Going Deeper With God

I recently heard a pastor admit to his congregation that one of his biggest regrets in ministry was that he had not gone deeper with God. This pastor is a very popular minister of a mega-church who appears on television daily. He has authored several best-selling books. Most of us in ministry would believe that he enjoys a great ministry that has been blessed by God. Yet, he admitted this major regret in his life.

His admission struck home with me because I have often felt the same. While not having enjoyed the ministry this brother has, my ministry has been blessed of God. For a country boy raised on dairy farms, I have enjoyed a ministry that I could never have imagined. Still, I often feel much regret that I have not gone deeper with God than I have. After 40+ years in ministry I feel I have merely scratched the surface in my knowledge of God and my walk with Him.

Recently, I have begun a study of the attributes of God as part of my devotional reading and study. Maybe one day I'll attempt to write a book on my learning, but whether I do or not, this study has reinforced my regret of not having gone deeper with God. So often, in my reading, I need to stop and worship as I see elements of God's attributes I never knew existed. I begin to reflect on how these attributes have impacted my relationship with Him even when I didn't realize it.

The book I am currently reading is Divine Attributes: Knowing the Covenantal God of Scripture by John C. Peckham. As I read what he writes about God's love I had to stop reading and begin to worship. Oh, the depth of His love for us! In the previous book I read, God the Father Almighty by Millard J. Erickson, he wrote how the omniscience of God influences His love for us. Erickson points out that even though God knows everything about us, He loves us unconditionally! Most of the love we receive from others is conditional. Perhaps they would not love us if they knew everything there was to know about us. But, God does know everything and loves us anyway! If that does not lead you to worship Him I don't know what would.

Not only do I regret not personally going deeper with God, I regret not leading the churches I've served in a study of God's attributes. While I have addressed some of them in messages occasionally, I wish I had led the congregation through an intentional study of His attributes. My belief is that many in our churches do not understand His attributes either and how those attributes can impact their lives. Just as reading about these attributes has led me to worship, I believe a study of these attributes would enhance our congregation's worship as well.

I can't undo the past, and I will have to live with the regrets I have, but I can do something about the future, and I am. I plan on spending at least the rest of this year studying the attributes of God in an effort to go deeper in my walk with Him. I want to know God better. I want to go deeper, and I pray you do as well.

Raising up leaders in the church

When I served as a Resource Minister for our Region I frequently heard complaints about the lack of leaders in many of the churches I served. Sometimes it was an issue with the quantity of leaders while others complained about the quality of the leaders in their churches. However, I noticed few of these churches did anything except complain. They offered no training for their current leaders and no training for potential future leaders.

During my life I have worked a number of different jobs as a bivocational minister. In every one of those jobs there was training. As an electrician in the Navy I had to be trained to qualify to stand switchgear watch aboard the carrier I was assigned to. In the various jobs I had while working in the factory I had to be trained for each job I had. Although I began my ministry with no education beyond high school, I soon enrolled in a Bible school to learn how to better serve my church, and I continued that education until completing my doctorate. When I decided to become an auctioneer I had to fulfill 80 hours of classroom instruction and pass an exam to be licensed. But, what training do we offer those who serve in our churches?

We ask someone to teach a class. In many churches the person is handed a teacher's book and told where their classroom is located. But, how many churches provide training for that teacher? We ask someone to serve as a deacon or elder, and we tell them when the meetings are held. What training is ever offered them? In many churches, the answer is none. In most smaller churches the youth leaders are volunteers. Are they ever provided with the training they need to do a good job? Young people today have a host of challenges that many of us never faced growing up, and our volunteer youth workers often feel overwhelmed. They deserve our support and the best training we can offer. We ask people to serve in our churches and fail to provide them with any training and then complain when they don't do a good job. This needs to end.

There are many ways to provide leadership training today. Churches can find good training programs on video or in published materials. As a bivocational pastor of a small, rural church I led on-going training for our Sunday school teachers using some books produced by a denominational publishing house. I offered deacon training for our deacons, and led several similar training events for the deacons in the churches I served as a Resource Minister. There are often seminars and training opportunities offered that you can take advantage of. The church should pay for these events for their leaders and potential leaders. it's an investment in the future of your church.

Every church needs a leadership pipeline where potential leaders are identified and trained so they are ready when needed. How much time does your church leaders spend trying to identify such persons. If you wait until new leaders are needed, it's too late. Identify them now, train them now, and they'll be ready when needed.

