up weapons and fight. People are easily offended today and demand their rights even if those rights trample on the rights of others. We used to have statesmen and women elected to political offices; now we have people who are totally unqualified to hold any office making decisions that have negative impacts on the well-being of our country. Our national debt continues to skyrocket, and our politicians can't seem to spend money fast enough. Evil runs rampant in the world, and many can't even agree on what evil is or if it even exists. 

When I was a child the church was often the center of activity especially in the smaller communities in which I lived. Stores were closed on Sundays. Schools didn't schedule activities on Sundays or even Wednesday nights. Even non-Christians knew much about what the Bible taught. None of this is true today. It seems every religion is welcomed except for Christianity. Christian values and beliefs are ridiculed in almost every arena of life today. The church is looked upon as a relic of the past, and the Bible is viewed as a book of myths by many.

No, not all change is good. Unless and until we can see Christian values and beliefs become accepted once again in America we will continue to see our society decline. Nearly 20 years ago Robert Bork wrote a book called Slouching toward Gomorrah which issued a warning about the direction our nation was heading. I'm afraid we are no long slouching our way to Gomorrah; we are running full-speed towards it. The only way we can reverse this is to see revival break out in our churches.

 

Time away

 This past week my wife and I went to Panama City Beach. Our daughter stays in a condo there for a couple of months in the fall, and we often go down around our anniversary to spend time with her and to enjoy the ocean. The weather was perfect with mid-80s all week and no rain. That allowed us to spend a couple of days on the beach and a day at the pool as well as enjoying some other activities. On Sunday we enjoyed going to the church they attend while they are down there. It's a great church with incredible worship and a very solid ministry. The pastor announced they had seen 179 decisions for Christ in the previous two weeks! Many accepted Christ the Sunday we were there. Last night the church had their Trunk-and-Treat and had 7,000 people visit for treats. This is a church that is doing a lot of good things! However, in this post I want to speak to taking time away.

When I speak to pastor groups I urge them to take their vacations. When I speak to churches I urge them to insist their pastors take their vacations. In fact, I encourage them to go one step further and pass a motion in a business meeting that they will dock the pastor one week's pay for each week of vacation he or she doesn't take that year! That's how important I believe time away is.

When I began my pastoral ministry the church gave me two weeks vacation, and I never took both weeks. My stupidity cost me when I became clinically depressed and spent a year on medication and counseling. We need that time away for our own mental health not to mention the well-being of our families. After I recovered the church increased that to four weeks vacation, and you can be sure I took it.

As a judicatory minister I worked with many churches in their pastoral searches. Many of the smaller ones offered two weeks vacation to the new pastor, and if he stayed long enough they might add another week or two. I always encouraged them to start the new pastor with four weeks vacation. What does this extra two weeks cost the church. If they pay a supply pastor $200.00 it costs the church $400.00 to give the pastor the extra two weeks. If the church can't afford that it needs to close down.

Those two additional weeks sends a message the pastor and family that they are important to the church. The church cares for them. If that message isn't worth $400.00 then I would say that the church really doesn't care for their pastor, and he or she may need to seek a new place to serve that will honor them.

Of course, it doesn't matter how much time away the church allows the pastor if he or she doesn't take it. I have known too many pastors who followed my early example and would not use the vacation time they were given. This is a sign of arrogance on the part of the pastor. This is the mindset of someone who believes that if he or she isn't there, God can't do it. I know because this was my early mindset, and it is pure arrogance. Listen, the cemeteries are full of irreplaceable people! One day you will join them, and it may be sooner than you would like if you do not take time to refresh yourself, and the church will continue on as it did before under new leadership.

If you do not receive four weeks vacation from your church I want to encourage you to advocate for that. You many want to bring in someone from your denominational leadership to do that for you if you are uncomfortable doing so. While you're at it you might as well ask for a 2-3 months sabbatical after seven years. After serving in ministry for the past 40+ I can tell you that you will need it! Without it you are likely to get the 7-year itch and begin to feel that "God is calling you to another place of service." The church will find out it was much less costly to give you that sabbatical than the cost of finding and calling a new pastor.

I love pastors, and I want you to be able to serve for a long, long time. That will not happen if you do not take time for yourself and your family. Taking your vacations and a sabbatical will go a long way to keep you in ministry for the long haul.

Special Announcement

 A couple of weeks ago I mentioned here that I would soon be making a special announcement, and the time is now. I'm pleased to announce that I have accepted a call to be the Transitional Pastor of North Madison Baptist Church here in my hometown. I will begin November 1 with my first Sunday in the pulpit on November 5. This is my third church to serve as Transitional Pastor since I retired (?), and I am very excited to get started.

As a young boy involved in BYF back in the day I always looked forward to our BYF rallies which were held in the churches in our association. North Madison BC was one of those churches. Since we attended a small, rural church NMBC seemed huge to me at the time, and it was one of the churches I most looked forward to going to for our rallies.

Jump forward many years (decades) later, and I am serving as a Resource Minister for the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky. This was one of the churches in my Area. I filled the pulpit there a number of times and worked with the church during some of their transitional times. Having lived in this area most of my life and because of my previous involvement with the church I already know many of the folks who attend there.

The church has been without a pastor for some time now and has been served by a great interim pastor and dear friend of mine who was feeling led to leave. The timing worked out great for me to step into this role, but, of course, God's timing always works great. I believe He has called me to this place for this time, and I look forward to seeing what will happen in the next several months.

There will be challenges as there is in every church. Attendance has not returned to its pre-Covid numbers. There are few youth and children. But, this church has a number of strengths as well. Those who attend are warm and friendly people with great talents. The church has the location and facilities necessary for growth. Some have already shared with me some ideas they have about new ministries they want to start. Although this church began in 1849 and has a marvelous history I firmly believe that the best days of the church are ahead. I'm honored they have invited me to be a part of that future.

If you live in the Madison, Indiana area and do not have a church home, I invite you to come worship with us. Our service begins at 10:30. We would love to have you.