One final note: don't forget about your pastoral leadership. They need ongoing training as well. Every church should have continuing education funds available for their pastor. Many corporations pay for coaches for their CEOs and other senior leaders. This is a good model for churches to follow. I'm currently serving as a mentor for a young pastor to help him navigate the transition into a larger church than he has served in the past. His church wants him to succeed and is willing to invest in him to make that happen.

If a church complains about a lack of qualified leaders, they are usually admitting they have failed to raise up the leaders they need. Instead of complaining, let's begin to identify those God has called to leadership in the church and begin equipping them for that work.

Personal finance and the church

Many economists are predicting that we are moving towards another recession. A typical 30-year fixed rate mortgage now carries about a 7% interest rate. Existing home sales have fallen for the past 12 months, and the inventory of existing homes have increased to about a 2.9 monthly supply. The Fed keeps tightening the money supply, and the US economy is expected to expand less than 1 percent in 2023. Predictions for 2024 look more favorable suggesting that the financial challenges many Americans will face in 2023 will be of short duration. Certainly, no one expects to see a repeat of 2008. Still, many are going to struggle in the coming months, especially those will large amounts of debt. How can the church minister to those people?

God is interested in every aspect of our lives, and that includes the financial areas. The Bible speaks a great deal about money and how it should be managed. Despite this, little is said from many pulpits about personal finance. This gives people the impression that God is not interested in their finances or that it is not a part in our growing as Christian disciples.

I am convinced that every church should regularly offer a course on personal finance as part of its discipleship training. Such a course should be offered at least once a year, perhaps in a small group setting. Some people are very private about their personal finances and would not be comfortable sharing in a large setting, but in a small group many would be more willing to share with others who are dealing with financial challenges in their own lives.

Financial Peace University (FPU) is the best program I have discovered for such training. Dave Ramsey has built this program and defined it over the years. It has been offered in countless numbers of churches, schools and other settings, and have proven instrumental in helping people get out of debt and becoming financially healthy. I personally followed the teachings of FPU and was able to not only get out of debt but also learned how to better manage my finances.

Every Sunday pastors look out over their congregations and see many who are struggling financially. Some struggle to make it from one paycheck to the next. The loss of one paycheck due to illness or an accident would financially cripple them. They know they should tithe, but to do so would mean they could not pay their rent that month. Despite the guilt they feel, they also feel a responsibility to ensure their family has a roof over their heads. Some years their children may not go to church camp because they don't have the money, and their pride won't let them ask the church to help. Behind the smiling faces on Sunday there is fear, anger, and the pain of countless fights in the home over finances. FPU could provide them the tools they need to begin the road to financial security and freedom.

FPU could also be used as a powerful outreach tool into your community. Throughout every community there are countless people living just as I described above. One major study found that arguments about money are the top predictor for divorce. Offering FPU to the community along with the church can not only teach people sound money management principles but also introduce your church to them as one that is concerned about their well-being. FPU is based upon biblical principles so they will be exposed to such teachings through the 9-session program.

In closing, it is no secret that many clergy struggle financially as well. Many do not want their congregations know about their struggle, but it creates problems in clergy households as well. I would encourage such ministers to check out Ramsey's excellent book, Total Money Makeover. It was reading that book and listening to him on podcasts that helped me learn the principles he teaches about getting out of debt and becoming financially secure. The same principles found in the book are those taught in FPU. I should also say that I am not an employee of Ramsey nor a spokesperson for him or for FPU. I simply believe that this is an excellent way to serve the members of your church and reach out into your community. 

Why bivocational ministers are needed today

 For years I have said that we would continue to see an increase in the number of bivocational ministers serving our churches. I've addressed this in some of the books I've written and in the various seminars and workshops I've led. People like Lyle Schaller was predicting years ago that churches of 120 or less would be led by bivocational pastors or bivocational teams by 2010. While many churches this size continue to believe they must have a fully-funded pastor, they are also learning that finding a seminary-trained, fully-funded pastor is not easy these days. There are many reasons for this which I've covered in past posts on this blog, but the bottom line is that such pastors are seldom eager to serve in these smaller churches. I would agree with those who would reply it should not be that way, but it is the realty whether we like it or not.

I spent 14 years serving as an Area Minister in the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky. During that time I worked with dozens of pastor search committees and saw first-hand how difficult it became to find fully-funded pastors for many of those churches. At the same time, I encountered a great deal of reluctance from many of them when I suggested they consider a bivocational pastor. They seemed to believe that calling a bivocational pastor would be a step-back for them. In fact, while I was serving as a bivocational pastor in a church, another church asked if I would meet with their search committee. The chair mentioned they would expect me to quit my factory job and serve there as a full-time (her words, not mine) pastor. When I responded I would not do that, she said the church would never go backwards by calling someone who wasn't full-time, and that they had always had a full-time pastor. I asked, "Is that why your church is all the way up to 75 people in attendance?" Yes, I was much younger then and not always very politically correct, but it did end the conversation rather quickly!

People forget that as our country moved west most of our churches were served by bivocational pastors, especially Baptist and Methodist churches. In fact, until the 1950s bivocational ministers were the norm in these churches. A book was published around that time that emphasized that churches needed full-time, seminary trained pastors if they were ever to be a real church, and too many churches and denominations bought into that mindset. The fact is, from biblical times forward, bivocational ministers have been the norm.

Let me quickly state that this in no way implies there is anything wrong with seminary-trained, fully-funded pastors. I am not advocating that one is better than the other. Many churches need such pastors. Perhaps it would even be best if every pastor served in that way, but the reality is that most churches of 120 people, or less, will struggle to find such people. I certainly am not saying that they have to settle for something less when they call a bivocational pastor. That was the mindset of many when I began in 1981 serving a small church as their bivocational pastor, but it wasn't true then and it's not true now.

Again, I am approaching this from a practical perspective. In the 21st century, churches of 120, plus or minus, are going to struggle to find a seminary-trained, fully-funded pastor. Many of these churches will find that a bivocational pastor will serve them better, and longer, than the other pastors. In a study I conducted in 2004 I found that bivocational pastors remained at their church longer than fully-funded pastors. Other studies have determined the same thing. These pastors are often going to be local people, or at least live close to the church, they have roots in the community and they work in the community. They are much less likely to move.

If you are in a church of 120-150 or less, at least consider calling a bivocational minister. If you've been used to a fully-funded pastor it might require some re-thinking on your part as what the expectations will be of the pastor and of the congregation, but for many of these churches such re-thinking is probably long overdue.

Advice to new pastors

 For the past 40+ years it has been my privilege to serve in ministry. For 20 years I served as a bivocational pastor of a small, rural church. Fourteen years were spent in regional ministry serving, first 84 churches in my Area, and before retiring serving 133 churches in the same capacity. Since retirement (?) I have served two churches as Transitional Pastor. If you would allow me to, I would like to offer some advice to pastors who are new to pastoral ministry. These are things I have been fortunate to learn (some the hard way) that I pray will help you.

1. You are not the leader of your church. Your position as pastor does not automatically make you the leader of your congregation. There are people who have invested years of their lives serving the Lord and that church who are the real leaders. They are the ones others listen to, not you. You will have to earn the right to lead your congregation, and that can take several years of faithful ministry before you will earn the trust to be a leader in the church. What you must learn is to lead through the leaders. Yes, you may have some great ideas, but these need to be filtered through the recognized leaders of the church. They may point out some flaws in your thinking simply because of their experience with this congregation. It's often best if your good ideas are presented to the church through the lay leaders who are recognized as leaders in the church.
2. Many of your new ideas will be automatically rejected when they are first presented. A significant percentage of the congregation is happy with the ways things are even if they are no longer productive. Another significant percentage wants nothing more than peace in the church so they will side with those opposed to your new ideas. You can expect most changes in a church will take longer than it should as it takes time for people to adapt to new things. You are working with volunteers so you have little leverage over them. A good rule of thumb to remember: No one likes change except a baby.
3. The worship wars should have ended years ago, but it hasn't. There continues to be an issue between those who prefer traditional worship versus those who prefer a more contemporary style. (Of course, contemporary means different things to different people.) The church I most recently served as Transitional Pastor found the way to blend the two styles of music into each worship service as well as any church I have ever experienced. Most fail at doing this. If the church you serve is a new church you can probably use more contemporary music and worship styles with little problem. If you are serving in a more traditional church, it's not that easy. Worship is about finding ways to help people experience and worship God in a way that is meaningful to them. I believe it is a sin to ignore the needs of your more traditional saints who have been faithful to the church for decades in order to reach out to younger people with different styles of worship and music. At the same time, we cannot ignore their needs either. It remains a balancing act that will continue to be a challenge for many pastors and church leaders.
4. Although I could share much more I will close with this: You are not indispensable. From the moment you begin your ministry in the church you are a departing pastor. You will leave either vertically or horizontally, but you will one day leave if the Lord tarries. The cemeteries are full of indispensable people. Unless your church is a new church start, there have been pastors there before you, and if the Lord tarries, there will be pastors there after you. God has placed you there for a season. Your responsibility is to make the best of that season. One of your roles is to prepare the church for your replacement.

Perhaps later I will share more things I have learned that might make it easier for new pastors. Just remember this, if God has called you to this place it is because He has great things in mind here for you and for the church.

The North Star of our worship

This week has been a fascinating time to watch the skies. The planets Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Uranus have lined up creating a great opportunity for those who enjoy viewing the sky. Last night we went out and could see all but Uranus which is too far away to be seen with the naked eye. For me, watching the stars move across the sky in perfect harmony with one another, and the fact that their movement is so predictable for astronomers to be able to know where each star, comet and planet will be with pinpoint accuracy is more evidence that God is author of creation. This universe in which we live did not come into existence in a random explosion but was crafted by God who designed every detail.

Last night's viewing was followed by this morning's devotional reading. I am currently reading The Wolf in their Pockets by Chris Martin who writes of the dangers that social media can play in the minds and lives of believers. It has been interesting reading which I would recommend to anyone serving in ministry or church leadership. While social media is not in itself harmful, it can cause harm if misused, and the author presents 13 ways social media can be misused.

In my reading this morning Martin mentions the star Polaris which is the North Star. It is found on the tip of the handle of the Little Dipper. Because this star is aligned with the North Pole it appears to not move but always point to the north. This star has been used as a navigational device for centuries. Martin writes, "What or who we worship serves as our North Star...All of life seems to revolve around that which we worship, even if it isn't actually doing so, just as all the stars in the sky seen to rotate around Polaris."

The Bible regularly warns us against the worship of false idols or gods. Such false objects of worship may not be the god of another religion or a carved object we pray to. A false god could be wealth, fame, a hobby, our career (even ministry), material possessions, pleasure, sports or even our family. A false god can be anything that we give our lives to and turn to when life becomes difficult. The North Star of true worship is found only in God.

The worship of God is more than singing a few songs on Sunday and dropping some money in the offering plate. It is yielding our entire selves to Him and to His will for our lives. When we truly worship God our entire world revolves around our relationship with Him.

What, or who, is it you worship? Now, stop and think before you answer. Is God truly at the of your life, or have you put yourself in that position? Have you put something else in that position? Perhaps God is part of your life, but is He at the very center of all you are and do? He will not accept second-place. This is a question that all Christians must answer, not once, but on a consistent basis to ensure God is still our North Star for worship.

Another chapter closed

This past Sunday was my last as the Transitional Pastor of Westport Baptist Church. I served this great church for about 2 1/2 years in that role and loved every minute of it. The people there are great, which I knew before I even went there. For a number of years this church was in my Area when I served as Area Minister. It was always in my top three favorite churches that were in my Area. Their pastor was a great minister and friend, now retired, and the church had an amazing feel every time I walked in.

It should not have taken the church this long to find a pastor, but that is the way it is today when churches seek new pastoral leadership. For years I've told search committees that the pool is not very big and not very deep. This is especially true for churches in rural communities or small towns. If I had to guess, some of the people the church interviewed decided to not candidate due to the small community of Westport. Personally, I don't think they know what they are missing. Of course, I like small communities and always felt very comfortable with the Westport community.

Their new pastor is a young man with a family. He's never pastored a fully-funded church before so the church has asked me to mentor him for a few weeks. He seems energetic so I think I'll enjoy meeting with him and helping to answer some of his questions.

God has been very good to me in the churches He has led me to serve. For 20 years I served as a bivocational pastor at Hebron Baptist Church in Madison, IN. What a wonderful time that was! After retiring from denominational ministry I had the opportunity to serve Madison FBC as their Transitional Pastor for two years, and now He allowed me the privilege of serving the Westport church. As an Area Minister in our Region for 14 years I know how brutal some churches can be, and I am thankful God spared me from that.

Some have asked about my future plans, and I really do not know. My auction business keeps me busy, but if God opens up another door I'll certainly consider it. I turn 75 later this year, but I don't feel like it (usually!), and I believe God still has work for me to do.

The older I get the more I appreciate Caleb. As one of the original spies of the Promised Land he along with Joshua were the only ones who encouraged the Israelites to conquer the land since God had promised it to them. Now, the Israelites are conquering the land. Caleb goes to Joshua and asked him to let him take his tribe and take the mountain areas. Although that area was inhabited by giants and walled cities Caleb was ready at the age of 85 to rise to the challenge. My prayer is that I will always be ready to rise to the opportunities God gives me.

While I wait to see if God opens up doors of ministry I am ready to fill pulpits when needed. Please feel free to contact me if you need someone to preach for you.